Homeland Security: Coordinated Planning and Standards Needed to Better Manage First Responder Grants in the National Capital Region
Published: 2004-06-24T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the National Capital Region (NCR), comprising jurisdictions including the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia, has been recognized as a significant potential target for terrorism. GAO was asked to report on (1) what federal funds have been allocated to NCR jurisdictions for emergency preparedness; (2) what challenges exist within NCR to organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs; (3) what gaps, if any, remain in the emergency preparedness of NCR; and (4) what has been the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in NCR to date.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, grant programs administered by the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Justice awarded about $340 million to eight NCR jurisdictions to enhance emergency preparedness. Of this total, the Office for National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) targeted all of the $60.5 million Urban Area Security Initiative funds for projects designed to benefit NCR as a whole. However, there was no coordinated regionwide plan for spending the remaining funds (about $279.5 million). Local jurisdictions determined the spending priorities for these funds and reported using them for emergency communications and personal protective equipment and other purchases. NCR faces several challenges in organizing and implementing efficient and effective regional preparedness programs, including the lack of a coordinated strategic plan for enhancing NCR preparedness, performance standards, and a reliable, central source of data on funds available and the purposes for which they were spent. Without these basic elements, it is difficult to assess first responder capacities, identify first responder funding priorities for NCR, and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of federal funds in enhancing first responder capacities and preparedness in a way that maximizes their effectiveness in improving homeland security.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I appreciate the opportunity to testify on the results of our work on the  management of first responder grants in the National Capital Region  (NCR). Our report is being released today, and my testimony highlights the  major findings and recommendations of that report.
Our report addressed the following questions:
What federal funds have been allocated to local jurisdictions in NCR for  emergency preparedness, for what specific purposes, and from what  sources?
What challenges exist within NCR to organizing and implementing  efficient and effective regional preparedness programs?
What gaps, if any, remain in the emergency preparedness of NCR?
What has been the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) role to date  in enhancing the preparedness of NCR through such actions as  coordinating the use of federal emergency preparedness grants, assessing  preparedness, providing guidance, targeting funds to enhance  preparedness, and monitoring the use of those funds?
To respond to these questions, we met with and obtained documentation  from officials of DHS including its Office for National Capital Region  Coordination (ONCRC), the Senior Policy Group, the Metropolitan Council  of Governments, state emergency management agencies, and first  responder officials from NCR jurisdictions. We identified 25 emergency  preparedness programs that provided funding to NCR jurisdictions in  fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and we selected 16 of them for detailed review.  These 16 grants were selected to cover a range of programs, including the  largest funding sources; grants provided for general purposes, such as  equipment and training; and grants provided for specific purposes, such as  fire prevention and bioterrorism. We collected and analyzed grant data  from federal, state, and local sources; and reviewed relevant reports,  studies, and guidelines on homeland security and domestic preparedness.
We conducted our review from June 2003 through February 2004 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Arguably, while each at-risk locality must be provided adequate resources to effectively  fight this war, no single jurisdiction or response discipline can fight it alone. Effective  homeland security efforts require continuous regional collaboration and coordination.
Such an approach includes developing national guidelines and standards  and monitoring and assessing preparedness against those standards to  effectively manage risk.
The National Strategy for Homeland Security, released in 2002 following  the proposal for DHS, emphasized a shared national responsibility for  security involving close cooperation among all levels of government and  acknowledged the complexity of developing a coordinated approach  within our federal system of government and among a broad range of  organizations and institutions involved in homeland security. The national  strategy highlighted the challenge of developing complementary systems  that avoid unintended duplication and increase collaboration and  coordination so that public and private resources are better aligned for  homeland security. The national strategy established a framework for this  approach by identifying critical mission areas with intergovernmental  initiatives in each area. For example, the strategy identified such initiatives  as modifying federal grant requirements and consolidating funding sources  to state and local governments. The strategy further recognized the  importance of assessing the capability of state and local governments,  developing plans, and establishing standards and performance measures  to achieve national preparedness goals. In addition, many aspects of DHS’  success depend on its maintaining and enhancing working relationships  within the intergovernmental system as the department relies on state and  local governments to accomplish its mission.
