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Pediatric Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness: A ... - PHE Home

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State <strong>and</strong> local governments share the primary responsibility for protecting their citizens from<br />

disasters, <strong>and</strong> for helping them recover when a disaster strikes. In some cases, a mass disaster is<br />

beyond the capabilities of State <strong>and</strong> local governments to respond, <strong>and</strong> the Federal sector is<br />

called upon to provide assistance.<br />

The DHS now comprises 22 agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency<br />

(FEMA). DHS is responsible for the comprehensive National Strategy for <strong>Home</strong>l<strong>and</strong> Security,<br />

which is focused on six key areas:<br />

• Intelligence <strong>and</strong> warning.<br />

• Border <strong>and</strong> transportation security.<br />

• Domestic counterterrorism; protecting critical infrastructure.<br />

• Defending against catastrophic threats.<br />

• Emergency preparedness <strong>and</strong> response.<br />

To learn more about DHS <strong>and</strong> its role in disaster preparedness <strong>and</strong> response, go to<br />

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp.<br />

Federal Response Plan<br />

The Federal Response Plan (FRP) was initially developed as the central document for the delivery<br />

of assistance to State <strong>and</strong> local governments in disasters or emergencies. It is a signed agreement<br />

among Federal departments <strong>and</strong> agencies that identifies actions that will be taken in the overall<br />

Federal response to disasters or emergencies. It is to be implemented in anticipation of an event<br />

that is likely to require Federal assistance <strong>and</strong> in response to an actual event requiring Federal<br />

disaster or emergency assistance. The FRP also may be implemented in response to a request made<br />

by a governor to the president for Federal assistance.<br />

Federal response operations are coordinated with State, local, <strong>and</strong> regional officials <strong>and</strong> include<br />

positioning of a Federal coordinating officer, <strong>and</strong> deployment of emergency response teams,<br />

regional support teams, <strong>and</strong> emergency support teams to operations centers near the incident site<br />

<strong>and</strong> at the regional <strong>and</strong> national operations centers. See Figure 2.1 for a graphic depicting the<br />

FRP or go to http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_Brochure.pdf for more<br />

detailed information.<br />

Preserving lives <strong>and</strong> safety of victims are main priorities of disaster response. One component of<br />

the FRP, known as Emergency Support Function #8 (ESF #8), Health <strong>and</strong> Medical Services, is<br />

led by the Department of Health <strong>and</strong> Human Services (DHHS). This function is supported by 15<br />

Federal <strong>and</strong> non-Federal agencies <strong>and</strong> provides coordinated Federal assistance to augment State<br />

<strong>and</strong> local resources after a major disaster or during the development of an anticipated public<br />

health <strong>and</strong>/or medical emergency. Assistance is also provided when State, local, or tribal public<br />

health or medical assets are overwhelmed <strong>and</strong> Federal support has been requested through proper<br />

authorities or when pending disasters are expected to overwhelm State, local, or tribal resources.<br />

Federal support also can be provided when these public health resources are not able to address<br />

all public health needs.<br />

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