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DHS Awards Preparedness Grants, Releases National Emergency Communications Plan

By Kunal Rambhia, August 4, 2008

On July 25, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the award of $1.8 billion in grants “to bolster state, urban area and tribal government efforts to improve the nation’s readiness, response and recovery capabilities for both natural and man-made emergencies.” This award accounts for a portion of the approximately $3 billion in grants to be awarded in FY2008, and is part of $25 billion in grants awarded since FY2002.¹

Of the $1.8 billion, a total of $1.69 billion is to be divided among the State Homeland Security Program, the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS), and the Citizen Corps Program. Smaller amounts were awarded for tribal, regional, nonprofit, and border security efforts.

In related news, DHS released its National Emergency Communications Plan on July 31, 2008. DHS recognizes that in an emergency, response personnel must be able to communicate with one another in real-time and maintain situational awareness, and that there remain “communications deficiencies” that need to be addressed. Therefore, this communications plan was developed “to promote the ability of emergency response providers and relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters to ensure, accelerate, and attain interoperable emergency communications nationwide.”²

The plan focuses on elements such as technology, coordination, governance, planning, training, and exercises at all levels of government.² According to DHS, the desired future state is based on the ability of emergency responders to communicate “as needed, on demand, and as authorized at all levels of government across all disciplines.”²

The plan offers target goals for 2010, 2011, and 2013 to measure progress:

• By 2010, 90 percent of all high-risk urban areas designated within UASI are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies;
• By 2011, 75 percent of non-UASI jurisdictions are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies; and
• By 2013, 75 percent of all jurisdictions are able to demonstrate response-level emergency communications within three hours, in the event of a significant incident as outlined in national planning scenarios.²

To attain these goals, the document offers 7 specific objectives for improving emergency communications:

1. Formal decision making structures and clearly defined leadership roles coordinate emergency communications capabilities;
2. Federal emergency communications programs and initiatives are collaborative across agencies and aligned to achieve national goals;
3. Emergency responders employ common planning and operational protocols to effectively use their resources and personnel;
4. Emerging technologies are integrated with current emergency communications capabilities through standards implementation, research and development, and testing and evaluation;
5. Emergency responders have shared approaches to training and exercises, improved technical expertise, and enhanced response capabilities;
6. All levels of government drive long-term advancements in emergency communications through integrated strategic planning procedures, appropriate resource allocations, and public-private partnerships; and
7. The nation has integrated preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery capabilities to communicate during significant events.²

 
The document describes the current capabilities and gaps, as well as initiatives to address gaps for each of the seven objectives. It also includes recommended milestones for specific initiatives to guide and measure progress.

References

1. DHS awards $1.8 billion in preparedness grants [news release]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security; July 25, 2008. http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1216997045027.shtm. Accessed July 31, 2008.
2. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. National Emergency Communications Plan. July 31, 2008. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/national_emergency_communications_plan.pdf. Accessed August 1, 2008.