YOUR FEEDBACK Needed: FEMA National Continuous Improvement Guidance January 2022

 

NIMS Alert 02-22 NIMS Guidance and Tools

 

 

National Continuous Improvement Guidance

 

FEMA is seeking whole community stakeholder feedback to aid in the development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance

 

FEMA is seeking whole community stakeholder feedback to aid in the development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance. The engagement period will begin on Jan.18 and last until Feb. 10. A Continuous Improvement Program is a critical component of an organization’s operations as they incorporate lessons learned from exercises and real-world incidents so they can build capabilities and become more resilient. FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to gather input from whole community stakeholders that wish to participate and indicate what they would find most useful in establishing new or developing existing continuous improvement processes. Webinar sessions will be offered from Jan 25 - Feb.8. Listening Session #1: 11 a.m. – noon ET on Jan. 25. Listening Session #2: 2 – 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 27. Listening Session #3: 10 – 11 a.m. ET on Jan. 31. Listening Session #4: 5 – 6 p.m. ET on Feb. 02. Listening Sessions #5: noon – 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 08. For information on webinar sessions and to register visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/cip-citap/events.  For additional questions or feedback contact FEMA-CITAP@fema.dhs.gov.

Funding: Emergency Food and Shelter Program Announces Jurisdiction Allocations January 2022

FEMA Advisory

Emergency Food and Shelter Program Announces Jurisdiction Allocations   

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The National Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program announced $530 million in FY 2021 annual and supplemental funding to jurisdictions (counties and cities) to assist with feeding and sheltering.

The funds were made available by Congress and awarded by FEMA to the National Board for allocation and administration. The funds will be used to assist social service organizations dedicated to feeding, sheltering, and providing other critical resources to our nation's hungry and homeless. EFSP funds are used to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage, and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.

The National Board’s funding allocations to jurisdictions were made available by Congress through two sets of funding: 1) $130 million in annual funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and 2) $400 million in supplemental funding through Section 4007 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The $400 million in supplemental funding was provided by Congress to specifically address the continuing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Board qualifies local jurisdictions for EFSP allocations based on criteria involving the latest national population, unemployment, and poverty data. Local boards in the qualifying jurisdictions decide which nonprofit and government agencies receive the allocated funds. The funds are then disbursed directly to the agencies by the National Board. Eight percent (8%) of the funding will be made available to State Set-Aside Committees that will make funding determinations to aid people in jurisdictions with needs that may not be reflected in the National Board’s qualifying formula.

The National Board is chaired by FEMA and includes representatives from American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army, and United Way Worldwide. United Way Worldwide, selected by the National Board as its Secretariat and Fiscal Agent, is also responsible for the daily administration of the EFSP in alignment with federal requirements and National Board governance.

Information on allocations is available on the National Board’s website. In the next several days, the National Board will provide further instructions to each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of funds. 

Presenters Needed for Public Administration Research Conference (PARC) in March 2022. January 11, 202

 The UCF Center for Public and Nonprofit Management at the School of Public Administration is looking for presenters interested in sharing research and field experience from across the public administration discipline at the upcoming Public Administration Research Conference (PARC) in March 2022. 

Visit the conference website to learn more about this year's theme and submit a proposal: https://pheedloop.com/PARC21/site/home/. The deadline to submit proposals is January 17^th! For more information about PARC, please contact Justin Miller with CPNM at justin.miller@ucf.edu.

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Department of Education's FY2022 Forecast of Contract Opportunities January 2022

 

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Good Afternoon/Evening,

This is a notification that the U.S. Department of Education's FY2022 Forecast of Contract Opportunities is now live at https://www2.ed.gov/fund/contract/find/forecast.html. Please note that the forecast is not binding and is based on predictions of what ED expects to buy in the next fiscal year. 

If you have any questions about specific items, please reach out to the point of contact listed next to each Forecast item in question. For more general inquiries, you can email the small business office at small.business@ed.gov. 

 

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Forecast of ED Contract Opportunities

Forecast Date: January 6, 2022

The FY 2022 Forecast of U.S. Department of Education (ED) Contract Opportunities is available below. All items are pending availability of funds. The Department may, at any time, delay or cancel any or all Forecast items if the Department's requirements change. All contract award dates are projections. The information is subject to change and is in no way binding on the Government. Interested parties should monitor FedBizOpps for notices providing specific information on current opportunities.

