DHS Office of Inspector General Update

This information has recently been updated, and is now available.

 

 

Good Morning,

Newly released DHS Office of Inspector General reports are available on our website.    Access all Fiscal Year 2013 #DHSOIGReport.

 

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OIG 13-84 “FEMA’s Initial Response to Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana was Effective and Efficient.”

 

Summary: In the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac there was widespread flood damage in low lying areas, impacting 15 parishes.  As a result, FEMA recommended and the President declared an emergency in 15 parishes and later declared a major disaster, clearing the way for Individual Assistance and Public Assistance in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes. 

 

WE determined FEMA’s overall response to Hurricane Isaac was effective and efficient.  Since FEMA had established facilities and staff in Louisiana, when Hurricane Isaac made landfall, it was well-prepared, faced challenges with innovative solutions, and quickly resolved resource shortfalls.

 

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OIG 13-85 “The State of NY Needs to Sign Mission Assignments More Quickly.”

 

Summary: The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) role during and after a disaster is to work with the state and identify any unmet needs and to coordinate Federal activities to fulfill these needs.  FEMA facilitates Federal response and recovery activities  through the use of mission assignments.  These assignments are a way to task and reimburse other Federal departments and agencies for providing essential assistance pre- and post-disaster.  

 

We determined that more than two-months after Hurricane Sandy, New York had not signed 12 direct Federal Assistance mission assignments totaling $47M.  FEMA could have been responsible for approximately $11.7M if New York did not accept its 25 percent state financial responsibility for mission assigned tasks.  Ultimately, New York signed all the mission assignments; however, these documents should have been signed before OIG inquired as to their status.

 

The recommendation we made was considered closed and implemented at the time of the exit conference.

 

 

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OIG 13-87 “Federal Emergency Management Agency Privacy Stewardship.”

 

Summary: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) collects, uses, maintains, or disseminates significant amounts of personally identifiable information (PII), in order to accomplish its mission.  In collecting such information, FEMA has the responsibility of developing an active culture of privacy in which managers and employees monitor and ensure that appropriate protections are in place.

 

 

We determined FEMA has made progress in implementing plans and activities to instill a culture of privacy; however, it faces a number of challenges in ensuring that PII is protected.  FEMA needs an accurate inventory of its information technology systems. In addition, it needs to complete required privacy compliance analyses and documentation for 430 unauthorized information technology systems.  Although FEMA has implemented a standardized privacy training course, it does not have an effective system to enforce the employee training requirement.

 

We made four recommendations to improve FEMA’s culture of privacy. FEMA concurred with all four.

 

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Thank you,
Office of Public Affairs
Office of Inspector General  
Department of Homeland Security
Phone: 202-254.4100
www.oig.dhs.gov l Twitter: @DHSOIG
Email: dhs-oig.officepublicaffairs@oig.dhs.gov