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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Federal Emergency Management Agency: Disaster Response

The Department of Homeland Security's Response program is designed to quickly, efficiently and effectively provide support to State, Tribal, and local governments, and Federal response teams in the event of a natural or manmade disaster, emergency or terrorist event.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • The assessment found that the program is designed to address existing needs -- implementing response plans involving many different organizations and coordinating assets, resources and logistics capabilities following a disaster. There are no other Federal programs of integrated emergency management and coordination that respond to domestic disaster contingencies.
  • The design of the Response program's funding stream is not tied to performance measures. Additionally, program funding is governed by the Stafford Act, which relies on a Presidential disaster declaration in order to pay for the use of many assets.
  • The Response program was reorganized in Fiscal Year 2004, following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. At the time of this assessment, the program was achieving quarterly goals, though long-term performance information was lacking. As a result of this assessment, FEMA worked to validate baseline performance in 2004 and 2005.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Reassessing the program to determine strengths and weaknesses in its response to Hurricane Katrina.
  • Maintaining the National Response Plan, which was released by DHS after this assessment was completed.
  • Integrating National Response Plan directives into FEMA's Response program operations.

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