Emergency Management
Preliminary Observations on FEMA's Community Preparedness Programs Related to the National Preparedness System
Gao ID: GAO-10-105T October 1, 2009
By preparing their families and property before an event, individuals can reduce a disaster's impact on them and their need for first responder assistance, particularly in the first 72 hours following a disaster. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is to develop a national preparedness system (NPS)--FEMA includes community preparedness programs as part of the NPS. FEMA's budget to operate these programs made up less than one half of 1 percent of its $7.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2009. These programs include the Citizen Corps program and its partner programs, such as Fire Corps, and rely on volunteers to coordinate efforts and assist first responders in local communities. DHS's Ready Campaign promotes preparedness through mass media. This testimony provides preliminary observations on (1) challenges FEMA faces in measuring the performance of Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign and (2) actions FEMA has taken to develop a strategy to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign operate within the context of the NPS. This testimony is based on work conducted from February 2008 to October 2009. GAO analyzed documents, such as FEMA's strategic plan, and compared reported performance data with observations from 12 site visits, selected primarily based on the frequency of natural disasters. The results are not projectable, but provide local insights.
FEMA faces challenges measuring performance for Citizen Corps, partner programs, and the Ready Campaign because it does not have a process to verify that data for its principal performance measure--the registered number of established volunteer organizations across the country--are accurate and the Ready Campaign is not positioned to control the distribution of its message or measure whether its message is changing individuals' behavior. FEMA faces challenges ensuring that the information needed to measure the number of established, active volunteer units is accurate. For example, officials representing 17 councils GAO contacted during its site visits stated that 12 were active and 5 were not. FEMA officials said that the new online registration process FEMA plans to adopt in 2010 will result in some programs being removed from FEMA's registries. They said that FEMA expects to use the new process to collect more comprehensive data on membership and council activities. FEMA counts requests for literature, Web site hits, and the number of television or radio announcements made to gauge performance for the Ready Campaign, but FEMA does not control when its message is viewed because it relies on donated media, such as air time for television and radio announcements. Because changes in behavior can result from a variety of factors, including other campaigns, it is difficult to measure the campaign's effect on changes in individuals' behavior. FEMA's challenges measuring the performance of community preparedness programs is compounded by the fact that it has not developed a strategy to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign are to operate within the context of the NPS. In April 2009, GAO reported that FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate (NPD), which is responsible for community preparedness, had not developed a strategic plan. GAO reported that instead of a strategic plan, NPD officials stated that they used a draft annual operating plan and Post-Katrina Act provisions to guide NPD's efforts. However, the plan's objectives do not include key elements of a strategy, such as how NPD will measure its progress meeting goals and objectives or the potential costs and types of resources and investments needed. GAO recommended that NPD develop a strategic plan to implement the NPS that contains these key elements. FEMA concurred with GAO's recommendation and told GAO that it is taking actions to strengthen strategic planning. FEMA officials stated that they are reviewing implementation plans and policy documents, such as the National Preparedness Guidelines, and that community preparedness is a key element being considered in this process. FEMA has not set a date for completion of the National Preparedness System strategy, and the extent to which Citizen Corps, its partner programs, or the Ready Campaign will be included in the final strategy is not clear. GAO will continue to assess FEMA's efforts related to community preparedness programs as part of its ongoing work. FEMA provided technical comments on a draft of this testimony, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.
GAO-10-105T, Emergency Management: Preliminary Observations on FEMA's Community Preparedness Programs Related to the National Preparedness System
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[Note: This document was revised on December 16, 2009. Subsequent to
its issuance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identified
limitations in the national sample FEMA used to develop estimates for
its 2009 Citizen Corps National Survey. As a result, survey estimates
cited in the original testimony may not represent the national
population. FEMA‘s estimates were subsequently replaced with data from
FEMA‘s 2007 Citizen Corps National Survey. GAO also mischaracterized
the results of FEMA‘s 2009 survey with regard to survey respondents‘
possession of disaster supplies and has changed the text to correct
this error.]
Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and
Response, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery:
Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT:
Thursday, October 1, 2009:
Emergency Management:
Preliminary Observations on FEMA's Community Preparedness Programs
Related to the National Preparedness System:
Statement of William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director:
Homeland Security and Justice Issues:
GAO-10-105T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-10-105T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, Committee on
Homeland Security, House of Representatives.
Why GAO Did This Study:
By preparing their families and property before an event, individuals
can reduce a disaster‘s impact on them and their need for first
responder assistance, particularly in the first 72 hours following a
disaster. By law, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is to develop a
national preparedness system (NPS)”FEMA includes community preparedness
programs as part of the NPS. FEMA‘s budget to operate these programs
made up less than one half of 1 percent of its $7.9 billion budget for
fiscal year 2009. These programs include the Citizen Corps program and
its partner programs, such as Fire Corps, and rely on volunteers to
coordinate efforts and assist first responders in local communities.
DHS‘s Ready Campaign promotes preparedness through mass media. This
testimony provides preliminary observations on (1) challenges FEMA
faces in measuring the performance of Citizen Corps, its partner
programs, and the Ready Campaign and (2) actions FEMA has taken to
develop a strategy to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner
programs, and the Ready Campaign operate within the context of the NPS.
This testimony is based on work conducted from February 2008 to October
2009. GAO analyzed documents, such as FEMA‘s strategic plan, and
compared reported performance data with observations from 12 site
visits, selected primarily based on the frequency of natural disasters.
