U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20472 FEMA Information Bulletin No. 267, October 15, 2007 TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact All State Homeland Security Directors All Homeland Security Advisors All Urban Area Points of Contact FROM: Dennis R. Schrader Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness Directorate SUBJECT: State Preparedness Report (SPR) The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is releasing a draft of the State Preparedness Report (SPR) Guidance today. The SPR Guidance, as well as supporting documents, can be accessed on the FEMA Secure Portal at https://odp.esportals.com/login.cfm (Instructions for accessing the FEMA Secure Portal are at the bottom of this Information Bulletin). The final SPR Guidance will be released following a Federal approval process. State Preparedness Report Overview The SPR is an important step in moving grant processes, programs, and planning from a focus on loosely affiliated equipment, training, exercises and technical assistance projects to one that delivers integrated prevention, protection, response, and recovery capacity. This year, FEMA has consolidated previous reporting requirements (Enhancement Plan, Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) Evaluation Report, and the Nationwide Plans Review) into a single document: The 2008 State Preparedness Report. In order to further streamline reporting, FEMA intends to integrate the SPR into the HSGP product suite. However, due to the current Continuing Resolution, FEMA chose to decouple the 2008 SPR from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 HSGP and release a draft version of the guidance to all States/Territories to identify report requirements and begin developing the reports. FEMA collected feedback from over 130 State and local homeland security officials representing 42 States to develop SPR Guidance to ensure it meets the needs of States and Territories and satisfies the congressional requirement. State Preparedness Report Enhancement Plan Nationwide Plans Review (Phase 1) HSGP Program Evaluation Report To aid in the development of the report, FEMA is providing an illustrative mock-up, a template, a DVD tutorial, processed data previously submitted by States and Territories, and a living Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on the Secure Portal. In addition, FEMA plans to provide one on-site technical assistance (TA) session within each FEMA Region. Each TA session will provide in-person instruction on developing the report, as well as an opportunity to share best practices and discuss questions with FEMA preparedness representatives. The regional TA sessions, in addition to the guidance and other supporting products, are designed to assist States and Territories in completing the reports prior to the congressionally-mandated due date, January 4, 2008. FEMA is requesting that each State and Territory send up to three or four representatives to the TA sessions. The representatives should be those directly authorized and assigned to coordinate and develop the SPR. The ten regional TA sessions are tentatively scheduled for early- to mid-November and the dates for each session will be announced in the very near future. In order to help us gauge interest, please contact Ghazal Tehrani at ghazal.tehrani@associates.hq.dhs.gov within three (3) business days if your State or Territory is interested in attending a regional TA session. Please be sure to also carbon copy (cc) the FEMA Preparedness Officer. SAAs must upload the final version of the SPR to the FEMA Secure Portal no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on January 4, 2008. Please note that States and Territories should not wait for the TA session or the final version of the guidance to begin developing their report. Accessing the FEMA Secure Portal The draft SPR Guidance and other guidance materials have been posted on the FEMA Secure Portal (https://odp.esportals.com/login.cfm). In order to gain access to the FEMA Secure Portal, a user must have an active Secure Portal account. If the user currently has a FEMA Secure Portal account, the SPR materials can be accessed by following the steps below: • Access the Secure Portal login page at https://odp.esportals.com/login.cfm • Enter current user name and password. • Using the “Compartment” drop down box at the top left of the screen; choose the “State Preparedness” compartment. If the user has forgotten the user name or password or are unable to access the FEMA Secure Portal, please contact the FEMA Portal help desk at 804-744-8800. Those without accounts should expect to receive an invitation from the FEMA Secure Portal with registration details. Once the registration process is complete the account will be approved and the user will be able to log on to the system. If an office would like to designate someone to access the SPR information on the Secure Portal, please e-mail the name and contact information (including e-mail address) to Stephen Farole at stephen.farole@associates.dhs.gov. Upon receipt of that e-mail, the identified individual(s) will be sent an invitation to register. Once the registration process is complete the account will be approved and the user will be able to log on to the system. Questions and Contact Information If you have any questions, please contact Brady O’Hanlon at Brady.Ohanlon@dhs.gov or the FEMA Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk at askcsid@dhs.gov.