ED posts solicitations at FedBizOpps (FBO). FBO is the single point on the Internet where vendors can access information needed to bid on government contracts over $25,000.00. Vendors may view a synopsis, download a solicitation, and register to receive notification of modifications to existing notices. FBO provides the capability to search for business opportunities by agency, posted date, classification code, and NAICS code. Opportunities for GSA schedule holders may be found at GSA's e-Buy website.  Opportunities may also be solicited through Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) or Agency contracts, or made through direct awards to 8(a) firms.

Small businesses, SBA 8(a) certified, HUBZone certified, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program certified and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program certified businesses should check the opportunities on the Forecast they are interested in. Businesses may contact the individuals named on the Forecast for information about a specific requirement. Capability statements may be sent electronically to the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at small.business@ed.gov or they may be faxed to (202) 245-6304. Alternatively, a hard copy can be mailed to the following address:

U.S. Department of Education/OSDBU
PCP, Room 10115
550 12 Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-0521

The Forecast is available for viewing and/or downloading:

 MS Excel (94 KB) - FY 2022 Forecast of Contract Opportunities

In order to view the ED Forecast, please download the file using Google Chrome.  Microsoft Explorer/Edge users should download the Forecast workbook to their computer in order to open the file.

HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING. Is this business in your community? January 2022

 Law enforcement officers in Arizona shows support for victims of human trafficking, educate community during awareness campaign

07/01/2022 06:05 AM EDT

A weekly compilation of engaging digital content.

HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING | HSI shows support for victims of human trafficking, educate community during awareness campaign HSI special agents across the country will come together Jan. 11, to show solidarity for victims of human trafficking, while pushing to educate the community on the various signs of the various forms of the crime. In recognition of this important topic, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Blue Campaign hosts Wear Blue Day.  Read more   HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING | HSI Kansas City asks public to support human trafficking victims during national awareness campaign “It is extremely important for human trafficking victims to understand how to get help, for the community to be able to recognize the signs of this crime and for both to know how to report it,” said HSI Kansas City Area of Operations SAC Katherine Greer." ”  Read more

HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING | HSI Nashville shows support for human trafficking victims, educate community during awareness campaign “HSI Nashville will proudly join other HSI and DHS offices throughout the U.S. and abroad as we don our blue on the 11th,” HSI Nashville SAC Jerry C. Templet said. “HSI would be extremely honored for our community to join us in this effort. Together, let’s show human trafficking victims they can come out of the shadows and get help and would be perpetrators that there is no longer a safe place to hide.” Read more

Leading FEMA's Equity Efforts. Jo Linda Johnson, Director of FEMA’s Office on Equal Rights (OER),

 

Leading FEMA's Equity Efforts

Equity is a cornerstone of FEMA’s work to ensure that everyone is prepared for disasters and has the support to recover from them. That’s the mission of Jo Linda Johnson, Director of FEMA’s Office on Equal Rights (OER), whether it’s working to shape a discrimination-free workplace for all FEMA employees, or equal access to FEMA services for all disaster survivors. Johnson, who’s worked at FEMA since 2018, admits it’s a big job. “Here at FEMA, I own responsibility for the civil rights of 22,000+ FEMA employees internally and 300 million members of the public who encounter FEMA-funded programs and services externally. During the pandemic, that was just about everyone in the country,” she said. Johnson’s previous experience helped prepare her for leading the OER. She spent five years as Director of the Transportation Security Administration’s Civil Rights Division. Before that, she worked for 12 years with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Johnson has a law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “Leadership matters, and trust matters. When leaders are upfront, transparent, and open to conversation and feedback, great things get done. Where there is low trust, poor communication, and poor accountability, hard problems are harder,” she said. “FEMA has so many leaders—at all levels—who take extreme ownership of problems, pass no bucks, and get hard things done. The amount of responsibility FEMA is asked to shoulder—and the scope of problems FEMA is asked to solve—for the nation is enormous.” Read more...

Register for your community sustainability, for you and your community. CERT Train-the-Trainer course if eligible.

