Zeste C. Debro, Chairman
2012-2013
***Webinar Announcement***
Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) on Campuses
Wednesday, May 8
3:00 p.m. EDT
Join us at 3:00 p.m. EDT on May 8 for a discussion of Campus CERT and its role in emergency preparedness.
FEMA recognizes the unique needs of college and university campuses and is developing tools and resources to help institutions of higher education implement and sustain Campus CERT programs which will help them prepare their campus before, during and after a major disaster or emergency.
Guest speakers from the University of Southern California, Michigan State University and North Carolina Central University will share their experiences and lessons learned with Campus CERT and outline the value-added benefits the program provides their campus community.
Did you know over 2,000 local jurisdictions and dozens of college and university campuses across the country have used the CERT model to prepare their communities for disasters? You’ll learn exactly what CERT is and what it is not. More importantly, you’ll find out how CERT training can improve the security of your student population and the whole community.
Registration will open next week. Please follow us on Twitter @Citizen_Corps and get next week’s e-Brief to sign up for the webinar!
Now Available: Financial Preparedness for Disasters Webinar Recording
The webinar features welcoming comments from Timothy Manning, Deputy Administrator of Protection and Preparedness at FEMA. During the event, partner organizations highlighted the often overlooked aspect of disaster preparedness – finances. Our partners shared valuable information on:
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Programs designed to protect and empower consumers;
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Advice on who to contact and what to do regarding finances before, during and after disasters and emergencies; and
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Tribal Input Needed For Emergency Declaration Process
As part of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, a new provision amended the Stafford Act to provide federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native governments the option to make a request directly to the President for a federal emergency or major disaster declaration.
We would like to further discuss three currently trending topics in a National Tribal Consultation conference call on Thursday, April 18 at 3:00 p.m. EDT.The three trending topics include:
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The Public Assistance threshold;
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Individual Assistance declaration criteria; and
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Cost Share adjustment for Indian Tribal governments.
Please join us in a National Tribal Consultation conference call to provide your comments on Thursday, April 18 at 3:00 p.m. EDT by dialing 888-708-5699Pin1601121.
A Better Chance for a Brighter Future
Final Call for Youth Preparedness Council Nominations
FEMA is collecting applications for the Youth Preparedness Council (YPC) and there are only four days left to apply or nominate someone – so hurry and submit your application today!
Youth can apply on their own or individuals who are familiar with their preparedness activities can nominate them. Applicants/nominees must be between 12 and 17 years old. The deadline for applications and nominations is April 19, 2013. For more information about the YPC application and FAQs, please visit http://www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness.
Dates for Your Calendar!
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HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS
Preparing Makes Sense. Get Ready Now.
The Sons of The American Legion - Detachment of Georgia have joined forces with The American Legion to actively communicate the important message of "Preparing Makes Sense." Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge comments that "Terrorism forces us to make a choice. We can be afraid. Or, we can be ready." The Detachment of Georgia - Sons of The American Legion encourages every citizen to get prepared.
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1. Make an Emergency Supply Kit
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All citizens should assemble an emergency supply kit for immediate accessibility in the event of disaster. At least one gallon of water per person per day, as well as kits of canned and dried foods. Be prepared for cold weather and climate with warm clothes and a sleeping bag for each member of the family. Many potential terrorist attacks could send tiny microscopic "junk" into the air and many of these materials can harm - so think about creating a barrier between the contamination and the home. It's smart to have something for each member of the family that covers the mouth and nose - and don't forget the needs of your pets.
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2. Make a Family Communications Plan
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Develop a Family Communications Plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes so plan how you will contact one another and review what you will do in different situations. Consider a plan where each family member calls, or e-mails the same friend or relative in the event of an emergency. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-state contact may be a matter of survival.
Create a Plan to Shelter-in Place. There are circumstances where staying put and creating a barrier between yourself and potentially contaminated air outside, a process knows as "shelter-in-place" can be a matter of survival. Choose an interior room or one with as few windows and doors as possible. Consider precutting plastic sheeting to seal windows, doors and air vents.
Create a Plan to Get Away. Plan in advance how you will assemble your family and anticipate where you will go. Choose several destinations in different directions so you have options in an emergency. Become familiar with alternate routes as well as other means of transportation out of your area. If you do not have a car, plan how to get away. Take your emergency supply kit with you. If you believe the air could be contaminated, drive with the windows and vents closed and keep the air conditioning and heater turned off. Listen to the radio for instructions.
