FEMA Disaster Workforce: Actions Needed to Address Deployment and Staff Development Challenges
Fast Facts
FEMA deployed thousands of staff to respond to multiple large-scale disasters in 2017 and 2018.
FEMA’s processes are intended to identify staff qualifications and skills, and use this information to deploy personnel. However, we found that FEMA didn’t provide reliable staffing information to the field during disasters. For example, staff in all 14 of our focus groups cited issues with personnel who were deemed “qualified” but didn’t have the skills to effectively perform their jobs, which affected disaster assistance.
We recommended that FEMA develop a plan to provide reliable information to field officials about staff skills and abilities.
FEMA staff
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established mechanisms to qualify and deploy staff to disasters. For example, the FEMA Qualification System tracks training and task performance requirements for disaster workforce positions and has a process to designate staff as qualified in their positions once they have completed these requirements. FEMA's deployment process uses an automated system to deploy staff members to disasters that match field requests for positions and proficiency levels. The process depends on the agency's qualification and deployment systems to identify staff qualification status and skillsets to meet field needs.
However, FEMA's qualification and deployment processes did not provide reliable and complete staffing information to field officials to ensure its workforce was effectively deployed and used during the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons. Specifically, GAO's focus groups with over 100 incident staff members and interviews with field and regional officials indicate that disaster personnel experienced significant limitations with qualification status matching performance in the field, due in part to challenges with how staff are evaluated through the qualification process. In all focus groups with applicable incident personnel, participants cited issues with staff members who were qualified in the FEMA Qualification System not having the skills or experience to effectively perform their positions. For example, one participant described supervising staff members who were qualified in the system but did not know the eligibility requirements for applicants to receive housing assistance, or what information needed to be included in the applicant's file. In addition, participants in the majority of the focus groups reported challenges with using FEMA's deployment processes to fully identify staff responsibilities, specialized skillsets, and experience. FEMA headquarters officials acknowledged the identified information challenges but said they have not developed a plan to address them in part because of competing priorities. Developing a plan to address identified challenges with providing reliable staffing information to field officials would enhance FEMA's ability to use staff as flexibly and effectively as possible to meet disaster needs.
Further, FEMA's disaster workforce experienced challenges with receiving staff development through the agency's existing methods to enhance the skills and competencies needed during disaster deployments—challenges FEMA headquarters officials acknowledged. Specifically, GAO's focus groups and interviews indicate that disaster personnel encountered challenges related to the availability of courses, providing and receiving on-the-job training and mentoring, and consistently receiving performance evaluations. For example, in 10 of 17 focus groups, participants cited barriers to taking courses that in their view would help them better perform their jobs. In addition, participants in seven focus groups stated that they did not receive coaching or feedback on the job. Relatedly, FEMA data show that at the start of deployments during the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons, 36 percent of staff did not have an official assigned to coach and evaluate task performance—the primary mechanism the agency depends on for coaching. Creating a staff development program would help better ensure FEMA's disaster workforce develops the skills and competencies needed to meet mission needs in the field.
Why GAO Did This Study
During the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons, several large-scale disasters created an unprecedented demand for FEMA's workforce. FEMA deployed 14,684 and 10,328 personnel at the peak of each of these seasons and reported staffing shortages during the disasters. GAO was asked to review issues related to the federal response to the 2017 disaster season.
This report addresses (1) how FEMA's disaster workforce is qualified and deployed, (2) how effective FEMA's qualification and deployment processes were during the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons in ensuring workforce needs were met in the field, and (3) the extent to which FEMA's disaster workforce receives staff development to enhance skills and competencies. GAO analyzed documentation and data on incident workforce qualification and deployment; conducted 17 focus groups with 129 staff members; and interviewed FEMA officials in headquarters, field, and regional offices.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations, including that FEMA develop (1) a plan to address identified challenges that have hindered its ability to provide reliable information to field officials about staff skills and abilities and (2) a staff development program for its disaster workforce that addresses training access, delivery of on-the-job training, and other development methods. The Department of Homeland Security concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Emergency Management Agency |
Priority Rec.
