Which Direction Is Criswell Taking FEMA?

If you want a taste of the initiatives that Deanne Criswell is implementing and getting support for, just read this article: “FEMA Sees Greater Need for Private-Sector Partnerships in COVID-19 Supply Chain Lessons.”

Thre is a lot more there than supply chain improvements. The list includes:

• More money for FEMA ($1.9 billion)
• More staffing (14 percent more) for FEMA
• More emphasis on cybersecurity (10 people)
• Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce
• Using a social vulnerability index and integrating social vulnerability data into decision-making
• Assessing future risk and not basing it on historical risk (climate change impacts)

More money and more staffing is always good, since the agency staff are already dog-tired from being shifted from one disaster to the next. But, and it is a big “but,” it won’t be possible to get ahead of the increasing number and severity of disasters — along with the federalization of disaster response. Everyone — governments, businesses and citizens — is looking for people with “FEMA” on their shirts and coats at the disaster scene.

It is going to be increasingly hard for FEMA to match up to people’s expectations.