Currently, there are major issues with several types of workers – primarily, full-time employees, FEMA reservists, and FEMA Corps. Low morale plagues the DHS full-time staff as a whole. The FEMA Reservist system has been revamped, and many in it are unhappy with new rules and requirements. Use of FEMA Corps personnel with “lightly” trained young adults is increasing in order to save money. At a time of bigger, more complex disasters, the workforce has become more complex.1
Reliance on FEMA as a reliable partner in EM – and on federal funding support in general – has decreased. In fact, in 2014 the head of the Brookings Institute delivered an op-ed piece on “How Washington Made Itself Irrelevant.”2 Among the key reasons are congressional actions (or lack thereof) on budgets; sequestration; and threats of department shut downs.
In the research community, the gap between academics, researchers, and practitioners has widened in the wake of more academic research centers, more federal agencies, more personnel, and more consultants, especially at DHS. In particular, the number of intermediaries between researchers and practitioners has grown. In the old days, we often knew who was researching what and could call on them; today, this is out of the question.
DHS created numerous university-based “Centers of Excellence” to focus on single issues, such as terrorism and coastal hazards. I consider these large amalgamations of universities to be “research oligarchies,” and the costs/benefits of supporting research in this way do not make sense. Researchers cannot easily access key officials – whether to discuss potential research projects or to obtain guidance on issues.
The federal government is not really flexible and agile, not secure in its funding for more than 1 year at a time, and always struggling to catch up. We cannot count on it to get out ahead of some of our current threats, let alone future hazards and threats in this political environment. Among the areas lagging are mitigation and recovery.
Yet there are two areas of positive change. First, despite the rise of climate change deniers, including members of Congress and governors of disaster-prone states, there have been tremendous improvements in science and technology. Second, the growth of the Internet and the advent of social media have greatly enhanced communications. Both responders and victims have benefited in many ways.
Comments (0)