section_title: ONCRC Responsibilities Include Assessing Capabilities and Advocating for Needed Resources
paragraphs: The creation of DHS was an initial step toward reorganizing the federal  government to respond to some of the intergovernmental challenges  identified in the National Strategy for Homeland Security. The Homeland  Security Act established ONCRC within DHS to oversee and coordinate  federal programs for, and relationships with, federal, state, local, and  regional authorities in the NCR. Specifically, ONCRC was mandated to    coordinate the activities of DHS relating to NCR, including cooperating  with the DHS’ Office for State and Local Government Coordination;   coordinate with federal agencies in the NCR on terrorism preparedness to  ensure adequate planning, information sharing, training, and execution of  the federal role in domestic preparedness activities;   coordinate with federal, state, and regional agencies and the private sector  in NCR on terrorism preparedness to ensure adequate planning,  information sharing, training, and execution of domestic preparedness  activities among these agencies and entities;   serve as a liaison between the federal government and state, local, and  regional authorities, and private sector entities in NCR to facilitate access  to federal grants and other programs.
With regard to resource assessments and needs, the NCR’s responsibilities  also include    assessing and advocating for resources needed by state, local, and regional  authorities in the NCR to implement efforts to secure the homeland and   submitting an annual report to Congress that (1) identifies resources  required to fully implement homeland security efforts, (2) assesses  progress in implementing homeland security efforts in the NCR, and (3)  includes recommendations to Congress regarding additional resources  needed to fully implement homeland security efforts in the NCR.
section_title: Grants Available to NCR Jurisdictions and Their Use
paragraphs: In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, 16 separate federal grant programs conveyed  about $340 million to state and local emergency management, law  enforcement, fire, public health, and other emergency response agencies  in NCR. Two funding sources—the fiscal year 2002 Department of Defense  Emergency Supplemental Appropriation (almost $230 million) and the  fiscal year 2003 Urban Area Security Initiative ($60.5 million) accounted  for about 85 percent of those funds. The Urban Area Security Initiative  funds were designated for regional use, and a plan has been developed for  using the funds to benefit the region as a whole. These funds have been  targeted for equipment ($26.5 million), planning ($12.4 million), exercises  ($4 million), and administrative costs ($1.8 million), among other things.
The other grant programs were not specifically designated for regional  purposes, and spending for these funds was determined by individual local  jurisdictions. These funds were available for such purposes as purchasing  additional equipment and supplies for first responders; planning,  coordinating, and evaluating exercises; training first responders; funding  the emergency preparedness planning efforts and administration; and  providing technical assistance. NCR jurisdictions reported using or  planning to use these funds to purchase a range of equipment—for  example, vehicles and communications equipment—supplies, training, and  technical assistance services.
section_title: Challenges to Using Coordinated, Effective Use of Federal Grants in NCR
paragraphs: In our report, we discuss issues associated with managing federal first  responder grants in NCR, assessing gaps in first responder capacities and  preparedness in the region, and the role of the Office for National Capital  Region Coordination in coordinating and assessing efforts to enhance first  responder capacity across NCR. Effectively managing first responder  federal grants funds requires the ability to measure progress and provide  accountability for the use of public funds. A strategic approach to  homeland security includes identifying threats and managing risks,  aligning resources to address them, and assessing progress in preparing  for those threats and risks. As with other major policy areas,  demonstrating the results of homeland security efforts includes developing  and implementing strategies, establishing baselines, developing and  implementing performance goals and data quality standards, collecting  reliable data, analyzing the data, assessing the results, and taking action  based on the results. The purpose of these efforts with regard to first  responder grant funds to be able to answer three basic, but difficult,  questions:    For what types of threats and emergencies should first responders be  prepared?
What is required—for example, coordination, equipment, training—to be  prepared for these threats and emergencies?
How do first responders know that they have met their preparedness  goals?
