DHS issues plan for national preparedness

The Homeland Security Department on Friday released a plan to help federal agencies, state and local governments, private companies and nongovernment organizations achieve a consistent level of national preparedness.

The plan, called the Interim National Preparedness Goal, lists priorities and capabilities that must be achieved to prevent, protect against, respond to, or recover from major events, such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. According to the plan, there are seven main priorities and 36 core capabilities that governments and organizations must meet in order to achieve national preparedness.

"The goal is an overarching statement of strategic intent. It demonstrates our national will to work toward establishing overall readiness against current and future threats," said Matt Mayer, acting director of the DHS Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness.

The seven priorities are: initiate the DHS National Incident Management System and National Response Plan; expand regional collaboration; implement the DHS Interim National Infrastructure Protection Plan; fortify information sharing and collaboration capabilities; improve interoperable communications; strengthen the ability to detect and respond to chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear and explosive weapons; and strengthen medical surge capabilities.

The 36 core capabilities include items such as: weapons detection capabilities; economic and community recovery; fatality management; intelligence fusion and analysis; search and rescue; and terrorism investigations.

The plan will help guide allocation of federal money for preparedness efforts, Mayer told reporters. "The 36 capabilities are what we need to possess," he said. "We now need to focus our investments in these 36 capabilities and build them."

Mayer noted, however, that urban areas and rural areas will not be expected to have the same level of competence in all capabilities. Rural areas, for example, might be expected to focus on achieving the core capabilities related to agriculture, which does not necessarily apply to urban areas.

Beginning in fiscal 2006, the department expects state governments to update their homeland security preparedness strategies to reflect how they are addressing the seven national priorities in order to receive further federal assistance.

Mayer said the National Preparedness Goal will aid the department in disbursing funds through the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Urban Area Security Initiative grants and the newly proposed Targeted Infrastructure Protection program.

President Bush ordered the creation of a national preparedness goal as part of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8, issued in December 2003.