The results are not projectable, but provide local insights.
What GAO Found:
FEMA faces challenges measuring performance for Citizen Corps, partner
programs, and the Ready Campaign because it does not have a process to
verify that data for its principal performance measure”the registered
number of established volunteer organizations across the country”are
accurate and the Ready Campaign is not positioned to control the
distribution of its message or measure whether its message is changing
individuals‘ behavior. FEMA faces challenges ensuring that the
information needed to measure the number of established, active
volunteer units is accurate. For example, officials representing 17
councils GAO contacted during its site visits stated that 12 were
active and 5 were not. FEMA officials said that the new online
registration process FEMA plans to adopt in 2010 will result in some
programs being removed from FEMA‘s registries. They said that FEMA
expects to use the new process to collect more comprehensive data on
membership and council activities. FEMA counts requests for literature,
Web site hits, and the number of television or radio announcements made
to gauge performance for the Ready Campaign, but FEMA does not control
when its message is viewed because it relies on donated media, such as
air time for television and radio announcements. Because changes in
behavior can result from a variety of factors, including other
campaigns, it is difficult to measure the campaign‘s effect on changes
in individuals‘ behavior.
FEMA‘s challenges measuring the performance of community preparedness
programs is compounded by the fact that it has not developed a strategy
to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready
Campaign are to operate within the context of the NPS. In April 2009,
GAO reported that FEMA‘s National Preparedness Directorate (NPD), which
is responsible for community preparedness, had not developed a
strategic plan. GAO reported that instead of a strategic plan, NPD
officials stated that they used a draft annual operating plan and Post-
Katrina Act provisions to guide NPD‘s efforts. However, the plan‘s
objectives do not include key elements of a strategy, such as how NPD
will measure its progress meeting goals and objectives or the potential
costs and types of resources and investments needed. GAO recommended
that NPD develop a strategic plan to implement the NPS that contains
these key elements. FEMA concurred with GAO‘s recommendation and told
GAO that it is taking actions to strengthen strategic planning. FEMA
officials stated that they are reviewing implementation plans and
policy documents, such as the National Preparedness Guidelines, and
that community preparedness is a key element being considered in this
process. FEMA has not set a date for completion of the National
Preparedness System strategy, and the extent to which Citizen Corps,
its partner programs, or the Ready Campaign will be included in the
final strategy is not clear. GAO will continue to assess FEMA‘s efforts
related to community preparedness programs as part of its ongoing work.
FEMA provided technical comments on a draft of this testimony, which
GAO incorporated as appropriate.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-105T] or key
components. For more information, contact William O. Jenkins, Jr., at
(202) 512-8777 or jenkinswo@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in today's hearing to
discuss federal efforts to encourage community involvement in preparing
for all-hazard emergencies.[Footnote 1] The public plays an important
role in national emergency preparedness. By preparing their families
and property before an event, individuals can often reduce a disaster's
impact on them and their need for first responder assistance,
particularly in the first 72 hours following a disaster. For example,
having at least a 72 hour supply of food and drinking water on hand can
both sustain the individual and family in a disaster's aftermath and
reduce the immediate demands for food and water delivered by first
responders whose priority may be search and rescue. They can also
potentially support first responders as trained volunteers, since the
average person will likely be the first on the scene of a disaster.
However, research shows that Americans could be better prepared for
disasters, particularly based on two key indicators--the degree to
which people report having disaster supplies set aside and have a
household emergency plan. According to the Citizen Corps national
survey for 2007, about half (53 percent) of U.S. households had
disaster supplies in their homes, and 42 percent reported having a
household emergency plan.[Footnote 2] More than half (57 percent) of
the 2007 survey respondents said that they expected to rely on
emergency responders in the first 72 hours following a disaster. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator and leaders in
the emergency management community are encouraging citizens to take
actions to become more involved in preparing themselves and their
communities, not only to mitigate the effects of a disaster, but to
decrease their reliance on the federal government for goods and
services during a catastrophic event and allow governments at all
levels to target resources where they are most needed.
FEMA encourages public preparedness through the Community Preparedness
Division's Citizen Corps program, which is designed to bring together
government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards
emergency preparedness and resilience, and the Ready Campaign, which
makes literature and mass media content available to spread the
preparedness message to individuals, families, and businesses.
[Footnote 3] Citizen Corps is designed to promote the collaboration
between local government and community leaders via local Citizen Corps
councils. Individual councils are to promote preparedness activities
and to encourage volunteering with federally sponsored programs that
support first responders, referred to as Citizen Corps partner
programs. Citizen Corps promotes five partner programs, two of which
are supported by FEMA--the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and
Fire Corps.[Footnote 4] The operating budgets for community
preparedness programs currently represent less than one-half of 1
percent of FEMA's total budget. In fiscal year 2009, FEMA's overall
budget was about $7.9 billion, of which about $5.8 million was
dedicated to operating community preparedness programs and $2.1 million
was for the Ready Campaign.
FEMA's national program office officials encourage state, local,
regional and tribal governments and private and nonprofit community-
based organizations to establish and sustain local Citizen Corps
councils and partner programs, partly through federal funding for local
efforts. Local Citizen Corps councils, CERTs, and Fire Corps all are
considered "grass roots" organizations that use volunteers to operate
programs in their respective communities. Citizen Corps councils and
CERT programs are registered via the Internet and are potentially
eligible to apply for federal grant funding through the state to
support their program.[Footnote 5] According to Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) data, approximately $269 million in FEMA homeland
security grants (including grants for Citizen Corps councils, CERT, and
Fire Corps) were awarded for community preparedness projects from
fiscal years 2004 through 2008. In fiscal year 2008, funding for
community preparedness grants represented about 1.9 percent of the
total FEMA grant funding. Specifically, in fiscal year 2008,
approximately $56 million went to community preparedness projects, out
of more than $3 billion awarded in DHS grants to strengthen prevention,
protection, response, and recovery capabilities at all levels of
government. Appendix I provides additional information on DHS grants
awarded for community preparedness purposes from fiscal year 2004
through fiscal year 2008.
In April 2009 we issued a report that discussed, among other things,
the national preparedness system--a continuous cycle of (1)
establishing policy and doctrine, (2) planning and allocating
resources, (3) conducting training and exercises to gather lessons
learned, and (4) assessing and reporting on the training and exercises
to evaluate preparedness, including identifying any gaps in
capabilities.[Footnote 6] Assessments and reports resulting from the
national preparedness system are to be used to inform decision makers
on what improvements are needed and how to target finite resources to
improve preparedness for disasters.[Footnote 7] Our report recognized
that developing and integrating the elements of the national
preparedness system is a challenge for FEMA, and more specifically the
National Preparedness Directorate (NPD), the FEMA component responsible
for carrying out the key elements of the national preparedness system,
in coordination with other federal, state, local, tribal, nonprofit,
and private sector organizations. We reported that the size and
complexity of the nation's preparedness activities and the number of
organizations involved--both public and private--pose a significant
challenge to FEMA as it leads the nation's efforts to develop and
sustain a national preparedness system. We further stated that, to
develop an effective system, FEMA is to coordinate and partner with a
broad range of stakeholders. As part of the nation's preparedness
system, the status of citizen and community preparedness can affect the
demands on first responders in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
As requested, today I will discuss our preliminary observations on (1)
what challenges, if any, FEMA faces in measuring the performance of
Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign and (2)
what actions, if any, FEMA has taken to develop a strategy to encompass
how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready Campaign are to
operate within the context of the national preparedness system. My
comments are based on our ongoing review of Citizen Corps, its partner
programs, and the Ready Campaign requested by the Chairman of the
Committee on Homeland Security, the Chairwoman of its Subcommittee on
Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, and the Chairman
of this Subcommittee. The final results of this review will be issued
in a report later this year.
To address our objectives, we reviewed documentation, such as FEMA's
strategic plan for 2008-2013, and interviewed officials at DHS's
headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at 12 selected locations in five
states--California, Florida, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas. We selected
these states based on the frequency of declared natural disasters. In
total, we conducted 41 interviews covering 53 organizations in the five
states.[Footnote 8] The results from our interviews are not
generalizable; however, they provide insights into the operations of
local Citizen Corps and partner programs as well as their efforts to
use Ready Campaign material to promote individual preparedness. We also
analyzed FEMA's strategic plan and NPD's 2009 Operating Plan and
compared these documents with criteria in our past work that discusses
the six characteristics of an effective national strategy.[Footnote 9]
In addition we reviewed and analyzed data on the number of registered
Citizen Corps and its partner programs to determine how FEMA measures
the performance of its programs and compared FEMA's data with the
results of our work in the five states with criteria discussing best
practices for performance measurement.[Footnote 10] Furthermore, we
obtained and analyzed data on homeland security grants awarded from
fiscal years 2004 through 2008. To determine the reliability of DHS
grant data and data on the activities of FEMA Citizen Corps and partner
programs, we interviewed DHS officials about their procedures for
ensuring the accuracy of performance data and compared DHS's processes
for compiling data on local community preparedness units with our past
work on agency performance measurement. With regard to the Ready
Campaign's tracking survey and data on donated media, we reviewed
documents and interviewed Ready Campaign officials and Ad Council
officials to discuss their process for ensuring data accuracy. We
determined that these data were reliable for the purposes of this
review.
We are conducting this performance audit from February 2008 through
October 2009 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
In summary, FEMA faces challenges measuring performance for Citizen
Corps, partner programs, and the Ready Campaign because (1) it relies
on states to verify that data for its principal performance measure--
the registered number of established volunteer organizations across the
country--are accurate and does not have a process for monitoring state
validation efforts and (2) although the Ready Campaign controls the
content of its message, it is not positioned to control the
distribution of its message or measure whether its message is changing
the behavior of individuals. FEMA officials said that FEMA expects to
use a new, 2010 registration process to collect more comprehensive data
on membership and council activities. Among other things, FEMA counts
requests for literature, Web site hits, and the number of television
announcements made to gauge performance for the Ready Campaign, but
FEMA does not control when its message is viewed in various media
because it relies on donated media, such as time to air television and
radio announcements. Because changes in individuals' behavior can be
the result of a variety of factors, including preparedness campaigns
sponsored by other organizations, it is difficult to measure the Ready
Campaign's effect on changes in individuals' preparedness behavior.
FEMA's challenges in measuring the performance of citizen preparedness
programs are compounded by the fact that it has not developed a
strategy to encompass how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the
Ready Campaign are to operate within the context of the national
preparedness system. In April 2009, we recommended that NPD develop a
strategic plan to implement the national preparedness system that
contains such key elements as goals, objectives, and how progress in
achieving them will be measured. FEMA agreed and reported that it is
taking actions to strengthen strategic planning. FEMA stated that it is
reviewing implementation plans and policy documents, such as the
National Preparedness Guidelines, and that community preparedness is a
key element being considered in this process. FEMA has not yet set a
date for completion of the national preparedness system strategy, and
the extent to which Citizen Corps, its partner programs, or the Ready
Campaign will be included when the strategy is complete is not clear.
We will continue to assess FEMA's efforts to measure the performance of
the community preparedness programs and develop a strategy for
integrating them into the national preparedness system as part of our
ongoing work.
FEMA provided technical comments on a draft of this testimony, which we
discussed with FEMA officials and incorporated as appropriate.
Background:
The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (Post-Katrina
Act)[Footnote 11] required that FEMA establish the national
preparedness system to ensure that the nation has the ability to
prepare for and respond to disasters of all types, whether natural or
man-made, including terrorist attacks. The Community Preparedness
Division is responsible for leading activities related to community
preparedness, including management of the Citizen Corps program.
According to fiscal year 2008 Homeland Security Grant Guidance, the
program is to bring together community and government leaders,
including first responders, nonprofit organizations, and other
community stakeholders. Serving as a Citizen Corps council, government
and nongovernment stakeholders are to collaborate in involving
community members in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation,
response, and recovery. Councils and partner programs register online
to be included in the national program registries. The Division also
supports the efforts of non-DHS federal "partner programs," such as the
Medical Reserve Corps, that promote preparedness and the use of
volunteers to support first responders.[Footnote 12] The CERT program's
mission is to educate and train people in basic disaster preparedness
and response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and
disaster medical operations, using a nationally developed, standardized
training curriculum. Trained individuals can be recruited to
participate on neighborhood, business, or government teams to assist
first responders. The mission of the Fire Corps program is to increase
the capacity of fire and emergency medical service departments through
the use of volunteers in nonoperational roles and activities, including
administrative, public outreach, fire safety, and emergency
preparedness education.
FEMA also is responsible for a related program, the Ready Campaign,
which works in partnership with the Ad Council, an organization that
creates public service messages, with the goals of raising public
awareness regarding the need for emergency preparedness, motivating
individuals to take steps toward preparedness, and ultimately
increasing the level of national preparedness. The program makes
preparedness information available to the public through its English
and Spanish Web sites (www.ready.gov and www.listo.gov), through
printed material that can be ordered from the program or via toll-free
phone lines, and through public service announcements (PSA).[Footnote
13] The Ready Campaign message calls for individuals, families, and
businesses to (1) get emergency supply kits, (2) make emergency plans,
and (3) stay informed about emergencies and appropriate responses to
those emergencies.
FEMA Faces Challenges Measuring Performance of Citizen Corps Programs
and the Ready Campaign:
FEMA faces challenges in measuring the performance of local community
preparedness efforts because it lacks accurate information on those
efforts. FEMA is also confronted with challenges in measuring
performance for the Ready Campaign because the Ready Campaign is not
positioned to control the placement of its preparedness messages or
measure whether its message is changing the behavior of individuals.
FEMA Faces Challenges Measuring Performance of Community Preparedness
Efforts Because It Lacks Accurate Information on Local Programs:
According to FEMA officials, FEMA promotes citizen preparedness and
volunteerism by encouraging collaboration and the creation of community
Citizen Corps, CERT, and Fire Corps programs. FEMA includes the number
of Citizen Corps councils, CERTs, and Fire Corps established across the
country as its principal performance measure. However, FEMA faces
challenges ensuring that the information needed to measure the number
of established, active units is accurate. In our past work we reported
on the importance of ensuring that program data are of sufficient
quality to document performance and support decision making.[Footnote
14] Although not a measure under the Government Performance Result Act,
FEMA programs report the number of local units registered as a
principal performance measure; however, our work showed that the number
of active units reported may differ from the number that actually
exist.[Footnote 15] For example, as of September 2009:
* Citizen Corps reported having 2,409 registered Citizen Corps councils
nationwide that encompass jurisdictions where approximately 79 percent
of the U.S. population resides. However, 12 of the 17 registered
councils we contacted during our site visits were active and 5 were
not.
* The CERT program reported having 3,354 registered CERTs. Of the 12
registered CERTs we visited, 11 were actively engaged in CERT
activities, such as drills, exercises, and emergency preparedness
outreach, or had been deployed to assist in an emergency or disaster
situation, although 1 had members that had not been trained. One
registered CERT was no longer active.
State officials in two of the four states also said that the data on
number of registered programs might not be accurate.[Footnote 16] One
state official responsible for the Citizen Corps council and CERT
programs in the state estimated that as little as 20 percent of the
registered councils were active, and the state subsequently removed
more than half of its 40 councils from the national Web site. Officials
in the other state said that the national database is not accurate and
they have begun to send e-mails to or call local councils to verify the
accuracy of registrations in their state. These officials said that
they plan to follow up with those councils that do not respond, but
they were not yet certain what they planned to do if the councils were
no longer active. These results raise questions about the accuracy of
FEMA's data on the number of councils across the nation, and the
accuracy of FEMA's measure that registered councils cover 79 percent of
the population nationwide.
Some change in the number of active local programs can be expected,
based on factors including changes in government leadership, voluntary
participation by civic leaders, and financial support. FEMA officials
told us that the Homeland Security Grant Program guidance designates
state officials as responsible for approving initial council and CERT
registrations and ensure that the data are updated as needed. According
to FEMA officials, however, in practice this may not occur. Community
Preparedness Division officials said that they do not monitor whether
states are regularly updating local unit registration information.
FEMA officials said that FEMA plans to adopt a new online registration
process for Citizen Corps councils and CERTs in 2010, which will likely
result in some programs being removed from FEMA's registries. They said
that FEMA expects to use the new registration process to collect more
comprehensive data on membership and council activities. According to
FEMA officials, updating initial registration information will continue
to be the responsibility of state officials. The Citizen Corps Director
noted that the Citizen Corps program does not have the ability to
require all local units to update information, particularly councils or
CERTS that receive no federal funding. According to the Fire Corps
program Acting Director, a state advocacy program initiated in 2007 may
help identify inactive programs as well as promote the Fire Corps
program. As of September 2009, there were 53 advocates in 31 states. We
will continue to assess this issue as part of our ongoing work.
The Ready Campaign Faces Challenges Measuring Performance Because It Is
Not Positioned to Control the Distribution of Its Preparedness Messages
and Measure Whether Its Message Effects Individual Behavior:
Currently, the Ready Campaign measures its performance based on
measures such as materials distributed or PSAs shown. For example,
according to a DHS official, in fiscal year 2008, the Ready Campaign
had:
* more than 99 million "hits" on its Web site,
* more than 12 million pieces of Ready Campaign literature requested or
downloaded, and:
* 43,660 calls to the toll-free call numbers.
The Ready Campaign relies on these measures because it faces two
different challenges determining whether its efforts are influencing
individuals to be more prepared. First, the Ready Campaign is not
positioned to control the when or where its preparedness message is
viewed. Second, the Ready Campaign is not positioned to measure whether
its message is changing the behavior of individuals.
With regard to the Ready Campaign's ability to control the distribution
of its message, our prior work has shown that agencies whose programs
rely on others to deliver services face challenges in targeting and
measuring results in meeting ultimate goals, and when this occurs,
agencies can use intermediate measures to gauge program activities.
[Footnote 17] However, according to FEMA's Acting Director for the
Ready Campaign, funds are not available for the Ready Campaign to
purchase radio and television time to air its PSAs; rather, the Ready
Campaign relies on donations of various sources of media. As a result,
the Ready Campaign does not control what, when, or where Ready Campaign
materials are placed when the media is donated. For example, what PSA
is shown and the slots (e.g., a specific channel at a specific time)
that are donated by television, radio, and other media companies are
not under the Ready Campaign's control, and these are not always prime
viewing or listening spots. Based on Ad Council data, the Ready
Campaign's PSAs in 2008 were aired about 5 percent or less of the time
by English and Spanish television stations during prime time (8:00 p.m.
to 10:59 p.m.), and about 25 percent of the PSAs were aired from 1:00
a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Similarly, about 47 percent of English radio and
about 27 percent of Spanish radio spots were aired from midnight to
6:00 a.m. FEMA officials said that with the release of its September
2009 PSAs, they expect increased placement during hours where there are
more viewers and listeners.
Just as the Ready Campaign has no control over the time PSAs are aired,
it does not control the type of media (e.g., radio and television)
donated. Based on Ad Council data on the dollar value of media donated
to show Ready Campaign materials (the value of the donated media is
generally based on what it would cost the Ready Campaign if the media
space were purchased), much of the value from donated media is based on
space donated in the yellow pages. Figure 1 shows the value of various
types of media donated to the Ready Campaign to distribute its message
during 2008.
Figure 1: Value of Media Donated in 2008 to Distribute Ready Campaign
Message (in Millions of Dollars):
[Refer to PDF for image: pie-chart]
Yellow pages, $22.8: 50%;
English radio, $8.1: 17%;
Outdoor and transit, $7.4: 16%;
Interactive media, $1.7: 4%;
Spanish radio, $2.0: 4%;
Cable television, $1.5: 3%;
Broadcast television, $1.5: 3%;
Other media, $1.6: 3%.
Source: GAO analysis of Ad Council data.
[End of figure]
The Ready Campaign also faces a challenge determining the extent to
which it contributes to individuals taking action to become more
prepared--the program's goal. Measuring the Ready Campaign's progress
toward its goal is problematic because it can be difficult to isolate
the specific effect of exposure to Ready Campaign materials on an
individual's level of emergency preparedness. Research indicates that
there may be a number of factors that are involved in an individual
taking action to become prepared, such as his or her beliefs as to
vulnerability to disaster, geographic location, or income.[Footnote 18]
A basic question in establishing whether the Ready Campaign is changing
behavior is, first, determining the extent to which the Ready
Campaign's message has been received by the general population. The Ad
Council conducts an annual survey to determine public awareness of the
Ready Campaign, among other things. For example, in the Ad Council's
2008 survey:
* When asked if they had heard of a Web site called Ready.gov that
provides information about steps to take to prepare in the event of a
natural disaster or terrorist attack, 21 percent of those surveyed said
that they were aware of the Ready.gov Web site.
* When asked a similar question about television, radio, and print
PSAs, 37 percent of those surveyed said that they have seen or heard at
least one Ready Campaign PSA.