NCR is an example of the difficulties of answering the second and third  questions in particular.
subsections: section_title: Lack of Standards, Plans, and Data Limit Effective Grant Management to Guide First Responder Spending in NCR
paragraphs: The region faces significant challenges in managing homeland security  dollars. ONCRC and NCR jurisdictions face three interrelated challenges  that limit their ability to jointly manage federal funds in a way that  demonstrates increased first responder capacities and preparedness while  minimizing inefficiency and unnecessary duplication of expenditures.
First, a lack of preparedness standards for both equipment and  performance means that it is difficult to assess first responder capabilities,  identify gaps in those capabilities, and measure progress in closing those  gaps. As in other areas of the nation generally, NCR does not have a set of  accepted benchmarks (best practices) and performance goals that could  be used to identify desired goals and determine whether first responders  have the ability to respond to threats and emergencies with well-planned,  well-coordinated, and effective efforts that involve police, fire, emergency  medical, public health, and other personnel from multiple jurisdictions.
Second, a strategic plan for the use of homeland security funds—whether  in NCR or elsewhere—should be based on established goals, priorities,  and measures, and align spending plans with those priorities and goals. At  the time of our review, ONCRC had developed a regional spending plan for  the Urban Area Security Initiative grants, but this plan was not part of a  broader coordinated plan for spending federal grant funds and developing  first responder capacity and preparedness in NCR. The lack of  benchmarks and performance goals may contribute to difficulties in  developing a coordinated region-wide plan for determining how to spend  federal funds and assessing the benefits of that spending.
Third, there is no established process or means for regularly and reliably  collecting data on (1) the amounts of first responder grants available to  each jurisdiction and (2) the budget plans and criteria used for  determining spending allocations and budget priorities. Reliable data are  needed to establish accountability, analyze gaps, and assess progress  toward meeting established performance goals. Without such data, it is  difficult to verify the results of preparedness assessments and to establish  a baseline that could be used to develop plans to address outstanding  needs. It should be noted that the fragmented nature of the multiple  federal grants available to first responders—some awarded to states, some  to localities, some directly to local first responder agencies—may make it  more difficult to collect and maintain region-wide data on grant funds  received and the use of those funds in NCR.
section_title: Guidance, Reliable Data Needed to Assess Remaining Gaps in First Responder Capabilities
paragraphs: Without national standards, guidance on likely threats and scenerios for  which to be prepared, coordinated plans, and reliable data, it is difficult  for us or ONCRC to determine what gaps, if any, remain in the emergency  response capacities and preparedness within NCR.
Determining the existence of gaps in NCR’s emergency preparedness is  difficult currently because there is little baseline data on the region’s  preparedness, and DHS’s Office for National Capital Region Coordination  does not have information on how NCR localities used federal grant  dollars to enhance their capacities or preparedness. Even if those data  were available, a lack of standards against which to evaluate the data  would also have made it difficult to assess any gaps. The Office for  Domestic Preparedness collected information on regional security risks  and needs for NCR jurisdictions, and ONCRC based funding decisions for  the Urban Area Security Initiative on the results. However, as already  noted, it is not clear how the Urban Area Security Initiative spending plan  links to the actual and planned uses for the other funding sources that  comprised about $279.5 million of the $340 million in federal homeland  security grants to the NCR during fiscal years 2002 and 2003.
Each jurisdiction provided us with information on their perceived gaps  and specific needs for improving emergency preparedness. However, there  is no consistent method for identifying these gaps among jurisdictions  within NCR. Several jurisdictions told us that they identify remaining gaps  based on requests from emergency responder agencies. Other jurisdictions  said they have established emergency management councils or task forces  to review their preparedness needs and are developing a more strategic  plan for funding those needs. Officials of most NCR jurisdictions  commonly identified the need for more comprehensive and redundant  communications systems and upgraded emergency operations centers.
section_title: DHS and ONCRC Appear to Have Had Limited Role in Promoting Regional Coordination in NCR
paragraphs: We recognize that NCR is a complex multijurisdictional area comprising  the District of Columbia and surrounding county and city jurisdictions in  Maryland and Virginia. The region is the home to the federal government,  many national landmarks, and military installations. Coordination within  this region presents the challenge of working with numerous jurisdictions  that vary in size, political organization, and experience with managing  large emergencies.
