Emergency Management for Higher Education
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Purpose
CFDA Number: 84.184T
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants
Also Known As: EMHE
Program Description
The Emergency Management for Higher Education (EMHE) grant program supports institutions of higher education (IHE) projects designed to develop, or review and improve, and fully integrate campus-based all-hazards emergency management planning efforts. A program funded under this absolute priority must use the framework of the four phases of emergency management (Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery) to:
- Develop, or review and improve, and fully integrate a campus-wide all-hazards emergency management plan that takes into account threats that may be unique to the campus;
- Train campus staff, faculty, and students in emergency management procedures;
- Coordinate with local and State government emergency management efforts;
- Ensure coordination of planning and communication across all relevant components, offices, and departments of the campus;
- Develop a written plan with emergency protocols that include the medical, mental health, communication, mobility, and emergency needs of persons with disabilities, as well as for those individuals with temporary special needs or other unique needs (including those arising from language barriers or cultural differences);
- Develop or update a written plan that prepares the campus for infectious disease outbreaks with both short-term implications for planning (e.g., outbreaks caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or food-borne illnesses) and long-term implications for planning (e.g., pandemic influenza);
- Develop or enhance a written plan for preventing violence on campus by assessing and addressing the mental health needs of students, staff, and faculty who may be at risk of causing violence by harming themselves or others; and
- Develop or update a written campus-wide continuity of operations plan that would enable the campus to maintain and/or restore key educational, business, and other essential functions following an emergency.
Types of Projects
The EMHE grant program provides funds to IHEs to establish or enhance an emergency management planning process that integrates the various components and departments of each IHE; focuses on reviewing, strengthening, and institutionalizing all-hazards emergency management plans; fosters partnerships with local and State community partners; supports vulnerability assessments; encourages training and drilling on the emergency management plan across the community; and requires IHEs to develop a written plan for preventing violence on campus by assessing and addressing the mental health needs of students, faculty, and staff who may be at risk of causing campus violence by harming themselves or others.
EMHE grantees enhance IHE emergency management capacity in a wide number of areas under the four phases of emergency management. In addition to responding to all elements of the Absolute Priorities and other Requirements, some key activities of EMHE grantees include:
EMHE grantees enhance IHE emergency management capacity in a wide number of areas under the four phases of emergency management. In addition to responding to all elements of the Absolute Priorities and other Requirements, some key activities of EMHE grantees include:
- Garnering support from top leadership within the institution;
- Training campus faculty, staff, and students in emergency management procedures;
- Coordinating planning across all relevant components, offices, and departments of the campus as well as the local community;
- Coordinating with local and State government emergency management efforts;
- Supporting the implementation of the National Incident Management System;
- Pre-establishing roles for faculty, staff, students and first responders;
- Creating web-based emergency management portals for information sharing on campus;
- Conducting drills and exercises with faculty, staff, students, and community partners;
- Completing comprehensive vulnerability assessments of campus facilities; and,
- Purchasing emergency equipment and technology necessary to improve overall campus safety and preparedness (but not as a majority of the requested funding).