Another factor is isolating the Ready Campaign's message from other
preparedness messages that individuals might have received. The Ad
Council's 2008 survey found that 30 percent of those surveyed
identified the American Red Cross as the primary source of emergency
preparedness information; 11 percent identified the Ad Council.
While the Ad Council survey may give a general indication as to the
population's familiarity with the Ready Campaign, it does not provide a
measure of preparedness actions taken based on the Ready Campaign's
promotion, that is, a clear link from the program to achieving program
goals. The Ad Council reported that those who were aware of Ready
Campaign's advertising were significantly more likely to say that they
had taken steps to prepare for disaster, but acknowledged that the
Ready Campaign could not claim full credit for the differences.
Further, as the 2009 Citizen Corps survey showed, the degree to which
individuals are prepared may be less than indicated because
preparedness drops substantially when more detailed questions about
supplies are asked.[Footnote 19] We will continue to assess FEMA's
efforts to measure the performance of the Ready Campaign as part of our
ongoing work.
FEMA Has Not Developed a Strategy Encompassing How Citizen Corps, Its
Partner Programs, and the Ready Campaign Are to Operate within the
Context of the National Preparedness System:
While DHS's and FEMA's strategic plans have incorporated efforts to
promote community preparedness, FEMA has not developed a strategy
encompassing how Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready
Campaign are to operate within the context of the national preparedness
system. An objective in DHS's Strategic Plan for 2008-2013 to "Ensure
Preparedness" envisions empowering Americans to take individual and
community actions before and after disasters strike. Similarly, FEMA's
Strategic Plan for 2008-2013 envisions a strategy to "Lead the Nation's
efforts for greater personal and community responsibility for
preparedness through public education and awareness, and community
engagement and planning, including outreach to vulnerable populations."
FEMA's Strategic Plan delegates to the agency's components the
responsibility for developing their own strategic plans, which are to
include goals, objectives, and strategies. FEMA's Strategic Plan states
that the components' strategic plans are to focus on identifying
outcomes and measuring performance.
NPD has not clearly articulated goals for FEMA's community preparedness
programs or a strategy to show how Citizen Corps, its partner programs,
and the Ready Campaign are to achieve those goals within the context of
the national preparedness system. In our past work, we reported that
desirable characteristics of an effective national strategy include
articulating the strategy's purpose and goals; followed by subordinate
objectives and specific activities to achieve results; and defining
organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination, including a
discussion of resources needed to reach strategy goals.[Footnote 20] In
April 2009, we reported that NPD had not developed a strategic plan
that defines program roles and responsibilities, integration and
coordination processes, and goals and performance measures for its
programs.[Footnote 21] We reported that instead of a strategic plan,
NPD officials stated that they used a draft annual operating plan and
Post-Katrina Act provisions to guide NPD's efforts. The draft operating
plan identifies NPD goals and NPD subcomponents responsible for
carrying out segments of the operating plan, including eight objectives
identified for the Division under NPD's goal to "enhance the
preparedness of individuals, families, and special needs populations
through awareness planning and training." NPD's objectives for meeting
this goal do not describe desired outcomes.
For example, one of NPD's objectives for the Community Preparedness
Division is to increase "the number of functions that CERTs will be
able to perform effectively during emergency response," but the plan
does not describe how many and what type of functions CERTs currently
perform, what additional functions they could perform, and what it
means to be effective.[Footnote 22] NPD's draft operating plan also
does not include other key elements of an effective national strategy,
such as how it will measure progress in meeting its goals and
objectives; the roles and responsibilities of those who will be
implementing specific programs within the Community Preparedness
Division, such as Citizen Corps or Fire Corps; or potential costs and
types of resources and investments needed to meet goals and objectives
needed to implement civilian preparedness programs.[Footnote 23] As a
result, NPD is unable to provide a picture of priorities or how
adjustments might be made in view of resource constraints.
In our April 2009 report we recommended that NPD take a more strategic
approach to implementing the national preparedness system to include
the development of a strategic plan that contains such key elements as
goals, objectives, and how progress in achieving them will be measured.
DHS concurred with our recommendation and, in commenting on our report,
stated that it reported making progress in this area and is continuing
to work to fully implement the recommendation. NPD officials stated in
September 2009 that DHS, FEMA, and NPD, in coordination with national
security staff, were discussing Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 8 (National Preparedness), including the development of a
preparedness strategy and an implementation strategy.[Footnote 24] They
said that community and individual preparedness were key elements of
those discussions. However, NPD officials did not state when the
strategy will be completed; thus, it is not clear to what extent it
will integrate Citizen Corps, its partner programs, and the Ready
Campaign. NPD officials stated that work is under way on revising the
target capabilities, which are to include specific outcomes, measures,
and resources. NPD officials said that the draft for public comment is
expected to be issued in fiscal year 2010.
The Ready Campaign is also working to enhance its strategic direction.
According to the FEMA Director of External Affairs, the Ready
Campaign's strategy is being revised to reflect the transition of the
program from DHS's Office of Public Affairs to FEMA's Office of
External Affairs, and the new FEMA Director's approach to preparedness.
Program officials said that the Ready Campaign will have increased
access to staff and resources and is to be guided by a FEMA-wide
strategic plan for external communications. As of September 2009 the
plan was still being developed and no date has been set for completion.
