U. S. Department of Homeland Security

 Office for Domestic Preparedness

 

Washington, D.C. 20531

ODP Information Bulletin

No. 81 September 25, 2003

TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads

All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact

FROM: Andrew T. Mitchell

Acting Director

SUBJECT: Urban Areas Security Initiative Assessment and Strategy Deadline Extension

Over the past several weeks, ODP has received numerous communications from State Homeland

Security Assessment and Strategy (SHSAS) and Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)

participants voicing concerns about the Online Data Collection Tool (DCT). We appreciate your

comments, as they assist us in identifying system problems. ODP has been working diligently to

address your concerns and to increase the reliability and performance of the tool. For this reason,

the DCT will be offline this weekend for maintenance. Additional information on the date and

time of maintenance will be provided on September 26, 2003.

ODP is aware that problems with the DCT have made it challenging for UASI jurisdictions to

meet their assessment deadlines, and we recognize the effort and dedication that state and local

users have shown in attempting to complete the SHSAS and UASI processes within these tight

timelines.

Guidance provided in the UASI Application Kit requires the UASI assessment to be completed

and submitted to ODP no later than September 30, 2003. This guidance also requires that UASI

strategies be completed and submitted to ODP by October 31, 2003, and that budgets be

submitted to ODP by November 30, 2003. Due to the technical difficulties users have

experienced, ODP is revising these deadlines:

ÿ UASI homeland security assessments must now be completed and submitted to State

Points of Contact by October 17, 2003.

ÿ UASI homeland security assessments and strategies must now be submitted

concurrently to ODP through the Online DCT no later than November 30, 2003.

ÿ UASI budgets are now due to ODP no later than December 31, 2003.

ÿ Early submission of the UASI homeland security assessments and strategies will be

accepted by ODP. If necessary, these may be submitted in hard copy and uploaded

into the DCT when the functionality is available.
Please note that all other UASI grant requirements remain as identified in the UASI Program

Guidelines and Application Kit. Additionally, SHSAS assessment data and state strategies

continue to be due to ODP no later than December 31, 2003. ODP will continue to assess the

situation with the DCT and make additional adjustments as necessary.

To assist SHSAS and UASI participants in completing assessments and strategies, ODP is

increasing the quantity and expanding the scope of available technical assistance (TA) deliveries.

TA will now be offered by ODP to assist states and local jurisdictions with data entry efforts.

Additionally, data analysis training will be offered to assist with strategy development. This new

TA support is being offered in addition to existing TA deliveries.

Please continue to utilize the ODP Technical Assistance Help Line for technical inquiries by

calling (877) 612-HELP (4357). Technicians will be available to answer inquiries Monday

through Friday from 7 A.M. – 9 P.M. Central Standard Time (CST) and 10 A.M. – 6 P.M. CST

on Saturday and Sunday. Local users should continue to contact their State Administrator for

inquiries regarding assessment and/or strategy content. State Administrators should continue to

contact their ODP Program Manager for additional content information. General information can

be obtained by calling ODP’s Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk at (800) 368-6498.

Thank you for your patience during this process. ODP will continue to keep you updated on the

status of the DCT, and on any further developments regarding the assessment and strategy

process.