COCHRAN:  FEMA-AMERICORPS PARTNERSHIP DESIGNED
TO BENEFIT DISASTER VICTIMS, YOUNG VOLUNTEERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today commended a new partnership that will result in a stronger contingent of disaster response workers while also giving young volunteers greater opportunities to enter emergency management careers.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the agency that administers the AmeriCorps program, on Tuesday announced a partnership to train and deploy a 1,600-member disaster response corps, or FEMA Corps.  The new unit will be organized within the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

Cochran, who serves on the two Senate appropriations subcommittees that fund FEMA and the CNCS, said the partnership offers benefits on a number of levels—primarily increasing the availability of people trained to aid in disaster and emergency situations.

“The rapid deployment of emergency help is critical in the aftermath of a national or regional disaster.  The partnership outlined by FEMA and the Corporation for National and Community Service should improve the nation’s cadre of workers who will be ready to immediately respond to such situations,” Cochran said.

“I am pleased that this partnership will create a new venue for AmeriCorps participants to develop skills in emergency management, and I am pleased that the NCCC campus in Vicksburg will be one of the first to train these new responders,” he said.

Under the terms of the partnership, the 1,600-member FEMA Corps will be trained and used specifically for disaster preparedness, response and recovery missions.  The NCCC operates one of its five regional training and operations campuses in Vicksburg.  The initial 480 FEMA Corps members are expected to be trained in Vicksburg and at a NCCC campus in Iowa.

Corps members, aged 18-24, will sign 10-month service contracts with a second year extension option.  The first trainees are expected to begin service in September 2012, and the overall program should be fully operational by September 2013.  This unit will enhance FEMA’s existing disaster workforce structure.

To access additional information about the FEMA Corps, as well as the application process, visit: