FEMA head Craig Fugate just tweeted that NVOAD was saluted on the White House blog earlier this week. David Myers, Director for the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Homeland Security, wrote about the group and its annual conference held last week in Orlando:

….You might be asking yourself, what is a VOAD? The first thing I can tell you is that National VOAD is a key partner of FEMA and the DHS Faith/Community Center. National VOAD is a nonprofit membership organization whose members are national nonprofit organizations whose mission includes programs in disaster preparedness, response and/or recovery. Since its founding, state and local equivalents of VOAD have emerged to foster cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration at the state and local level–the heart of any disaster response. This conference is one of the only times during the year that these groups come together in non-disaster events…

Highlights of the conference included presentations by Joshua DuBois, Executive Director of the Office of White House Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. DuBois said, “You make wonders happen.” He described the work of disaster volunteers and staff gathered at the conference: “With the government’s partnership and your works of faith and service, people made hungry and homeless from disaster are fed and housed.”

In the wake of recent tornadoes, floods and storms, DuBois emphasized the point that federal government cannot help everyone alone. “You [volunteer] not because you have been assigned to do it. No one has conscripted anyone into service. You are there, voluntarily, because you cannot do otherwise.”

At the conference, NVOAD showed a 40th anniversary video (below) recounting its history and thanking those non-profits and volunteers for their work over the past four decades.

NVOAD’s 40th anniversary video

This blog has recommended that the Secretary create a task force on citizen and community preparedness so I think this is positive development. I also hope that citizen perspectives be reflected in the deliberations and ultimate recommendations. The members of the panel are a quality cross section of officials from throughout the nation. And, they will bring their experience as professionals as well as citizens to the task force. Yet sometimes it can be difficult for them to completely take off their official hats and put on their citizen ones in developing preparedness policy. So, I definitely suggest they make sure to elicit public input as part of their work. I look forward to following the task force’s activities.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced last week that she was appointing a task force to examine the future of the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) better known as the (much maligned and parodied) color-coded alerts.

Following a 60-day review period, the bipartisan task force will present its findings to Napolitano, who will in turn discuss them with other Cabinet agencies before making a recommendation to the White House.  I think it is terrific that the Secretary has assembled an accomplished and thoughtful group to look at this difficult communications challenge. It is very important not only as the alert system needs an overhaul but also because the color codes became a symbol of the government’s inability to communicate with and inform the public on emergency issues. The HSAS review offers a great opportunity to reintroduce the concept of homeland security to the citizenry and underscore their role in (and responsibility for) it.

The Department is now accepting comments on the future of the HSAS, which can be sent via email to hsasreview@dhs.gov. My suggestions are below. I have focused my analysis on the public aspect of the alert system not the other audiences that the HSAS was also designed for (ie. state and local governments, law enforcement, the private sector). My overall recommendation would be to suspend the current system and work on a more integrated approach that makes governmental alerts part of a stronger citizen preparedness effort, involves local and state initiatives, is two-way and provides more contextual information, covers all-hazards, includes robust ongoing communication between government and governed, and takes better advantage of new technologies.

* Consider The Public Separate From Government & Business – ”The mission of the Task Force,” according to its press release, “is to assess the effectiveness of the system in informing the public about terrorist threats and communicating protective measures within government and throughout the private sector.” I would argue that those tasks are not one in the same. One of the biggest problems with the current alert system is that it tries to serve too many masters. Alerting the citizenry is a different task than doing so for government and business. If the Task Force decides to maintain the HSAS in any format, I would definitely decouple the alerts so there is one specifically for the public.

* Put On Your Citizen/Parent Hats – Too often in these panels, the public perspective is left out: 1) because the governmental and business audiences are seen as more important, 2) the public warning is actually more difficult to design, or 3) there is no one in the room who is representing citizens as their top priority. I would hope each member puts aside their official titles and responsibilities and uses their citizen/parent eyes and ears when discussing public needs in these meetings. “If I was at home with my family and I heard this.” they need to ask themselves, “would it make sense? Would it be enough? And would I know what to do?” The good news is that Task Force Co-Chair and former Bush White House Terrorism Adviser Frances Townsend is very aware of that objective. In fact, she has told me in previous interviews that she views citizen preparedness policy through the prism of a mom. That’s a viewpoint necessary in the development of an effective alert system and, for that matter, citizen preparedness in general.

