OHA Volunteer Scholars Program Reading List

Prior to starting their volunteer period, Volunteer Scholars Program Scholars should familiarize themselves with the mission of the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) as well as related efforts and activities.

This suggested reading list includes resources to assist the Scholar in becoming knowledgeable about Department-wide operations, plans, policies, and procedures.

• White House Homeland Security Strategy 
• Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) 
• National Response Framework | Overview Document (PDF, 68 pages - 990 KB)
• National Response Plan
• National Preparedness Guidelines
• National Planning Scenarios (PDF, 53 pages - 200 KB)
• National Incident Management System (NIMS) | NIMS Document (PDF, 170 pages - 2767 KB)
• Hospital Incident Command System 
• Integrated Planning System (PDF, 93 pages - 372 KB) 
• Hurricane Katrina's Lessons Learned 
• Target Capabilities List (v 2.0) (PDF, 481 pages - 4.34 MB)

Scholars should also become familiar with the basic mission of other Department components and federal agencies, to include:

• U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 
• Federal Emergency Management System (FEMA) 
• Health and Human Services (HHS) 
• HHS/Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) 
• HHS/National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) 
• HHS/Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
• HHS/Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP)
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
• CDC/Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) 
• Department of Defense (DOD) 
• Force Health Protection and Readiness (FHP&R)