FEMA Bulletin Week of February 15, 2021

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FEMA BULLETIN

Week of February 15, 2021

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In this Edition:

Important Dates & Reminders

Feb. 16

FEMA recruitment presentation for Virginia Employment Commission.


Feb. 16

BRIC expressions of interest to volunteer end date.


Feb. 18

Youth Preparedness Council webinar info session.


Feb. 19

National Dam Safety Technical seminar end date.

FEMA Publishes Mitigation Success Stories

 

FEMA published a new story map that details hazard mitigation planning success stories from across the country. The story maps aim to inspire other communities to consider similar strategies and enhance their hazard mitigation planning.

 

Communities featured in the story map are:

  • Baltimore
  • Franklin County, Pennsylvania
  • Lower Platte South, Nebraska
  • Manitou Springs, Colorado
  • Marshfield, Massachusetts
  • New York City
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Snohomish County, Washington
  • Washington, D.C.

 

Hazard mitigation tactics included in the story map include plan implementation, plan integration and outreach, engagement and equity. For further details, visit mitigation best practices case study.

 

FEMA encourages partners to share these successes with local planners, emergency managers, engineers and public works officials. If you have a success story to share, send an email to FEMA-Mitigation-Planning@fema.dhs.gov or contact your regional community planner.


DHS Webinar: Protecting Your Organization: The 2021 Nonprofit Security Grant Program and other Resources to Keep Your Facility Safe

webinar

 

The DHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives is hosting a webinar from 2 - 3:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 18 to provide information and tips on how to apply for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. This grant program provides funding support for security-related and physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations. The grants promote emergency preparedness coordination and collaboration activities between public and private community representatives as well as state, local and tribal government agencies.

 

The webinar will also cover DHS resources that support the safety and security of houses of worship, non-profits and faith and community-based organizations. In addition, faith and community leaders will share their perspectives about the program and ways you can keep your facility safe and secure from all hazards. 

 

How to Join the Webinar:

  • Register for the event using the Adobe Connect registration web link.
  • A recording of the webinar will be sent by email to all registered participants, in case they are unable to attend or wish to share.

 

For more information on the webinar or the program, contact FEMA.


Sign-Up to Make a Difference With FEMA

 

The FEMA and AmeriCorps partnership program, FEMA Corps, is seeking talented and enthusiastic adults between 18 – 26 years old to serve the country before, during and after disasters.

 

FEMA Corps is a volunteer service program to give young adults the chance to be exposed to and work in the field of emergency management. Over the course of 12 months, FEMA Corps works to assist communities prepare for and respond to disasters. Members will travel across the country to assist in FEMA’s mission.

 

Service members are also provided housing, food and a living allowance. After successful completion of the service term, alumni receive an education award that may be used to repay federal student loans or pay for tuition at an accredited higher education facility.

 

The program is an excellent way to gain experience in emergency management. Many FEMA Corps alumni go on to become professionals at FEMA and other levels of government.

 

Applications are now open for the summer class of FEMA Corps and will close on April 1 for team lead positions and will close April 15 for corps member positions.

 

Go to AmeriCorps.gov or FEMA.gov to learn more. For questions, contact fema-corps-program@fema.dhs.gov.


FEMA Just-in-Time Training

 

The FEMA team worked in collaboration with federal, state, local, private and nonprofit partners to develop "Just-in-Time Recovery Management Training." The training will provide local government officials with the information they need during the actual post-disaster recovery period. Ensuring that local governments are equipped with immediate information to tackle post-disaster recovery is essential for helping communities. The training is a resource that runs parallel with the recovery phases, providing concise material tailored for local governments to ensure a successful long-term post-disaster recovery.

 

Download a copy of the publication.


FEMA Holds Stakeholder Call on Vaccine Equity for People with Disabilities

 

FEMA is working with state, local, tribal and territorial partners and the CDC to ensure equitable access for all populations, including people with disabilities. The agency has regional disability integration specialists in each of FEMA’s 10 regions and is deploying disability integration advisors and civil rights advisors to support regional leadership as needs are identified.

 

Join the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) call from 1 -2 p.m. ET on Feb. 24 to learn more about the vaccination centers and how FEMA is working with our federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners to ensure vaccine equity for people with disabilities.

 

  • Call: 888-254-3590
  • Participant Passcode: 2459603

 

Scheduled speakers include Acting FEMA Administrator Robert Fenton, FEMA Vaccine Task Force Lead Chad Gorman, FEMA Office of Disability Integration and Coordination Director Linda Mastandrea and FEMA Office of Equal Rights Director Jo Linda Johnson. A confirmed agenda and presentation materials will be sent to registered participants prior to the call.

 

At the start time of the event, please login to the closed captioning by clicking on the link.