We will continue to monitor this issue as well FEMA's effort to develop
a strategy encompassing how Citizen Corps and its partner programs are
to operate within the context of the national preparedness system.
Mr. Chairman, this completes my prepared statement. I would be happy to
respond to any questions you or other members of the subommittee may
have.
Contacts and Acknowledgments:
For further information about this testimony, please contact William O.
Jenkins, Jr., Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, at (202)
512-8777 or JenkinsWO@gao.gov. Contact points for our offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this testimony. Major contributors to this testimony included
John Mortin, Assistant Director, and Monica Kelly, Analyst-in-Charge.
Carla Brown, Qahira El'Amin, Lara Kaskie, Amanda Miller, Cristina
Ruggiero-Mendoza, and Janet Temko made significant contributions to the
work.
[End of section]
Appendix I: Homeland Security Grant Funding for Community Preparedness,
2004 through 2008:
Department of Homeland Security support for local community
preparedness activities is provided through homeland security grants,
specifically the Citizen Corps grant program, but community
preparedness activities are also eligible for support under other
homeland security grants. Citizen Corps grants are awarded to states
based on a formula of 0.75 percent of the total amount available to
each state (including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico) and 0.25 percent of the total amount available for each
U.S. territory, with the balance of funding being distributed on a
population basis.
For other DHS homeland security grants, a state prepares a request for
funding, which can include support for the state's community
preparedness efforts, as allowed under the guidance for a particular
grant. For example, the 2009 Homeland Security Grant Guidance lists
"Conducting public education and outreach campaigns, including
promoting individual, family and business emergency preparedness" as an
allowable cost for state homeland security grants. Grant funding can be
used to support Citizen Corps, Citizen Corps partner programs, or other
state community preparedness priorities. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA) grant reporting database does not categorize
grants in a way that allows identification of the amount of funding
going to a particular community preparedness program.
Table 1 summarizes the approximately $269 million in DHS grants that
were identified by grantees as supporting community preparedness
projects from fiscal years 2004 through 2008. The amount is an
approximation because of limitations in identifying grants for such
projects. Our selection of projects for inclusion relied on grantees
identifying their projects under one of three predefined project types
that FEMA officials said are relevant for community preparedness or
were projects funded with a Citizen Corps program grant. Not all
grantees may have used these descriptions. We worked with grant
officials to identify the most appropriate grant selection criteria.
Table 1: 2004-2008 Homeland Security Grants for Community Preparedness
Projects:
Year: 2004;
Citizen Corps: $33,955,176;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $8,306,020;
State homeland security: $7,735,800;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: [Empty];
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $1,093,911;
Other homeland security grants[B]: [Empty];
Total: $51,090,907.
Year: 2005;
Citizen Corps: $13,485,705;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $8,687,292;
State homeland security: $11,775,517;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: $595,825;
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $248,988;
Other homeland security grants[B]: $414,329;
Total: $35,207,655.
Year: 2006;
Citizen Corps: $19,205,985;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $16,345,381;
State homeland security: $15,074,053;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: $6,545,092;
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $969,561;
Other homeland security grants[B]: $2,028,071;
Total: $60,168,142.
Year: 2007;
Citizen Corps: $14,549,998;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $23,608,893;
State homeland security: $15,754,809;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: $1,026,336;
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $6,705,907;
Other homeland security grants[B]: $4,895,079;
Total: $66,541,022.
Year: 2008;
Citizen Corps: $14,572,500;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $13,498,514;
State homeland security: $16,640,267;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: $8,620,774;
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $0;
Other homeland security grants[B]: $2,645,852;
Total: $55,977,906.
Total:
Citizen Corps: Citizen Corps: $95,769,364;
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)[A]: $70,446,099;
State homeland security: $66,980,446;
Emergency Management Performance Grant: $16,788,026;
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant: $9,018,367;
Other homeland security grants[B]: $9,983,331;
Total: $268,985,634.
Source: GAO analysis of FEMA grant reporting data for fiscal years 2004
through 2008.
Notes: Homeland Security grant projects included in this summary met at
least one of the following four criteria: indicated the project was to
establish or enhance (1) citizen or volunteer initiatives; (2) citizen
awareness of emergency preparedness, prevention, and response measures;
(3) Citizen Corps councils; or (4) was supported by the Citizen Corps
program grant. For years with a zero value, a particular grant may not
have been part of the Homeland Security grant package (e.g., the
Emergency Management Performance Grant was not part of the 2004 grants
package, and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grant in 2008 was
not available for community preparedness purposes).
[A] Includes UASI and UASI transit and nonprofit grants. The UASI grant
program provides federal assistance to high-risk urban areas to (1)
address unique planning, equipment, training, and exercise needs and
(2) assist them in building an enhanced and sustainable capacity to
prevent, prepare for, and respond to threats or acts of terrorism.
[B] Includes grants for transit security programs, Metropolitan Medical
Response System, Intercity Passenger Rail Security, Interoperable
Emergency Communications, Non-Profit Security, Regional Catastrophic
Preparedness, and Buffer Zone Protection. The Buffer Zone Protection
Program supports the implementation of preventive and protective
measures outside the perimeter of selected critical infrastructure and
key resource (CI/KR) sites throughout the United States. The program
provides grant funding to jurisdictions to purchase equipment to extend
the zone of protection around CI/KR facilities, expand preparedness
capabilities, and enhance the security of surrounding communities.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Individuals, the public, and community are used interchangeably in
this testimony when discussing preparedness for nongovernment community
members. The terms encompass both citizens and noncitizens. Community
nonprofit and private businesses are part of community preparedness,
but were not within the scope of our work.