Emergency Management Institute’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Virtual Course: K0428 Train-The-Trainer (TTT)

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) will offer the K0428 CERT Train-the-Trainer course online. The course dates and other course-related information are listed below. Course Description: This course prepares participants to deliver FEMA’s CERT Basic Training course. 2022 Course Dates:  January 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 (12 – 4 p.m.) February 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 (1 – 5 p.m.) March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 (12 – 4 p.m.) April 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 (1 – 5 p.m.) June 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 (12 – 4 p.m.) July 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 (1 – 5 p.m.) September 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 (12 – 4 p.m.) *Class size limited to 20 students. All times are EST. Each course offering meets 3 days per week for 4 hours for 2 consecutive weeks. Students must attend all sessions of their delivery. Who should attend: The audience for this course includes those who will have or currently have either of the following responsibilities: serves as the course manager for the CERT Basic Training course or serves as a CERT Basic Training course instructor. Location: These courses will be delivered in a virtual environment, completely online via Adobe Connect. Familiarize yourself with Adobe Connect. Students will use a course link to enter as guests. No Adobe Connect account or download of Adobe will be required. Cost: No cost. Students must have a FEMA Student Identification number (SID), computer with microphone, speaker, and stable access to the internet. Visit the FEMA Student Identification System to obtain a SID.  Prerequisites: A referral from a CERT-sponsoring agency, typically a local, regional, or state government agency. If you are not a first responder, the CERT Basic Training is required. For current first responders, IS-317: Introduction to CERT, will familiarize you with the CERT Program.  To Apply: Prospective students should apply through the Emergency Management Institute’s online admissions system.  Continuing Education Units:1.3 CEUs per course For additional information, contact Jamie ‘Betsy’ Mauk, EMI Course Manager, at jamie.mauk@fema.dhs.gov. Please refer to the EMI website for course date availability.

Opportunity: Apply to Become a 2022 National Equity Atlas Fellow Deadline: January 21, 2022

 

Apply to Become a 2022 National Equity Atlas Fellow APPLY HERE The National Equity Atlas research partnership, a collaboration between PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute, is seeking applicants for its 2022-2023 class of National Equity Atlas Fellows. This 12-month fellowship program is designed to support community-led efforts to advance racial and economic equity by building the capacity of people of color working in grassroots organizations to analyze, visualize, and use deeply disaggregated data in support of equity campaigns. Overview The fellowship provides an exciting opportunity for advocates working to dismantle structural racism and advance equitable policy change to deepen their data knowledge and skills. Fellows will have the opportunity to learn from other community-based leaders from across the country, share their experiences, and potentially collaborate on original data projects. Fellows’ home organizations will receive a $7,500 stipend to support their participation in the program, and fellows will have opportunities to engage with data and policy experts, collaborate with National Equity Atlas staff, and receive training to access datasets, conduct analyses, and create maps, dashboards, and other data visuals in Tableau and other visualization software. By the end of the program, Fellows will be able to design, develop, and produce their own custom data visualizations — such as fact sheets or interactive dashboards — to support their policy advocacy campaigns, with dedicated support and technical assistance from Atlas team members. The deadline for applications is January 21, 2022. For more information or to apply now, visit https://www2.policylink.org/e/78532/lab-fellowship/c4nn6t/652339314?h=bKmjDxt4kdALorW4Dvj3VaPiMO-ZS4-xIkNZyFpy4Es. Questions? Please email Selena Tan at selena@policylink.org.

National Risk Index. January 2022

Screen Reader users: Select this link to read the Mitigation Minute.

HMA Funds Can Be Used for Hazard Mitigation Planning January 2022

• The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program offers funding for planning.
• The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program offers funding for planning.
• The Flood Mitigation Assistance program offers funding for planning.

2022 Hazard Mitigation Partners Workshop Call for Abstracts. Abstracts are due by Jan. 14, 2022

Now through Jan. 14, 2022, FEMA is accepting abstracts for the 2022 Hazard Mitigation (HM) Partners Workshop! This workshop is an annual gathering of hazard mitigation stakeholders with the purpose of informing and updating them about mitigation grants and floodplain management, strengthening relationships, and providing knowledge transfer between FEMA and invited attendees. This virtual event will be May 2-5, 2022. This year's theme is Building Whole Community Resilience: Partnerships, Capability, & Capacity. Abstracts are due by Jan. 14, 2022. Learn more about this event and how to submit an abstract.