* Design With/For Public – Public emergency information is frequently designed without real public input and guidance. If there is any citizen review and approval, it is typically comprised of a couple of focus groups filled with people who aren’t totally sure what they’re offering feedback on. I would argue that there is no clear analog for alerting and informing the public on the range of threats (many new and unknown) we now face. And on the distribution side, there is definitely nothing in history like the new personal technology available to the government and the public. So, this is a very complex communications challenge. Getting meaningful citizen input and guidance is not simple, but it is crucial to developing a resonant, effective system — and in turn fostering a resilient public.

Further, the Task Force must make sure that they design a public alert system that is tailored specifically for the public not for other official stakeholders. For example, the World Health Organization’s pandemic levels may have been helpful to public health officials but they were confusing for citizens (particularly when a “pandemic” was declared and nothing changed). Similarly, as Amanda Ripley among others have pointed out, the U.S. hurricane categories are not as helpful alerting impacted communities about the severity of their situations as they should be. That’s because they only take wind into consideration not potentially more destructive storm surge.

Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge introducing the Homeland Security Advisory System on March 11, 2002 (AP Photo)

* Integrate Revamp Of Alert System Into Revamp Of The Larger Public Emergency Information/Preparedness Program – In announcing the Task Force Napolitano said, “My goal is simple: to have the most effective system in place to inform the American people about threats to our country.” I believe that achieving that goal cannot be done with a solitary alert system, but requires a more complete, integrated approach. To increase both its effectiveness and acceptance by the public, I think the alert system needs to be tightly tied into the overall governmental citizen readiness campaign (which I would expect will also be updated by the Obama Administration). Doing so would offer more context for the public and align the government’s citizen emergency communications. It would also help answer the question that Americans have when they hear a new alert: ‘Ok, now what should I do?’

* Work Towards Integrating Local, State, And Federal Technologies/Messaging – Similarly, it would be helpful to the public if any federal system is aligned with those of states and localities who are currently signing residents up for their text and email alerts. That’s important for consistency in communicating with the public, but it will also help in tailoring alerts by region, subject matter, and various specific “public’s”. Further, there is a need to decide and then to explain how any new alert initiative is related to the current Emergency Alert System and new-generation technologies such as IPAWS. (It would also be useful to explain the difference between an alert, a warning and an advisory!)

* Consider Creating An All-Hazards System (And If So, Doesn’t H1N1 Deserve An Alert?) — At the H1N1 Flu Preparedness Summit earlier this month, I heard senior U.S. officials including Napolitano and White House Homeland Security Advisor Brennan warn the public that the virus was “a deadly threat” and “time is of the essence” with the hope of persuading Americans to take action – begin preparing for what could be a very serious situation in the Fall. It is not a terror threat, but it has the potential to be similarly deadly (from the public’s perspective, what is the real difference in actions?)

There might be a concern that broadening the subject matter would dilute the impact of a warning for a major terrorist attack. Yet for the public (but not necessarily other stakeholders) many of the post-alert steps are the same whether it’s a serious pandemic or bioterror incident. Or a major hurricane for that matter. At the H1N1 Summit, top officials said that citizens should be preparing their homes as well as checking into the contingency plans for their places of work and children’s schools for the flu — well, that’s exactly what governments have been telling the public to do on for terrorism and natural disasters for years. This messaging could be coordinated so the public understands how they relate and overlap, with one complementing the other. Again, a key for the panel is looking at this from how the public consumes and acts on emergency information and alerts.

* Less Colors More Communication – It is very possible that the current graphic representation could be replaced largely with a robust commitment to ongoing communications. Last month, Napolitano held a news conference to highlight a couple of new Department initiatives, including a new mission statement, “The Department’s Five Responsibilities” in which she asked “Americans to live in a constant state of readiness, not a constant state of fear.” That seems like a good qualitative description of the nation’s (and the public’s) optimal status. And, in fact, I was interested in hearing her elaborate, because I thought it would offer some public guidance on this exact issue. But I didn’t get through. (A Department press aide suggested I post the question on my blog, and they would try to get an answer.)

It may be that there isn’t a need for an alert chart, but instead just being in the “state of readiness” — at which we now live our lives as parents, employees, etc. anyway — is a good enough description. It’s called citizenship in the 21st Century. Of course, government may have to tweak its description depending on the situation. Whether or not the alert color codes remain, it is crucial that officials keep an ongoing conversation on these issues with the American public.

