Disaster Assistance: Opportunities to Enhance Implementation of the Redesigned Public Assistance Grant Program
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) redesigned the Public Assistance (PA) grant program delivery model to address past challenges in workforce management, but has not fully assessed future workforce staffing needs. GAO and others have previously identified challenges related to shortages in experienced and trained FEMA PA staff and high turnover among these staff. These challenges often led to applicants receiving inconsistent guidance and to PA project delays. As part of its new model, FEMA is creating consolidated resource centers to standardize and centralize PA staff responsible for managing grant applications, and new specialized positions, such as hazard mitigation liaisons, program delivery managers, and site inspectors, to ensure more consistent guidance to applicants. However, FEMA has not assessed the workforce needed to fully implement the new model, such as the number of staff needed to fill certain new positions, or to achieve staffing goals for supporting hazard mitigation on PA projects. Fully assessing workforce needs will help to ensure that FEMA has the people and the skills needed to fully implement the new PA model and help to avoid the long-standing workforce challenges the program encountered in the past.
FEMA designed a new PA information and case management system—called the FEMA Applicant Case Tracker (FAC-Trax)—to address past information sharing challenges, such as difficulties in sharing grant documentation among FEMA, state, and local officials and tracking the status of PA projects, but additional actions could better ensure effective implementation. Both FEMA and state officials involved in testing of the new model stated that the new information system allows them to better manage and track PA applications and documentation, which could lead to greater transparency and efficiencies in the program. Further, GAO found that this new system fully addresses two of four key information technology (IT) management controls—project planning and risk management—that are necessary to ensure systems work effectively and meet user needs. However, GAO found that FEMA has not fully addressed the other two controls—requirements development and systems testing and integration. By better analyzing progress on high-level user requirements, for example, FEMA will have greater assurance that FAC-Trax will meet user needs and achieve the goals of the new delivery model.
Enhancements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance Program under the New Delivery Model
Why GAO Did This Study
FEMA, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has obligated more than $36 billion in PA grants to state, local, and tribal governments to help communities recover and rebuild after major disasters since 2009. Further, costs are rising with disasters, such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017. FEMA recently redesigned how the PA program delivers assistance to state and local grantees to improve operations and address past challenges identified by GAO and others. FEMA tested the new delivery model in selected disasters and announced implementation in September 2017.
GAO was asked to assess the redesigned PA program. This report examines, among other things, the extent to which FEMA's new delivery model addresses (1) past workforce management challenges and assesses future workforce needs; and (2) past information sharing challenges and key IT management controls. GAO reviewed FEMA policy, strategy, and implementation documents; interviewed FEMA and state officials, PA program applicants, and other stakeholders; and observed implementation of the new model at one test location following Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
Recommendations
GAO is making five recommendations, including that FEMA assess the workforce needed for the new delivery model and improve key IT management controls for its new information sharing and case management system, FAC-Trax. DHS concurred with all recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Administrator for Recovery | The FEMA Assistant Administrator for Recovery should complete a workforce staffing assessment that identifies the appropriate number of staff needed at joint field offices, Consolidated Resource Centers, and in FIMA's hazard mitigation cadre to implement the new delivery model nationwide. (Recommendation 1) |
FEMA concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. In November 2018, FEMA had completed their Coordinated Workforce Review, which included defining the force structure for the Public Assistance (PA) program and relevant Hazard Mitigation positions managed by the Flood Insurance and Mitigation Administration, but did not detail the workforce structure for each position at the consolidated resource centers (CRCs). In May 2019, FEMA finalized the decision to implement the new delivery model for PA--referred to as the national delivery model--in the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. FEMA expected these two disasters to include 12,000 projects, which affected the program's prior workforce projections. As a result, the program also decided to open a fourth CRC in San Juan, Puerto Rico to address the workload. As of December 2019, FEMA provided a briefing on their CRC workforce, which included a planned Force Structure of 147 positions at each of four CRCs, totaling a CRC force structure of 588. According to officials, through 2020, FEMA plans to continue to evaluate the throughput of the projects to continue the assessment of the force structure and determine how contract and surge support will support the force structure. Based on these actions, we consider the recommendation closed as implemented.
