Analysis of the National Preparedness System - Assignment Example

Analysis of the National Preparedness System Introduction As a part of the National Preparedness System that was released in 2011, the National Planning Frameworks aims at setting the strategy as well as doctrine that will enhance building, coordinate structures and alignment of major roles and responsibilities for the whole community. In addition, the key role of the framework is to indicate the roles of the individuals, non-profit organizations, NGOs, communities, private sector, government and nation as whole among other parties. By providing the interdependency among the mission areas which represent a spectrum of activities and regular coordination among the departments, the agencies are in a position to work as a team. As a result, they are in a better position to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to as well as recover from different hazards and threats. This paper aims at specifying the nature of the interrelationships between the parties as well as requirements that the government must meet in order to declare a federal disaster and provide federal assistance. The interrelationships between the parties In addition to providing the security to the citizens, the US government is focused at creating strong positive relationship among the federal, state, and local government as well as other bodies in order to ensure disasters are properly handled. One of the key themes that have been adopted in order to deal with the core capabilities as stipulated in the National Preparedness Goal is engaged partnership with the whole community (Jaffin, 2008). This theme indicates that culturally effective communication among all the agencies, international partners as well as whole community is vital. Scalable, flexibility and adaptability is another theme that is adopted by the core capabilities in order to make them executable. The national prevention framework as one of the frameworks, overviews roles that the whole community should do upon discovery of a threat to the homeland security. Notably, the framework provides guidance to the practitioners as well as the leaders at all the levels of government on how to avoid or stop a threat. First, it aligns roles and responsibilities to create a prevention capability in conditions that are time sensitive. Secondly, it describes coordinating structures that ensures all the stakeholders work as a team. By creating a strong connection between the national-level coordinating structures for example the National Operations Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, with Field coordinating structures such as Field Intelligence Groups the country is able to handle imminent acts of terrorism. On its part, the National Protection Framework indicates what the whole community starting from the public to government leaders in senior positions on what to do to safeguard the country against terrorist acts and other hazards. The framework provides guidance to practitioners as well as government leaders, and private firms among other parties in various ways. First, it indicates core capabilities required to achieve protection mission and attain a safer condition as well as a more resilient nation (National Planning Frameworks 2011). Secondly, it describes coordinating structures that ensures the stakeholders work together. Some of the notable protection core capabilities emulated by the National Protection Framework includes public warning and information, information sharing, access control and identity verification, physical protective measures, screening and detection as well as cybersecurity among others. The national mitigation framework indicates the mitigation roles within the entire community. This implies that it provides the strategies that the parties use to develop, employ, in addition to coordinating core capabilities to reduce loss of property and lives. This is undertaken by reducing the impact of the threat or the disaster. Besides providing an evidence-based knowledge, this framework increases risk awareness across the whole community. Some of the key capabilities that are covered by National Mitigation Framework include public warning, community resilience, threats and hazard identification, and operational coordination among others. National Response Framework provides guidance to the community on how to respond to different types of emergencies and disasters. One of the notable roles of this framework is that it provides specific authorities and appropriate practices of dealing with purely local to large-scale terrorism attack. National Response Framework provides core capabilities that are vital in saving lives, protecting the property, stabilize the incident and a secure environment while going towards the transition recovery. Notable core capabilities include planning, critical transportation, health and safety, mass care services, on scene security, operational communications, medical services and situational assessment. On its part, the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) provides guidance to the whole community on how to promote effective recovery mostly during a large-scale attack. One of the important aspects of NDRF is that it allows for flexible structures that are imperative in allowing the disaster recovery managers to operate in a corroborative way as well as in a unified manner. Core capabilities provided by National Disaster Recovery Framework includes public information and warning, economic recovery, housing, natural and cultural resources, and health and social services. Requirements to declare a federal disaster and provide federal assistance In its effort to declare a disaster and provide the necessary assistance, the US government must meet some criteria. According to the studies done by Thomas A. Garrett and Russell S. Sobel, renowned economists, political influence has been used in declaring a disaster. They argued that states that were of political importance to the president were more likely to enjoy more disaster declaration as well as high disaster expenditure (Robert 2011). Government Accountability Office study of 1989 indicated that politics have a significant impact on disaster declaration. According to the Stafford Act, all individuals who reside in regions that are exposed to disaster declaration are eligible for help. This is determined by the president who informs the public through the administrative officers. During the 111th Congress, a piece of legislation that aimed at providing assistance to disaster victims earning below $ 100,000 could have been introduced (Robert 2011). It is argued that if the federal officials obtain paper records indicating income level, a threshold for assistance can be established if information on individuals with high incomes is obtained. Suggested two requirements An event that has a strong economic impact on the US economy can be a point to consider in the disaster declaration. For instance, if the disaster causes a significant loss of jobs as well as high security expenditure a disaster declaration can be done. This implies that the government will came in and provide health, food, security and medical assistance. By providing funds to the disaster hit areas, job opportunities will in turn be generated thus returning the Gross Domestic Product of the country to its original position. Another requirement for disaster declaration is to check on the number of young children affected by a disaster. In such cases, the assistance will reduce the rate of dependency in future thus lowering the level of poverty in the disaster hit regions. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that unity and corroboration are two aspects that cannot be overlooked if countries are to contain disasters. The establishment of National Planning Frameworks that comprises of National Prevention Framework, National Protection Framework, National Mitigation Framework , National Response Framework and National Disaster Recovery Framework is a good example of how US is ready to deal with the disasters. If other countries emulate similar strategies, terrorism activities will be dealt with in an effective manner. Additionally, clear legislation should be put in place to avoid political impact during disaster declaration. This is due to the fact that regardless of their political affiliation, all communities are eligible for government assistance during disasters. References Jaffin, B (2008). Emergency Management Training: How to Find the Right Program. Emergency Management Magazine. National Planning Frameworks. (2011). located at www.fema.gov/national-planning-frameworks Robert T. (2011). Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-288) as amended. CRS Report for Congress located at www.fema.gov/robert-t-stafford-disaster-releif-and-emergency-assistance-act-public law-93-288 Read More