Community Preparedness Citizen Corps and Civil Air Patrol Working Together

September 4th, 2009

Penny S. Burke Community Preparedness DivisionCitizen Corps

FEMA Community PreparednessVision: Resilience

• Culture of Preparedness– Integrated in daily lives for individuals, organizations, communities– Personal Responsibility – Self-Reliance– Collaboration, initiative and accountability among all sectors and at all levels – Ongoing, evolving process

• Resilient Community – Measurable capacity to maintain or re-stabilize critical community-level

infrastructure and functions in the event of a disaster– Understanding and intentional development of community assets and practices

that develop resilience

Culture of Preparedness

Resilient Communities

Resilient Nation

Why it’s critical to involve the Community?

Journal of Emergency Medical Services (2004); National Fire Protection Association (2003); National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (2003)

• Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population is an emergency responder

• 95% of situations, victim/ bystander first to respond

• 85% of critical infrastructure is privately owned

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

• Purpose– To measure the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors

relative to preparing for a range of hazards

• Previous Survey Findings– Baseline data in 2003; 2007 National Survey & 4 Urban Areas

• 2009 Sampling Strategy– National Sample:

• 3,448 households, stratified into the 10 FEMA Regions– Urban Sample:

• 3,007 households in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Washington, DC areas

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Top Line Findings-

Reasons people are not prepared

– Reliance on Emergency Responders

• 30% of Americans believe emergency responders will help them

• 60% expect to rely on emergency responders in the first 72 hours

• Recommendation: Change messaging to a shared responsibility between government and the citizen

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Reasons people are not prepared

– Have not completed important preparedness activities or do not understand community plans

• “Prepared People”– 36% Do not have a household plan– 78% have not conducted a home evacuation drill– 58% do not know their evacuation routes

• Recommendation: More specific preparedness actions need to be promoted

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Reasons people are not prepared– People with disabilities are not prepared

• 14% of respondents reported having a physical or other disability which would affect their capacity to respond to an emergency situation

• Only 47% had a household plan• 14% had indicated they lived with someone who had a

disability and less than 40% of these individuals had CPR training or first

• Only 53% had supplies in their homes

• Recommendation: Highlight additional preparedness needs for people with disabilities

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Reasons people are not prepared

– People do not participate in drills and exercises

• Only 41% of people has participated in a workplace drill

• Only 14% of people had participated in home evacuation

• Only 23% had participated in school evacuation drills

• Only 13% had participated in a shelter in place drill

• Recommendation: Emphasis needs to be put on drills and exercises

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Reasons people are not prepared

– People do not think taking steps to be prepared will have an impact on their safety during a manmade disaster

• Only 7 % felt nothing they did would help them during a natural disaster

• 35% felt nothing they did would help them in an act of terrorism (biological, chemical, radiological, explosive attack)

• Recommendation: Offer more specialized information on the survivability of manmade disasters

2009 Citizen Corps National Survey

Reasons people are not prepared

• Not enough specific local information

– People will be better prepared if multiple areas of society are carrying the message including schools, workplace, neighborhoods, faith communities

– Local information about local hazards, local alerts and warnings, and local community preparedness

• Recommendation: National voice must be coupled with local specificity

Citizen Corps MissionCitizen Corps brings community and government leaders

together to involve community members and organizations in all-hazards emergency preparedness,

planning, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Citizen Corps CouncilsCollaboration, Planning, Building Capacity & Resiliency

Outreach & Education

Training & Exercises

Volunteer Programs& Surge Support

Jan. 2002 Sep. 2009• Councils: Councils: 00 2403 2403• CERT 170 3,1813,181• Fire Corps Fire Corps 00 890 890• MRC 0 847• NWP 7,500 18,900 • VIPS 76 1,771 

Citizen Corps Councils

Government Sponsored - sponsored by state or local government, emergency management or chief elected or appointed official responsible for disaster preparedness

Membership – should include representation from community based organizations which represent targeted populations: faith-based, cultural, youth, volunteer organizations, economically disadvantaged, etc.

Responsibilities - Bring all sectors together to identify priorities and integrate resources into planning & Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) – e.g. Emergency alerts and warning systems (NOAA, text, radio, web)

• Shelter and evacuation- including pets• Public education, training, exercises• Planning with and for vulnerable populations • Volunteer programs and training to support plans

• First responder/emergency management ~ law enforcement, fire service, EMS/EMT, and public works

• Elected officials• Volunteer community and non-profit organizations• Business leaders, especially critical infrastructure• Faith-based leaders• School system representatives• Transportation sector• Medical facilities• Large venue facilities• Media executives• Minority and special needs representation• Community/Neighborhood networks

Citizen Corps Council Membership

Charge to Councils

• Embrace, promote, localize state strategies, policies, plans

• Build on community strengths to develop action plans to involve the whole community, including special needs groups

• Focus on public education, training, and volunteer opportunities for community and family safety

• Promote and oversee Citizen Corps programs

• Provide opportunities for special skills and interests

• Organize special projects/community events

• Capture smart practices and report accomplishments

Citizen Corps National Partners

Citizen Corps Affiliate Profile

• Support the mission of citizen

participation in making America safer and better prepared

• Non-profit or government sponsored and nationwide in scope

• Non-partisan

• Sign a Statement of Affiliation

Civil Air Patrol became a Citizen Corps Affiliate on August 26th, 2003

Affiliates and Citizen Corps

• Participation on Citizen Corps Councils

• Public Education and Outreach

• Training

• Volunteer Service Opportunities

Questions?www.citizencorps.gov