Press Office: 202-646-4600 U.S. Department of Homeland Security 500 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20472 2008 End-of-Year Highlights 2008 By-the-Numbers* Disasters 75 Major Disaster Declarations 16 Emergency Declarations 51 Fire Management Assistance Grants Individual Assistance $913 million to assist applicants for damaged or destroyed property $216 million to assist individuals with other needs, including disaster unemployment and crisis counseling administered by the states 1.5 million applications handled 700,000 registration calls managed Public Assistance 40,000 projects initiated $1.4 billion obligated to assist local communities in recovery efforts Logistics Midwest Floods (IA, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, WI) 3 million liters of water & 190,000 MREs Hurricane Gustav 11 million liters of water & 13 million emergency meals Hurricane Ike 28 million liters of water & 28 million emergency meals 32 million people provided with life-saving commodities * figures as of Dec. 15, 2008 The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) highlights some of its major activities and accomplishments for 2008, both in support of disasters and behind the scenes. Joint Housing Solutions Group FEMA made strides with the Joint Housing Solutions Group (JHSG) initiative, a multi-year effort to develop a systematic process to evaluate and rate various disaster housing options, identify alternatives to FEMA travel trailers and manufactured homes, and recommend improvements for conducting disaster housing operations. The Joint Housing Solutions Group evaluated proposals and initiated contracts with seven alternative housing manufacturers. Each manufacturer will deliver one prototype unit to FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI), where the units will undergo pilot testing by EMI who have volunteered to live in the units. In addition, the JHSGcontinues to develop and field test the Housing Assessment Tool to facilitate decisions on the selection and use of temporary and alternative housing units. Case Management Services for Disaster Victims Working together with State and Federal partners, FEMA successfully launched a disaster case management pilot program in Mississippi. The Disaster Case Management Plan was implemented to support the continued delivery of case management services to Hurricane Katrina disaster victims and provide additional services to disaster victims currently residing in FEMA-issued temporary housing units. In October, 2007, FEMA entered into an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to develop a Disaster Case Management Pilot Program. ACF is currently piloting their proposed model, in partnership with Catholic Charities USA, in response to Hurricane Gustav. FEMA Helping Children & Families FEMA, working with several partner organizations, has led initiatives in 2008 to better serve children & families before, during and after disasters. Working closely with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, FEMA developed the National Emergency Child Locator Center. During a disaster, the Center operates a phone bank to help law enforcement agencies track children separated from their families as a result of a federally-declared disaster. FEMA has also developed the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System, a Web-based voluntary database that lets individuals displaced after a disaster register their whereabouts online or over the phone. This information can then be viewed by family members specified by the individual. Additionally, the FEMA for Kids program is a two-pronged effort—a two-hour in-school program for 4th graders and the FEMA for Kids website, where children can learn about disasters--what they are, and how to prepare for them: www.fema.gov/kids. Systems and IT Improvement FEMA upgraded its registration intake system to decrease data entry errors and overall processing time. In addition, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike were the first disasters to put our automated fraud controls to the test. Of those tested, nearly 400,000 Gustav and Ike victims who were eligible for Transitional Shelter Assistance passed the identity and occupancy verification process designed to pinpoint fraud. Sheltering FEMA worked closely with our partners to create better ways to identify and catalog shelters within FEMA’s National Shelter System, and serve the sheltering needs of disaster victims. We designed and implemented a multi-agency shelter plan, and piloted the Congregate Care Coordination Unit, which includes sheltering, feeding, distribution of emergency/essential items, reunification services, emotional support and counseling services, information and referral, access to case management, and first aid in Congregate Care facilities. The pilot was highly effective in addressing critical feeding and supply distribution gaps. FEMA Using New and Social Media Beginning in earnest in 2008, FEMA started efforts to integrate social media and new media into its communications and outreach efforts. FEMA started a Twitter page and opened a YouTube channel to help us reach out locally, nationally and globally to new audiences. We are looking to these new tools and approaches to give a voice to our constituents, provide greater access to our services and offer transparency into our organization. We are looking forward to making these and other new tools and technologies a part of how FEMA communicates. FEMA Helps Through the Holidays FEMA employees spend holidays away from their families in order to take care of victims of Hurricanes Gustav & Ike. Watch now. www.fema.gov photo #36909 Pharr,Tx August 22, 2008--A FEMA employee gives out coloring books at a local health fair in Pharr, TX. Photo by Patsy Lynch/FEMA. Photo #37609 www.fema.gov photo #39329