Two Programs Honored with Achieving National Emergency Management Accreditation

LEXINGTON, Ky. - March 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Lexington, KY – The State of Nevada and the City of Arlington, Texas achieve accreditation today by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP).

“In light of recent disasters, it’s never been more important to demonstrate and document the ability to coordinate emergency plans and actions. These programs serve as role models in the profession of emergency management,” Barb Graff, Director of Seattle Office of Emergency Management and Chair of the EMAP Commission.

In a time where our Nation’s emergency management is strengthening from the local level to a national scale, accreditation represents a significant achievement. To achieve accreditation, emergency management programs document compliance with a set of industry recognized standards used in the accreditation process and undergo a peer-review assessment by EMAP trained assessors. The emergency management program uses the accreditation to prove the capabilities of their disaster preparedness and response systems.

Accreditation is a means of demonstrating, through program assessment, documentation and on-site assessment by an independent peer review team, that a program meets national standards. Accreditation is valid for five years from the date the EMAP Commission grants accreditation.  Accredited programs must maintain compliance with EMAP standards and be reassessed in five years to maintain accredited status.

EMAP is a voluntary accreditation process for emergency management programs that coordinate preparedness and response activities for disasters based on national standards. EMAP recognizes the ability of emergency management programs to bring together personnel, resources and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations in preparation for and in response to an emergency, in addition to obtaining the ability to measure those capabilities. This forms the foundation of the nation’s emergency preparedness system. EMAP is the only accreditation process for emergency management programs.

Working collaboratively since 1997, emergency management professionals from national, state, local and higher education continue to provide quality standards and a process for determining compliance. The Emergency Management Standard creates a structure for strategic planning for improvement coupled with methodical, verified assessment by experienced peers from other jurisdictions, which results in stronger capabilities and accountability. The EMAP process evaluates emergency management programs on compliance with requirements in 16 areas, including: planning; resource management; training; exercises, evaluations, and corrective actions; and communications and warning.