 

Space for this event is limited, so reservations are requested. Please RSVP using the online form. To send questions to be addressed during the call, email FEMA-Disability-Integration-Coordination@fema.dhs.gov by Feb. 22. Only questions received prior to the call will be addressed by our speakers.


Upcoming Deadlines and Reminders

FEMA Seeks Volunteers for the BRIC Virtual National Review Panels

 

FEMA is beginning the award selection process for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. A virtual National Review Panel will score sub-applications for this competitive grant to fund hazard mitigation projects.

 

FEMA seeks volunteers from government partners and other federal agencies to participate on the panels. During the reviews, volunteers will leverage their mitigation experience and expertise to assess how applications meet six BRIC qualitative evaluation criteria.

 

Individuals from a government partner or federal agency interested in volunteering, can submit their name, title, unit of affiliation, phone number and email to the BRIC Team at hma-ndi-bric-review@fema.dhs.gov.

 

FEMA is accepting expressions of interest to volunteer through Feb. 16.

 

The virtual panels will run from March 8 to April 2 for eight hours a day, over the course of five business days. Approximately 100 panelists are needed to review sub-applications. There is no compensation for participating on the panel review.

 

For more information, visit the BRIC FEMA website to review the BRIC Qualitative Criteria Program Support Document.

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FEMA Announces $35 Million for Fire Prevention and Safety Grants

 

The funding notice has been released for $35.5 million to support the 2020 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants. These grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants, which support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The application period for the program closes at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 28.

 

The notice of funding opportunity is available at www.grants.gov. For more information on the Fire Prevention and Safety grants, go to FEMA.gov.

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National Dam Safety Technical Seminar

 

Registration is open for the 28th Annual National Dam Safety Program Technical Seminar, “Risk Informed Decision Making and Benefit Cost Analysis for Dam and Levee Projects.”  This seminar will be held virtually on FEMA Adobe Connect from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 16 - 19. Participants encouraged to apply include all dam and levee safety professionals, including public and private dam owners/operators, dam safety engineers, land use planners and emergency management officials.

 

Visit the Emergency Management Institute website to register for this seminar.

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FEMA Seeks Feedback for Typing Documents

 

The FEMA National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on resource typing definitions. The 30-day national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on March 2.

 

These resource typing documents will facilitate the sharing of deployable resource types at all jurisdictional levels. To provide comments on the drafts, complete the feedback form on FEMA.gov and submit the form to fema-nims@fema.dhs.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on March 2, 2021.

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FEMA Accepting Spring Nominations for Exercise Assistance

 

The FEMA National Exercise Division is now accepting Spring 2021 exercise assistance nominations to the National Exercise Program. Spring nomination submissions are due by April 1 and decisions will be sent by May 3.

 

Instructions for how to submit a nomination are on the National Exercise Program website.

 

FEMA is hosting 60-minute webinars for state, local, tribal, territorial and other whole community partners to discuss the nomination process. The webinar will also cover National Exercise Program supporting activities for conducting exercises in a pandemic environment. The webinar will also cover approved 2021-2022 Principals’ Strategic Priorities. The dates for the webinars are:

 

  • Webinar: 4 p.m. ET Feb. 25.
  • Webinar: 2 p.m. ET March 11.

 

To register for the webinars, visit the National Exercise Program webinar page. For questions, send an email to the National Exercise Division.

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FEMA Hosts Youth Preparedness Council Information Session

 

FEMA is currently accepting Youth Preparedness Council applications. Teens in grades 8 through 11 who are interested in applying for the council can learn more about the process and have their questions answered in a webinar at 7 p.m. ET on Feb. 18. The webinar will walk students through the application process and give applicants a glimpse of what it’s like to be on the Youth Preparedness Council. Please register for this webinar in advance using the registration link.

 

The application period is currently open and closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on March 7.  To learn more about the Youth Preparedness Council and application requirements, visit Ready.gov.

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FEMA Announces Application Period Open for Firefighters Grants

 

The application period is underway for $355 million in funding available through the Fiscal Year 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants. These grants enhance the ability of recipients to attain and maintain fire department staffing and to assure that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

 

The SAFER application period closes at 5 p.m. ET on March 12. The notice of funding opportunity and technical assistance documents for this program are available at www.grants.gov and on FEMA.gov.

 

Fire departments or other applicants requiring assistance can call the Fire Grants Help Desk at (866) 274-0960 or send an email to firegrants@fema.dhs.gov. The Fire Grants Help Desk is open 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET, Monday – Friday.

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FEMA Seeks to Grow its Workforce

 

FEMA is hosting and participating in several free hiring events. Eligible applicants are encouraged to join an event to explore federal career opportunities.

 

FEMA Recruitment Presentation for Virginia Employment Commission

  • 4:30 – 6 p.m. ET, Feb. 16
  • Participate via Zoom.

FEMA Presents: Encouraging Our Differences: Diversity & Inclusion

FEMA Presents: Breaking Barriers – Women in Leadership

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