GovernmentExecutive.com

Emergency management professionals learned many lessons from the chaotic response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, among them the need for a more coherent approach to providing mass care. The storm destroyed or rendered uninhabitable more than 300,000 homes, sending nearly a million people in search of shelter.

As a result of that unprecedented experience, the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed last year that FEMA should have responsibility for coordinating mass care, and not the Red Cross, as had been the case. That's because FEMA could direct federal resources to meet mass care needs, while the private Red Cross could not -- a factor that added to the confusion in the aftermath of Katrina.

That agreement was codified earlier this year in the National Response Framework, the emergency response blueprint FEMA published in January with input from other federal agencies and state, local and private entities involved in disaster management.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office raises concerns about the new arrangement, however. While GAO supports FEMA's role as the primary agency for providing mass care, it questions whether it has the staff and resources to do so adequately. Additionally, neither FEMA nor the Red Cross nor other volunteer organizations are sufficiently prepared to support the elderly or people with disabilities during a disaster, auditors found.

While the role of the Red Cross will remain largely the same as in the past, it no longer will be responsible for reporting data on all shelters, something it had been required to do. Now, the Red Cross will report only on its own shelters and states will be responsible for reporting on all other shelters. FEMA will be responsible for compiling the data on all shelters into a centralized database, still under development.

Some state officials told GAO they did not think they would be able to provide complete information about unplanned shelters that may emerge in a disaster, in part because those often are operated by volunteer organizations with no disaster response experience. GAO also found that FEMA has only one liaison working in each region to coordinate issues between volunteer organizations and FEMA.

Under the National Response Framework, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, an umbrella organization for 49 volunteer agencies, is supposed to coordinate with FEMA. But that group has only two employees, GAO found, noting the staff had doubled since Katrina.

Marko Bourne, director of policy and program analysis at FEMA, said in a recent interview that the agency has been working with states to identify gaps in planning and preparedness by systematically analyzing issues across 17 major categories, including holes in mass care planning. FEMA began the process with hurricane-prone states last year and will roll out the gap analysis program nationwide this year, Bourne said.

"It was the first time we went to the states and sat down and said 'Look, say there's going to be X event, in this case a hurricane, what is your local capacity to evacuate every major city on your coastline? Where would you put them? How are you going to feed them? What are you going to do with debris? What's your shelter plan? What are you doing? And then, let's take a look at those things that we collectively agree are the gaps, and let's see how we can fill them,'" Bourne said.

"The idea is it's a collaborative process between ourselves and the states and major jurisdictions," he said.

GAO acknowledged that FEMA has made progress with the gap analysis program, but said the agency had to do more, especially to address the needs of the disabled. FEMA "has generally not coordinated with disability experts as required by the [2006 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act]." GAO specifically chastised FEMA for not coordinating efforts with the National Council on Disability, a federal agency that addresses disability issues. Such coordination is required by the law.

"It's a real challenge," said Martin Gould, director of research and technology at the council. "We're doing the best we can to address the Post-Katrina Act mandate." He pointed out that the agency needs to have direct involvement in FEMA planning. On Wednesday, March 5, the council received an "11th hour" invitation to attend a meeting with FEMA representatives the following Monday to discuss special needs shelters, Gould said, adding that the council welcomes the opportunity.