According to emergency management officials we contacted, DHS’ Office  for National Capital Region Coordination could play a potentially  important role in assisting them to implement a coordinated, well-planned  effort in using federal resources to improve the region’s preparedness. In  our view, meeting ONCRC’s statutory mandate would fulfill such a key  responsibility.
We recognize that the Office for National Capital Region Coordination was  created about 15 months ago, and that some start-up time has been  required. To date, however, it appears that ONCRC’s efforts have not  focused on assessing what has been accomplished with funds available  within NCR to date and identifying what needs remain and for what  purposes. ONCRC has concentrated its efforts on developing a  coordinated assessment and plan for the use of Urban Area Security  Initiative funds. Although we believe that those steps are important for  rationalizing and prioritizing the expenditure of homeland security dollars  designated for region-wide use, ONCRC’s efforts generally do not address  expenditures from the majority of the homeland security grant dollars  received in NCR. In addition, it is difficult for the ONCRC to meet its  statutory responsibilities without an NCR emergency preparedness  baseline, a region-wide plan for prioritizing expenditures and assessing  their benefits, and reliable data on funds that are available and those have  been spent.
According to DHS, a governance structure was approved in February 2004  that will provide the essential region-wide coordination that is necessary.
section_title: Our Recommendations
paragraphs: Our report contains several recommendations. To help ensure that  emergency preparedness grants and associated funds are managed in a  way that maximizes their effectiveness, we recommend that the Secretary  of the Department of Homeland Security take the following three actions  to fulfill DHS’s statutory responsibilities in NCR:    Work with NCR jurisdictions to develop a coordinated strategic plan to  establish goals and priorities for enhancing first responder capacities that  can be used to guide the use of federal emergency preparedness funds.
Monitor the plan’s implementation to ensure that funds are used in a way  that promotes effective expenditures that are not unnecessarily  duplicative.
Identify and address gaps in emergency preparedness and evaluate the  effectiveness of expenditures in meeting those needs by adapting  standards and preparedness guidelines based on likely scenarios for NCR  and conducting assessments based on them.
In their comments on a draft of our report, DHS and the Senior Policy  Group generally agreed with our recommendations, but also said that NCR  jurisdictions had worked cooperatively together to identify opportunities  for synergies and lay a foundation for meeting the challenges noted in the  report. The Senior Policy Group noted the challenge and critical  importance of integrating private sector initiatives as part of the broader  effort. DHS and the Senior Policy Group also agreed that there is a need to  continue to improve preparedness by developing more specific and  improved preparedness standards, clearer performance goals, and an  improved method for tracking regional initiatives. They believe the  governance process now in place will accomplish essential regional  coordination.
section_title: Concluding Comments
paragraphs: Coordinated planning for the use of federal grant funds and monitoring the  results achieved with those funds are fundamental for assessing and  building the needed first responder capacity of the region to prepare for,  mitigate, respond to, and recover from major emergency events in the  region—whether the result of nature, accident, or terrorist act. The urgent  nature of the security risk to the National Capital Region requires a  coordinated, well-planned approach to the expenditure of federal first  responder grants. To maximize the positive impact of such federal dollars,  duplication needs to be minimized, available resources used to the  maximum extent possible, and a strategic, region-wide plan based on an  assessment of preparedness gaps developed to guide those expenditures.  Assessments of the current status of emergency preparedness and of any  existing preparedness gaps require the existence and application of  various types of standards. DHS’s Office for National Capital Region  Coordination has a significant, statutorily mandated role in meeting those  requirements. It has made a good first step in developing a region-wide  plan for the use of the Urban Area Initiative Grants. However, information  and analysis of planned and actual expenditures by local NCR jurisdictions  is also needed to develop a region-wide plan for the use of federal grants.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer  any questions you or other members of the Committee may have.
section_title: Contacts and Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For questions regarding this testimony, please contact William O. Jenkins,  Jr., on (202) 512-8777 or Patricia A. Dalton, Director, on (202) 512-6737.  Other individuals making key contributions to this testimony included  Amelia Shachoy, Ernie Hazera, John Bagnulo, and Wendy Johnson.
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