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| Assistant Administrator for Recovery | The FEMA Assistant Administrator for Recovery should establish controls for tracking FAC-Trax capabilities to the system's functional and operational requirements to more fully satisfy requirements development controls and ensure that the new information system provides capabilities that meets users' needs and expectations. (Recommendation 2) |
FEMA concurred with this recommendation, and as of February 2018 has taken actions to implement it. Specifically, FEMA incorporated steps to document the connection between functional and operational requirements and the capability development process for FAC-Trax. Additionally, FEMA institutionalized these controls in the FAC-Trax Requirements Management Plan. Based on these actions, we consider the recommendation closed as implemented.
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| Assistant Administrator for Recovery | The FEMA Assistant Administrator for Recovery should establish system testing criteria, such as a "definition of done," to assess FAC-Trax as it is developed; define the roles and responsibilities of all participants; and develop the sequence and schedule for integration of other systems with FAC-Trax to more fully satisfy systems testing and integration controls. (Recommendation 3) |
FEMA concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. In January 2018, officials updated the FAC-Trax System Integration Plan to define the roles and responsibilities, sequence, and schedule for integration of FAC-Trax to interface with two key systems. Officials also established a "definition of done," to assess FAC-Trax as it is developed. Officials had planned to continue such actions to support integration with the State Grants Management systems and the Emergency Management Mission Integrated Environment system of record. However, the agency determined that an interface to the State Grants Management system is no longer needed, due to the states being able to access relevant information through the Grants Portal. Further, in August 2019, FEMA finalized the decision to have FAC-Trax built out to be the system of record, and began planning the process of migrating the data from the Emergency Management Mission Integrated Environment to FAC-Trax, as opposed to integrating these two systems. FEMA plans to begin the migration of historical data in early calendar year 2020, and intends to complete the migration by the end of calendar year 2021. Based on these actions, we consider this recommendation closed as implemented.
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| Assistant Administrator for Recovery | The FEMA Assistant Administrator for Recovery, in coordination with the Associate Administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, should implement procedures to standardize planning for addressing PA hazard mitigation at the joint field offices, for example, by requiring FEMA and state officials to develop a memorandum of understanding outlining how they will prioritize and address hazard mitigation following a disaster as it did through prior policy. (Recommendation 4) |
FEMA concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. As of January 2018, officials reported completing actions to analyze hazard mitigation data and develop solutions to improve program implementation, such as updated planning procedures for PA hazard mitigation. According to FEMA officials, these proposed solutions are being refined and tested. As of September 2018, FEMA has stood up the new 406 Mitigation Branch and is in the process of identifying which PA documents need updating based on updated hazard mitigation planning procedures. In March 2019, FEMA officials stated that the 406 Mitigation Branch is also coordinating with PA and the Field Operations Directorate on defining field roles and responsibilities, staffing, policies, and processes to ensure PA hazard mitigation at the joint field offices is standardized and thoroughly integrated into the recovery process. As of October 2019, FEMA had completed multiple efforts to standardize planning for hazard mitigation in the PA process. These efforts include: 1) documenting updates to the hazard mitigation function within the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, 2) updating process flow charts to identify the roles and responsibilities for consideration of hazard mitigation, and 3) updated guidance for PA specialists and managers to help clarify these roles and responsibilities. Based on these actions, we consider the recommendation closed as implemented.
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| Assistant Administrator for Recovery | The FEMA Assistant Administrator for Recovery, in coordination with the Associate Administrator of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, should develop performance measures and associated objectives for the new delivery model to better align with FEMA's strategic goal for hazard mitigation in the recovery process. (Recommendation 5) |
FEMA concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. In September 2018, officials reported completing activities to develop disaster-specific mitigation performance measures that align with strategic goals and analyzed available data to identify the drivers of mitigation in events of various sizes. In December 2019, the Public Assistance Division conducted a three-day workshop with relevant stakeholders, including representatives from Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, to discuss performance metrics related to the Public Assistance program delivery process. According to officials, participants developed performance measures at the national, regional, disaster, and individual levels based on five Key Performance Indicators-1) accessibility, 2) accuracy, 3) efficiency, 4) simplicity, and 5) timeliness. These indicators included associated metrics, which the mitigation leadership contributed to and approved. In January 2020, FEMA held a workshop to present the performance indicators and metrics to stakeholders for feedback. In February 2020, public assistance program managers presented the performance metrics to senior leadership. According to program officials, management approved the performance measures in March 2020 to use as a basis for future program activities.
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