Plans at School and Work. Think about the places where your family spends time: school, work and other places your family frequents. Talk to your children's schools and your employer about emergency plans. Find out how they will communicate with families during and emergency. A community working together during an emergency also makes sense. Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together!
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3. Be Informed
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Some of the things you can do is to develop an emergency kit and develop a family communications plan...but it's also important to be aware of potential terrorist threats, such as biological, chemical, explosive, nuclear and radiological, that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take.
Call: 1-800-BE-READY (1-800-237-3239) for a free brochure or go to www.ready.gov to learn about potential terrorist threats.
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4. Remain Calm
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Be prepared to adapt this information to your personal environment. It's important to follow instructions received from authorities on the scene. Above all, stay calm, be patient and think before you act. With these simple preparations, you can be ready for the unexpected. Get ready now.
FEMA's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) National Program Office is pleased to announce the release of updated materials for the CERT Basic Training course.
What are the changes? The updated course is the same effective training as before, with the units and topics organized in the same way. However, edits were made throughout all of the course materials including the Participant Manual, Instructor Guide, and the PowerPoint files. These changes are intended to assure that protocols are up-to-date and that the content is as clear as possible for those taking the training. Since there are many edits throughout the training, CERT instructors are encouraged to review all of the updated materials.
Who made the changes? To update the Basic Training, FEMA worked with a panel of 12 experienced CERT trainers from across the country, followed by a review by local CERT programs designated by the CERT or CERT/Citizen Corps coordinator in each state. FEMA senior leadership and FEMA’s technical review team also reviewed and commented on the updated material. We are grateful for the time and effort from state and local programs that went into this update!
Where can I find the new material? The course files are now available on the national CERT website. Please visit www.citizencorps.gov/cert and click on "Training Materials" to access documents in PDF or Word. On the website you will also find the updated Participant Manual in low vision format. If your local CERT program will need the Participant Manual in Braille, please contact your State Program Manager. State Program Managers can email the CERT National Office with numbers on a state by state basis.
Please note that the updated Instructor Guide references a series of videos that CERT trainers may want to use when they conduct the Basic Training course. These videos are available on the website by clicking on "Video Material" on the home page.
What comes next? Later this year, the CERT National Office will be posting a new CERT Train-the-Trainer course and the new CERT Program Manager course.
Thank you for your continued interest in and support of CERT, and for all you do in preparing for and responding to disasters in your community!
Sincerely,
CERT National Program Office
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division
CERT programs across the nation support post-disaster response and help ensure that CERT efforts are as safe and effective as possible. CERT advocates have understood that program activities can create risk and adverse consequences; however, perceptions about liability may become a larger barrier to CERT formation, activities and partnerships than is justified by reality. The purpose of this Guide is to offer information and suggested techniques to help local CERT programs overcome this barrier. The audience includes local programs, their sponsoring government agencies and legal advisors, and CERT members themselves.
The new CERT Liability Guide presents the benefits of risk management for CERT programs, including building confidence and a positive public image for the program, reducing the cost of insurance and avoiding other costs, helping to preserve a local program’s investment in its members, and increasing overall participation in CERT.
The Guide also presents five steps to effective risk management for local CERT programs: 1) Securing leadership support; 2) Collecting information to identify liability exposure; 3) Identifying and analyzing risks; 4) Adopting strategies to manage risk; and, 5) Adopting standard practices for ongoing risk management. Specific activities and considerations are described under each of the five steps.
Local CERT programs that consistently follow the process described in the new Guide can benefit themselves, their sponsors, their members, and the community. Please download and review the CERT Liability Guide. And please let CERT practitioners and advocates around the country know your thoughts about the new Guide or any aspect of CERT at the CERT Online Forum. Share your ideas, suggestions and comments at http://community.fema.gov. Thank you!
Sincerely,
National CERT Program
Federal Emergency Management Agency
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As a subscriber to emails from the Department of Homeland Security website, we wanted to let you know the website has undergone a redesign. You’re invited to take a look at a preview site and offer feedback before we officially launch the new site within the next two weeks and retire the old one.
Feedback from our users and best practices in user-centered design guided the changes we made to improve our website. Your feedback of our work will be extremely valuable as we strive to make continuous improvements to our next generation website.
