Grant Details

Grants Office Grantwriting service fee is currently unavailable for this grant
Get more information on grantwriting

The Citizen Corps Program (CCP) program is one of five Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Homeland Security Grant Programs (HSGPs). The HSGP is an important part of the Administration's larger, coordinated effort to strengthen homeland security preparedness. The Citizen Corps mission is to bring community and government leaders together to coordinate the involvement of community members and organizations in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response, and recovery. The participation of community leaders in developing emergency plans is critical to the success of a comprehensive planning process. Community-based planning that involves the whole community will reflect an accurate composite of that community and establish a viable, fully integrated and coordinated plan that emergency officials will execute when an incident occurs. Specific emphasis should be placed on community preparedness practices that increase the inclusion of people with disabilities into community planning initiatives. Effective preparedness activities will include strategies, projects, and tools for meeting the access and functional needs of workers with disabilities, as well as citizens with disabilities through increased physical, programmatic, and communications access for people who have physical, sensory, intellectual, cognitive, and mental health disabilities in compliance with applicable laws that require inclusive preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Because each State and territory will be receiving CCP funds in FY 2011, SAA's must prepare an Investment that clearly identifies their proposed activities and support for the CCP mission. SHSP and UASI funds, in alignment with overall strategy and targeted investments, may be used to support all activities and programs allowable within the CCP. FY 2011 CCP funds provide resources for States, local, Tribal, and territorial communities to: (1) Bring together the appropriate leadership to form and sustain a Citizen Corps Council; (2) Develop and implement a plan and amend existing plans, such as EOPs to achieve and expand citizen preparedness and participation; (3) Conduct public education and outreach; (4) Ensure clear, timely, and accessible alerts/warnings and emergency communications with the public; (5) Develop training programs for the public, including children, individuals with disabilities, and access and functional needs populations, for both all-hazards preparedness and volunteer responsibilities; (6) Provide reasonable accommodations and modifications to enable individuals with disabilities to fully participate; (7) Facilitate citizen participation in exercises; (8) Implement volunteer programs, like the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program, and other activities to support emergency response services in response and recovery functions; (9) Involve citizens in surge capacity roles and responsibilities during an incident in alignment with the Emergency Support Functions and Annexes; (10) Conduct evaluations of programs and activities. As uniformed emergency responders constitute less than one percent (1%) of the total United States population, it is clear that citizens must be better prepared, trained, and practiced on how best to take care of themselves and assist others in those first crucial hours during and after a catastrophic incident. Individuals can reduce the demand for emergency assistance during catastrophic incidents by taking appropriate preparedness measures and actively contribute to the Nation's response capability by participating in response and recovery activities. A knowledgeable, trained, and involved public will provide the Nation with a critical surge capacity to augment government efforts in a catastrophic incident. Through the Ready Campaign and the nationwide network of State and local Citizen Corps Councils, DHS will focus on strengthening citizen preparedness capabilities, particularly for children, individuals with disabilities or access and functional needs, and socially vulnerable populations. Timely alert and warning to American citizens during catastrophic events is critical to preservation of life and property. All CCP grant recipients must register their Citizen Corps Council and/or CERT program and receive approval on the Citizen Corps website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/. In addition, all grant recipients must update / validate their Citizen Corps and/or CERT information, activity, and contacts located on the Citizen Corps and national program websites twice a year. Citizen preparedness and participation must be coordinated by an integrated body of government and nongovernmental representatives. States and local government recipients and sub-grantees of HSGP funds, including Urban Areas, must have such a body to serve as their Citizen Corps Council with membership that includes, but is not limited to: representatives from emergency management, homeland security, law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical services/public health or their designee, elected officials, the private sector (especially privately owned critical infrastructure), private nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations (including faith-based, community-based, and voluntary organizations), and advocacy groups for children, seniors, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. Representatives from existing Citizen Corps partners and affiliates active in the community should also be included on these Citizen Corps Councils. Furthermore, Citizen Corps Councils should include a MMRS representative, where applicable, along with advocates and specialists representing the unique needs of infants and children and representatives from the disability community. Volunteer programs and assets, which are authorized to deploy in response and recovery operations, must meet the minimum training and equipment requirements, as determined by the national program office in coordination with the sponsoring State/territory. Senior Advisory Committees (SACs) and UAWGs may serve as Citizen Corps Councils if the appropriate representatives are members, to include the State/UASI Citizen Corps Program Manager(s) and nongovernmental members. SAAs must coordinate all citizen involvement in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response, and recovery funded with any source of HSGP funds with the State agency currently responsible for the administration of Citizen Corps. A listing of current State Citizen Corps Program Managers is available by visiting http://www.citizencorps.gov/councils/ and selecting "Citizen Corps State Contacts". State Citizen Corps Program Managers shall provide quarterly updates to the FEMA Regional Community Program Manager. These quarterly updates should include information on State and local Council activities or events such as community preparedness public education and outreach, volunteer integration, and training and exercises. State Citizen Corps Program Managers must also continue to provide program management via the administrative section of the Citizen Corps website, http://www.citizencorps.gov, to include managing the approval process for local Citizen Corps Councils and CERT programs, managing administrative section passwords for local users, and managing calendar events, subscribers, and e-mails to local Councils. The community preparedness section(s) of State Homeland Security Strategies, policies, guidance, plans (including EOPs, the State Preparedness Report, and IJs), and evaluations should be reviewed by the body serving as the State Citizen Corps Council, where appropriate. Representatives from nongovernmental organizations that represent the demographic makeup of the community are expected to evaluate closely the functional areas of warnings, emergency public information, evacuation, mass care, resource management from nongovernmental sources, unaffiliated volunteer and donations management, and nongovernmental resource integration (goods and personnel) to support each emergency support function in the EOP. During this process, representatives should also evaluate capabilities with regard to infants and children and the integration of individuals with disabilities to ensure they are addressed throughout the EOP.