[StBernard] Louisiana achieves emergency management accreditation

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana achieves emergency management accreditation

BATON ROUGE - Under the leadership of Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and direction of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the State of Louisiana recently received accreditation from the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) Commission, the only nationally recognized emergency management accreditation agency.

"This is a culmination of years of hard work," Governor Blanco said. "It shows the continued dedication of GOHSEP and the rest of our state agencies on behalf of the safety of our citizens. The process is arduous and consuming, but I am very proud we were able to accomplish this important goal." 

Only 14 other states achieved accreditation prior to Louisiana and to date Louisiana is one of only 19 state and local governments to be accredited nationwide.

"This is a tremendous honor for Louisiana. This accreditation shows Louisiana's continued efforts to achieve excellence in the Emergency Management arena," Col. Jeff Smith, Acting Director of GOHSEP said.

"Louisiana has achieved an important step in the accreditation process and we are pleased to see their success," said Dewayne West, chairperson of the EMAP Commission and director of Emergency Services for Johnston County, North Carolina. "State jurisdictions that work toward and achieve compliance and continue to show compliance on an annual basis with these standards are at the forefront in ensuring they are served by a comprehensive system to deal with disasters." 

Critical to earning the accreditation was bringing State agencies together to ensure the state's preparedness and to marshal resources to meet that objective.

EMAP is a voluntary assessment and accreditation process for state and local government programs responsible for coordinating prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery for both natural and man-made disasters. It recognizes the ability of a state or local government to bring together personnel, resources and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations in preparation for and in a response to an emergency. 

The EMAP process evaluates emergency management programs on compliance with requirements in 15 functional areas that include, but are not limited to, planning, resource management, training, exercise, evaluations and corrective actions; and communications and warnings. 

The State worked with an independent assessment team from EMAP to demonstrate through programs, documentation and on-site assessments that it met the programs national standards. Accreditation is valid for five years from the date that it is granted. Also, the State must remain in compliance with EMAP standards during these five years. 

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation
Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's People
www.louisianahelp.org