The FEMA Administrator should develop a plan—with time frames and milestones and input from field leadership—to address identified challenges that have hindered FEMA's ability to provide reliable and complete information to field leaders and managers about staff knowledge, skills, and abilities. (Recommendation 1) |
In May 2020, we found that FEMA's qualification and deployment processes did not provide reliable and complete staffing information to field officials to ensure its workforce was effectively deployed and used during the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons. For example, our focus groups with over 100 incident staff members and interviews with field and regional officials indicated that disaster personnel experienced significant limitations with qualification status matching performance in the field, due in part to challenges with how staff are evaluated through the qualification process. We also identified a number of other interrelated challenges related to position titles that do not fully reflect staff abilities and lack of information on specialized skills, among other issues. Consequently, we recommended that the FEMA Administrator develop a plan-with time frames and milestones and input from field leadership-to address identified challenges that have hindered FEMA's ability to provide reliable and complete information to field leaders and managers about staff knowledge, skills, and abilities. In response, FEMA officials said that they conducted a listening session in April 2021 with field leadership to gather input on the agency's qualification system. In June 2022, FEMA provided a plan that included both completed and ongoing actions to address our recommendation. For example, the plan included improvements to the qualification system's coach-and-evaluator program, such as implementing assessments of the program and the coach-and-evaluators themselves and using virtual coach-and-evaluator deployments when needed; conducting a pilot program that allows certain staff to have dual position titles; and establishing a performance evaluation program for reservists. FEMA officials stated that the actions in the plan enhance the reliability of FEMA workforce qualifications and increases field leadership accessibility of workforce information. Such actions could better enable the agency to use its disaster workforce as flexibly and effectively as possible to meet mission needs in the field. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency |
Priority Rec.
The FEMA Administrator should develop mechanisms, including collecting relevant data, to assess how effectively FEMA's disaster workforce was deployed to meet mission needs in the field. (Recommendation 2) |
In May 2020, we found that FEMA did not have measures or data to directly demonstrate deployment outcomes or how effectively the agency deployed available staff to meet mission needs. Headquarters officials said that, among other things, they generally looked at the number of staff members that were deployed to disasters, as well as declinations, to assess the extent to which they were able to meet staffing needs. They noted that this assumed the number, type, and timing of staff deployments matched field needs. However, our focus groups with over 100 incident staff members and interviews with field officials indicated that this was not generally the case. Consequently, we recommended that FEMA develop mechanisms, including collecting relevant data, to assess how effectively the agency's disaster workforce was deployed to meet mission needs in the field. In response, FEMA included questions in its 2023 National Collection Analysis Priorities survey to collect perspectives from FEMA staff on how well deployed staff met response needs, including the extent to which the response was over or understaffed; the timing of shortfalls; and staffing and skills by cadre. The survey is administered on a quarterly basis and designed to collect consistent after-action data across all major declared disasters. FEMA administered the survey with the new workforce deployment questions from January 1 through March 31, 2023, and prepared a briefing on the results in May 2023. According to FEMA officials, the data from the survey will be used to help inform after-action reviews and deployment decisions. These actions should help provide FEMA headquarters officials with critical information to assess whether its deployment strategies effectively placed staff with the right skills in the right place at the right time to meet mission needs, and to take corrective actions, if necessary. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency | The FEMA Administrator should create a staff development program for FEMA's disaster workforce that, at a minimum, addresses access to training, delivery of on-the-job training and mentoring, use of performance evaluations, and consistent developmental opportunities regardless of deployment status. (Recommendation 3) |
In May 2020, we found that FEMA's disaster workforce experienced challenges with receiving staff development to enhance the skills and competencies needed during deployments. For example, our focus groups with over 100 incident staff members and interviews with field and regional officials indicated that disaster personnel encountered challenges related to the availability of training courses, providing and receiving on-the-job training and mentoring, and consistently receiving performance evaluations. In addition, FEMA data showed that at the start of deployments during the 2017 and 2018 disaster seasons, 36 percent of staff did not have an official assigned to coach and evaluate task performance. Consequently, we recommended that the FEMA Administrator create a staff development program for FEMA's disaster workforce that, at a minimum, addresses access to training, delivery of on-the-job training and mentoring, use of performance evaluations, and consistent developmental opportunities regardless of deployment status. In response, FEMA took a number of steps to improve staff development for its disaster workforce. For example, in October 2020, to facilitate staff's ability to take training outside of the requirements in their Position Task Books (e.g., refresher training), FEMA built a new mechanism into its Deployment Tracking System that allows cadre management to assign such training to employees so that they can register for these classes. Further, according to FEMA, the agency implemented virtual coach-and-evaluator deployments to maximize pairing opportunities for staff who do not have available coach-and-evaluators to pair with in the Deployment Tracking System. The agency also implemented assessments that cadres can use to help ensure that coach-and-evaluators are effectively coaching disaster staff. In addition, FEMA issued a Deployment Performance Evaluation Directive in May 2020, which provides guidance to temporary duty supervisors for conducting deployment performance reviews and addressing any performance deficiencies of disaster staff. The deployment performance evaluations are recorded in the Deployment Tracking System and use the same core competencies as those for full-time staff. In 2022, FEMA also launched the Reservist Performance Management Directive, which establishes a process for providing annual performance appraisals for reservists and assisting them in maintaining and improving performance. According to FEMA, management can monitor appraisal completions through the systems they are entered in to help ensure that all reservists receive annual ratings. FEMA reported that, as of May 17, 2022, 97 percent of reservists received an appraisal rating for calendar year 2021. Such actions could help better ensure that FEMA's disaster workforce develops the skills and competencies needed to meet mission needs in the field. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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