Take a Tour and Give us Your Feedback
- Visit new Topics pages, with their own Resource Directories to relevant information.
- Use How Do I? sections to quickly find answers to commonly-asked questions
- Learn how to Get Involved with agency activities for the public
- Go to the About DHS section to learn about DHS’ budget, organization, careers and history
- See our new multimedia page and photos of DHS at work in the News section.
Please note we also plan to adopt an improved search engine at launch. So the onsite search function does not work yet on the preview site. If you use the search box, your search results will return you to the “old” DHS website..
About our Website Redesign
The goals of the redesign are to simplify and unify our website content and create a more consistent look and feel throughout the site
At the next generation DHS website, we are aiming to:
- Provide valuable information
- Help you find what you need with better navigation and improved content
- Make it easier for visitors to engage with DHS
Thanks in advance for helping us evaluate if we met our goals. We hope you enjoy browsing the new website.
TAKE ACTION
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Welcome to National Preparedness Month!
On Friday, August 31, President Obama signed a proclamation designating September as National Preparedness Month (NPM). NPM is led by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership withCitizen Corps and The Ad Council. The campaign is a nationwide effort encouraging individuals, families, businesses and communities to work together and take action to prepare for emergencies. In partnership with federal, state, local and private sector organizations, NPM is a time to elevate the importance of preparedness and to encourage individuals, communities and businesses to take the steps to protect themselves and those they care about during hazardous events.
The 2012 theme– Pledge to Prepare – asks individuals, families and organizations to make a commitment and to take an action to prepare.
Start today by:
National Preparedness Month is supported by a coalition of public, private and non-profit organizations working to help spread the preparedness message. The National Preparedness Coalition is the nation’s largest public online forum organized to improve our nation’s resilience against all-hazards. It is comprised of individuals engaged in preparedness – and those who want to be engaged in preparedness – who are committed to strengthening, sustaining and enhancing the resilience of their communities. To become an NPM Coalition Member and find preparedness events that may be taking place near you, visit: http://community.fema.gov. Get started today!
Be Ready Using Disaster Preparedness Apps, Texts and Technology!
Today’s technology makes it even easier to stay prepared before, during and after a disaster or emergency event. Download these apps and resources today to ensure you stay prepared during the next emergency or disaster event!
Preparedness Planning and Taking Action
Being informed of your local hazards and how to respond to them is the first step in becoming more prepared. Making a plan, building a kit and getting involved are further actions to take to strengthen your family’s resilience to any disaster or emergency event.
Be Informed: Learn about potential emergencies which may occur in your local community and the ways to respond to each. Do you live near a flood plain, an earthquake fault line or in a high fire danger area? Does your neighborhood or community have a disaster plan? Being aware of your area’s disaster risk and how to prepare and respond to it will increase your likelihood of staying safe.
Build a Kit: Review information about basic emergency kits and how to personalize them with required medications, an emergency medical contact card, first aid supplies, extra food, water, etc. A checklist for items to consider as part of this basic kit is also available.
Remember, preparedness is a shared responsibility and Ready.gov has activities for everyone! Do your part to make your family and community safer and more resilient.
Our Nation’s Youth and the Impact they have on Preparedness
Children comprise approximately 25 percent of our nation’s population and are the future of our communities. They play an important role in disaster preparedness and each have the unique ability to help their communities be safer, stronger and more resilient before, during and after a disaster or emergency event. As such, we all have a vested interest in engaging and empowering youth to become active participants in individual, family and community preparedness. Research states that:
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Youth who are trained in preparedness are more resilient in actual disasters.
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Youth are highly effective messengers for reaching and influencing parents and other adults.
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Youth who are engaged today will ensure a future generation of prepared adults.
Youth preparedness is a priority at FEMA and is why the agency recently introduced the first ever Youth Preparedness Council. This select group of youth leaders from across the country will lend their voices, opinions, experiences, ideas and solutions to help strengthen the nation’s resiliency for all types of disasters. Bring youth preparedness to the forefront of your community byimplementing a youth preparedness program. Much like FEMA, the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) recognizes the importance of engaging youth in preparedness and for the past two summers has held a summer camp for youth focusing on Teen CERT training, youth emergency preparedness, leadership and action planning. What is your area doing with youth preparedness? Share your story and/or ideas on the NPM Coalition Website today!