[2] Federal Emergency Management Agency, Personal Preparedness in
America: Findings From the (2007) Citizen Corps National Survey
(Washington, D.C.: June 2009).
[3] According to FEMA officials, FEMA also encourages public
preparedness through speaking engagements, the media, and social
networking tools that were beyond the scope of our review. Regarding
the Ready Campaign we focused on its efforts for individual and family
preparedness. The Ready Campaign's Business and Kid Campaign were not
within the scope of our review.
[4] The Department of Health and Human Service's Office of the Surgeon
General within the Office of Public Health and Science administers a
third partner program, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). Also, the
Department of Justice sponsors two other partner programs--Volunteers
in Police Service and Neighborhood Watch.
[5] Under FEMA's Homeland Security Grant Program, states, territories,
urban areas and transportation authorities are eligible for FEMA grants
to bolster national preparedness capabilities and protect critical
infrastructure. These grants can be used to establish and sustain
Citizen Corps councils; purchase equipment for CERTs, Fire Corps, or
MRC; and support planning or training efforts. Local community
preparedness organizations can also receive funding from state, local,
or tribal governments or private and nonprofit community-based
preparedness organizations.
[6] GAO, National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Needs to
Complete and Integrate Planning, Exercise, and Assessment Efforts,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369] (Washington, D.C.:
Apr. 30, 2009).
[7] A key part of the system involves the development of quantifiable
standards and metrics--called target capabilities, defined as the level
of capability needed to prevent, respond to, and recover from natural
and man-made disasters--that can be used to assess existing capability
levels compared with target capability levels.
[8] This included 17 Citizen Corps councils, 12 CERT, 5 Fire Corps
programs, and officials representing 19 other preparedness and
emergency management organizations, such as local emergency managers
and state officials in four of the five states we visited.
[9] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369 and GAO,
Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected Characteristics in National
Strategies Related to Terrorism, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T (Washington, D.C: February 3,
2004).
[10] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369]; [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T]; GAO, Results-Oriented
Management: Strengthening Key Practices at FEMA and Interior Could
Promote Greater Use of Performance Information, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-676]; (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 17,
2009); Influenza Pandemic: Gaps in Pandemic Planning and Preparedness
Need to Be Addressed, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-909T] (Washington, D.C.: July 29,
2009); Information Sharing Environment: Definition of the Results to Be
Achieved in Improving Terrorism-Related Information Sharing Is Needed
to Guide Implementation and Assess Progress, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-492] (Washington, D.C.: June 25,
2008); Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected Characteristics in
National Strategies Related to Terrorism, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T] (Washington, D.C: Feb. 3,
2004); Tax Administration: IRS Needs to Further Refine Its Tax Filing
Season Performance Measures, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-143] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 22,
2002); Agency Performance Plans: Examples of Practices That Can Improve
Usefulness to Decisionmakers, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD/AIMD-99-69] (Washington, D.C.: Feb.
26, 1999); Performance Plans: Selected Approaches for Verification and
Validation of Agency Performance Information, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-99-139] (Washington, D.C.: July 30,
1999); Agencies' Annual Performance Plans Under the Reform Act: An
Assessment Guide to Facilitate Congressional Decisionmaking,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD/AIMD-10.1.18]
(Washington, D.C.: February 1998); and Executive Guide: Effectively
Implementing the Government Performance and Results Act, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-96-118] (Washington, D.C.: June 1,
1996).
[11] The Post-Katrina Act was enacted as title VI of the Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007, Pub. L. No. 109-295, 120
Stat. 1355, 1394-1463 (2006).
[12] Citizen Corps also identifies program "affiliates" that may be
available to help advance Citizen Corps's goals, such as the American
Red Cross and Home Safety Council.
[13] See [hyperlnk, http://www.ready.gov/america/about/psa.html] for an
example of a Ready Campaign PSA.
[14] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-143].
[15] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-96-118].
[16] We interviewed state officials in four of the five states we
visited--California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas. We did not interview
state officials in Nevada. Our Nevada site visit interviews were
related to observing exercises with CERT participation.
[17] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD/AIMD-99-69].
[18] FEMA, Citizen Preparedness Review: A Review of Citizen
Preparedness Research, Fall 2007.
[19] Similarly, public knowledge of the Ready Campaign may be less than
indicated, based on the 2007 Citizen Corps survey. For example, the
2007 survey asked respondents about familiarity with federal
preparedness programs and estimated that 16 percent of respondents had
heard about Ready.gov. However when asked to describe the program, only
2 percent of respondents reported that they had a firm understanding of
the program.
[20] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-408T] and
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369].
[21] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369].
[22] NPD's other objectives relate to enhancing preparedness
capabilities, strengthening partnerships, conducting emergency
preparedness research, integrating community preparedness into grant
guidance, holding a national conference, ensuring local implementation
of the NET Guard Pilot Program, and developing a national strategy to
collaborate with law enforcement partners.
[23] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-369].
[24] Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8--National Preparedness
(Dec. 17, 2003). In December 2003, the President issued guidance that
called on the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out and
coordinate preparedness activities with public, private, and nonprofit
organizations involved in such activities.
[End of section]
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