* Make “Advisory” Two Way – New communications technologies allow for relevant information now to be provided by the public to the authorities in emergencies. Every American with a mobile phone is a potential ‘alert-er’ to collect and distribute information. Alerts and warnings no longer should just be top-down. Any new approach should incorporate the public as part of the system. The Task Force will have to look at both the content of the alert messages but also the distribution of them. This presents authorities with both a great opportunity and challenge.

The bi-partisan WMD Commission, led by former senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and  Jim Talent (R-MO), was established by Congress in response to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the nation address the grave threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The WMD Commission’s conclusions were published in December 2008 in the report, World At Risk. The Commission was recently given a one year extension for its work in large part to help facilitate the implementation of many of its recommendations.

As I have written before, the Report gave a refreshingly significant amount of attention on the role of the citizen. (In fact, “Role of the Citizen” is the title of its concluding chapter.) And, Commission co-chair Graham recently told me that informing Americans on WMD’s should be an “urgent” priority of the Obama Administration. Yet, Graham also realizes there is a need to determine what and how to educate and engage the public. One challenge is differentiating between the impact of and response to various threats. I look forward to working with Randy on these important issues. 

I will always be indebted to Randy as he was the first participant in this blog’s “What Should We Tell The Public?” video series. In his segment (below), he recommends everyone consider keeping a N-95 dust mask and a small head lamp (or other kind of mini-flashlight) with them at all times.

Randy Larsen  

According to Larsen, the WMD Commission will work to improve nuclear and biological security by “working with Congress and the Obama administration to get the Commission’s recommendations implemented; providing briefings to senior leaders in both the public and private sectors on biological and nuclear security issues; and, communicating these critical national security issues to the American public.

Dr. Thomas Inglesby, Deputy Director of the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC, said of the appointment: “We are very pleased that Colonel Larsen has accepted this important new position with the WMD Commission. We have strongly commended the Commission for its recommendation that the country act more decisively and urgently to deal with nuclear and biological threats. Randy Larsen has the experience, leadership, and skill to help the Commission carry out the next critical phase of its work.” 

Prior to joining the Center for Biosecurity, Randy served as the founding Director of the Institute for Homeland Security, as the Chairman of the Department of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College, and as a Research Fellow at the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, University of Pittsburgh. Randy served for a total of 32 years in the Army and Air Force. His flying career began as a 19 year old Cobra pilot in the 101st Airborne Division. He flew 400 combat missions in Vietnam. He also served as military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, the chief of legislative affairs at the U.S. Transportation Command, and was the commander of America’s fleet of VIP aircraft at Andrews AFB MD. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, 17 awards of the Air Medal (3 with “V” Device for Valor), and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

The new positions would be focused on particularly challenging national problems: tackling the dropout crisis, strengthening schools, improving health care and economic opportunity in low-income communities, cleaning up parks, aiding efforts to boost energy efficiency, as well as dealing with disasters and other emergencies.

A provision in the legislation would also establish September 11th as a “National Day of Service and Remembrance.” According to a sponsor, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), “September 11 should not only be a day for mourning — it should be a day to think about our neighbors, our community and our country.” I agree and hope the subject of citizen preparedness (which is such an important legacy of 9/11) plays a role in the Day of Service’s activities.

The House of Representatives have passed a similar version of the “Serve America Act”, and President Obama yesterday expressed his intent to sign the legislation when it gets to his desk.

Her Voices of September 11th co-founder, Mary Fetchet, sent a letter to members and friends of the group about Beverly’s passing, which I thought I would reprint below:

Dear Families and Friends,

It is with great sadness I am writing to inform you that our friend and colleague Beverly Eckert died tragically last night in a plane crash near Buffalo, New York.

After the death of her husband Sean Rooney on 9/11, Beverly joined me in co-founding Voices of September 11th to provide the 9/11 families a voice and advocate on their behalf. Beverly was passionate and deeply committed to improving the safety and security of Americans. She worked tirelessly to advocate for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and legislation based on its recommendations and more recently supported the implementation of the WMD Commission recommendations. Beverly was among the 9/11 family members who met with President Obama last Friday to discuss the closing of Guantanamo.

Beverly’s friendship, spirit and commitment were an inspiration to all those who had the privilege to work with her. It was an honor to know her and her friendship will be sorely missed. At this difficult time, we offer our heartfelt condolences and our prayers to her family and friends and all those in the 9/11 community whose life she touched.

As details about her memorial service become available, we will keep you informed. Please feel free to send your condolences to us at email@voicesofsept11.org and we will forward them to Beverly’s family.

Warm Regards,

Mary and the VOICES Staff