TO:	All State Administrative Agency Heads All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact All Core City/Core County Points of Contact All State Homeland Security Directors
FROM:	Matt Mayer Acting Executive Director
SUBJECT:	Fiscal Year 2005 Metropolitan Medical Response System Program

On December 2, 2004, the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) Program Guidelines and Application Kit. The FY 2005 HSGP includes the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) program which provides funding to 124 jurisdictions. The MMRS program establishes linkages among emergency responders, medical treatment resources, public health officials, emergency management offices, volunteer organizations, and other local elements to mitigate the effects of a catastrophic incident.

States are reminded that MMRS funds must be expended to support efforts to establish and sustain enhanced local capabilities in MMRS jurisdictions so that they are prepared to respond to any mass casualty incident, including terrorism, disease outbreaks, and natural disasters. The intent of the MMRS program is to enhance these capabilities at the local level so that these jurisdictions can manage the aftermath of an incident until significant external assistance can arrive. MMRS jurisdictions may choose to allocate funding to the state to assist them in developing these capabilities. The MMRS Steering Committee Chair must provide written concurrence for the state to retain funds for these program purposes. Further, the MMRS jurisdictions have discretion to determine what level of funding, if any, they will allow the States to retain. As such, the MMRS jurisdictions are not constrained by the 20 percent cap on State retention of MMRS funds indicated in the program guidance.