National Preparedness Directorate
Fact Sheet
The National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) was established on April 1, 2007, as a result of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to oversee coordination and development strategies necessary to prepare for all-hazards. As part of this mission, NPD provides policy and planning guidance that builds prevention, protection, response, and recovery capabilities. NPD programs leverage training courses, policy development, exercises, and technical assistance to build emergency capabilities. Additionally, NPD is developing methods to assess levels of emergency preparedness within individual jurisdictions and throughout the nation.
In January of 2008, NPD released the National Response Framework (NRF), the successor to the National Response Plan (NRP). The NRF establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response and incorporates many NRP elements and lessons learned. Incorporating input from hundreds of individuals, organizations, and governmental partners, the new NRF provides clear guidance over the integration of community, state, tribal and federal response efforts.
In 2007 NPD took part in several major preparedness initiatives. In October, NPD assisted in the administration of Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4), the fourth exercise in the national series of exercises designated to strengthen the national capacity to combat terrorist attacks. These Congressionally mandated exercises are designed to examine the relationships among federal, state, and local jurisdictions in response to simulated terrorist threats and acts. TOPOFF 4 simulated a coordinated terrorist attack that involved a radiological detonation device or "dirty bomb" released in Guam, Arizona and Oregon.
In December 2007, in an effort to better perform FEMA's mission of preparing the nation for all-hazards, NPD was instrumental in facilitating selections of the newly created Federal Preparedness Coordinators (FPC). FPCs will play an integral role in FEMA's effort to coordinating national preparedness and will be responsible for strengthening, integrating and institutionalizing the regions preparedness efforts to prevent, protect against and recover from threatened or actual disasters. In 2008 FEMA looks forward to announcing the names of the FPCs.
New preparedness initiatives were also undertaken by the following NPD components in 2007:
National Integration Center
The National Integration Center (NIC) outlined the agency-wide organizational plan for improved delivery of training and exercises preparedness programs and began serving as FEMA's coordinating body to the FEMA Regions for preparedness-related missions. Over the next year, the NIC will continue to implement its integration-focused strategy for training, exercises and credentialing.
Emergency Management Institute
The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) developed the Disaster Services Account (DSA) funding tool in 2007 to ensure training activities better reflected the EMI mission and operational priorities by prioritizing requested training activities, including deliveries, developments, updates and associated activities. This initiative closely ties the DSA training activity at EMI to the FEMA nine Core Missions and four additional justification criteria. This tool is used on an annual basis to plan, prioritize and fund $6 million in training requirements at EMI in support of disasters. Next year's Training Plan has been entered and processed through this tool. EMI will continue to improve the capabilities of federal, tribal, state and local disaster workforce through all-hazards' training and exercises in support of National Incident Management System (NIMS), National Preparedness Guidelines and NRF.
Center for Domestic Preparedness
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) trained more than 65,800 state and local emergency responders through resident, non-resident, and indirect training programs that focused on advanced hands-on, all-hazards training in 2007. CDP plans to continue the preparation of the state, local, federal, international and the private sector first responder community for dealing with all-hazards and weapons of mass destruction threats to communities, people, resources and capacities through training, education, technical assistance and general support activities.
Training and Exercise Integration
The Training and Exercise Integration (TEI/TO) trained more than 189,000 first responders in preparing the nation to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from incidents of terrorism and catastrophic events. In addition, nearly 218,000 state and local homeland security preparedness professionals received access to all-hazards awareness information via satellite broadcasts. TEI/TO also distributed $213.1 million in grant money under two programs that strengthen the coordinated training efforts of homeland security preparedness, the Homeland Security National Training Program (HSNTP) and the Competitive Training Grant Program (CTGP).
The grant money is used to develop and deliver innovative training programs that address high priority homeland security training needs. Training is designed for and delivered to appropriate state and local personnel in emergency management, public health, clinical care, public works, public safety, the private sector, nonprofits, faith-based, and community organizations. In 2008, TEI/TO, through the management of the HSNTP and CTGP programs, projects a five percent increase in the number of first responders trained.
Incident Management Systems Integration
On September 10, 2007, the Incident Management Systems Integration (IMSI) released the draft version of the NRF for national review. Since then, more than 5000 comments were received from emergency management stakeholders all across the nation and forty-six percent of all comments were either accepted entirely or in part. The final document was approved by Secretary Chertoff and by the President and made public in January 2008.
In 2008, IMSI looks forward to successfully implementing the NRF education, training and exercise outreach plan. This plan will lead to the training of key personnel that carry out response roles related to NRF and NIMS. Furthermore, in 2008, IMSI will aggressively work with federal components; tribal, state, and territorial governments; the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations on the NRF to establish a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response.
National Exercise Division
In 2007, the National Exercise Division (NED) successfully introduced and implemented the National Exercise Program (NEP) designed to improve the delivery and organization involved with planning for, developing and executing preparedness-related exercises for the federal government. NED will continue implementing and inculcating the culture of the NEP across federal agencies, as well as with state and local exercise constituents.
Technical Hazards Division
In 2007, Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP) conducted and evaluated 76 Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) exercises, medical drills, out-of-sequence drills and remedial drills. These exercises and drills served to test the radiological emergency response plans and preparedness for the offsite response organizations surrounding nuclear power facilities. REPP also conducted 11 technical reviews of proposed REP Alert and Notification System modifications and granted approval for forthcoming modifications. In 2008, each site will continue to be required to have a system in place, within the 10 miles surrounding a facility, to alert the members of the public and notify them of an incident.
Community Preparedness Division
The Community Preparedness Division (CPD) was successful in 2007 in its efforts to build preparedness at the community level by coordinating and encouraging citizen participation in preparedness activities. Working through the Citizen Corps program, in 2008, CPD will continue to bring community and government leaders together to increase all-hazards emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recovery efforts across this nation.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Friday, 13-Feb-2009 10:04:14 EST