Status of Preparedness

Challenges and Considerations in Disaster Research

Domestic Preparedness February 29, 2016

This report addresses the ethical and operational concerns in research design, participant recruitment, data collection, and data interpretation during disaster research. In this report, researchers learn about procedural challenges that

Children in Disasters: Do Americans Feel Prepared?

Domestic Preparedness February 27, 2016

The purpose of the study was to learn more about people’s opinions and attitudes toward disaster preparedness with a focus on children in disasters. Findings from this national survey have

The Continuity Gap

Vincent B. Davis February 24, 2016

Corporate confusion could spell a disastrous response in a crisis. To dispel such confusion, companies should have an emergency manager on staff, ensure that employees are well prepared, and recognize

Railroad Ties Communities Together

James Metzger February 24, 2016

With Amtrak’s rail lines spanning communities across the United States (and parts of Canada), it is in a prime position to engage the whole community and to build national

Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community

Domestic Preparedness February 22, 2016

James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence for the U.S., offered this Statement of the United States Intelligence Community’s 2016 assessment of threats to US national security. Global threats discussed

Planning & Operations: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Sharon Russell February 17, 2016

For an emergency, planning personnel provide direction and operations personnel provide action. At first glance, their roles may seem very different but, in reality, they are dependent on one another

Public Health Preparedness Realities

Raphael Barishansky and Seth Komansky February 17, 2016

The term “situational awareness” typically conjures images of emergency responders on the scene of a complex incident with many emergency vehicles and various levels of activity, both command and operationally oriented. Public health normally does not enter into the equation, but perhaps it is time to change that thinking.

Ongoing Challenges and Future Considerations for DHS Biosurveillance Efforts

Domestic Preparedness February 17, 2016

This statement describes progress and challenges that the U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) implementation of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center and BioWatch

State of Preparedness 2016: Children & Child Care

Andrew R. Roszak February 10, 2016

By 30 September 2016, all states will be required to create child care disaster plans under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, which include procedures for facilities to: evacuate; relocate; shelter-in-place; lock-down; communicate; reunify families; continue operations; and accommodate infants, toddlers, and children with additional physical, mental, or medical needs.