In a February 2012 FEMA town hall  meeting, FEMA’s Administrator acknowledged that there are  inconsistencies across the FEMA regions, and noted that due to  differences in how regions operate, it is problematic to deploy someone  based in one region to another during a disaster.cadre manager we interviewed cited inconsistency in policy application  saying, “there is an ongoing problem of the right hand not knowing what  the left hand is doing with respect to when policies are implemented or  are in conflict with one another”. which describes FEMA’s mission, purpose, and defines the agency’s  principles, FEMA advocates the practice of consistent decision making by  those with authority to act.monitoring of the regional implementation of DAE policies and  procedures, as well as how DAEs implement disaster policies, could help  provide FEMA with reasonable assurance that disaster assistance is  being implemented by DAEs in accordance with policy and consistently  across regions. FEMA Has Not Established Standardized Hiring and Salary Criteria for DAEs

FEMA has not established standardized hiring criteria for prospective  DAEs, and FEMA headquarters provides limited guidance to regions on  which to base DAE salary determinations. better positioned to hire people with the requisite skills and have  reasonable assurance that hiring decisions are being made consistently  across regions. IWMO and OCCHCO officials noted in March 2012 that performance  management is a critical component of the supervision of DAEs and  stated that it must be improved in fiscal year 2012 during FEMA’s  Disaster Workforce Transformation effort. In addition, 13 of 16 regional cadre managers stated that the  appraisal process could be improved in various ways, such as  implementing a rating scale instead of a pass/fail rating. FEMA’s DAE Training Is Not Consistent with Key Attributes of Effective Training and Development Programs

FEMA’s DAE training is not consistent with key attributes of effective  training and development programs that could help to ensure that its  training and development investments are targeted strategically. FEMA Does Not Have a Plan to Ensure DAEs Receive Required Training

FEMA does not have a plan with time frames and milestones to ensure  DAEs receive training, including required training for its new credentialing  program, FQS. Thirteen of 16 regional cadre  managers said that they would like more opportunities for DAEs to  receive training. Systematically Tracking Training Cost Could Allow FEMA to Better Plan for Future Training Expenses

FEMA does not track how much of the Disaster Relief Fund is spent on  training for DAEs while deployed to JFOs. FEMA Announced Impending Transformation of DAE Program, but It Is Too Soon to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Agency’s Planned Actions

On April 17, 2012 FEMA announced plans to transform the DAE program. Conclusions

FEMA relies heavily upon DAEs to respond to disasters. The agency has  taken steps to improve the program, such as establishment of a  credentialing program, FQS, and a planned transformation of the DAE  program; however, it is too soon to assess the extent to which these  efforts will address the challenges we identified with FEMA’s  management of the DAE program, the workforce, and training. Furthermore, FEMA’s decentralized structure allows for flexibility;  however, establishing a mechanism to ensure ongoing monitoring of  regional implementation of DAE policies and procedures and DAEs’  implementation of FEMA’s disaster policies and procedures can assist  management in ensuring that disaster assistance is conducted in  accordance with policy and consistently applied across regions. Further, FEMA’s human capital controls do not adhere to internal control  standards for hiring, compensation, and performance appraisals. Establishing a plan with milestones for training DAEs would provide  FEMA with a roadmap to train its DAE workforce and ensure  accountability for qualifying DAEs under FQS. Establish a mechanism to monitor both its regions’ implementation of  DAE policies and procedures and DAEs’ implementation of FEMA’s  disaster policies and procedures to ensure consistency. In regards to the fifth recommendation, that FEMA establish a more  rigorous performance appraisal system that includes criteria and  guidance to serve as a basis for performance ratings, as well as how  ratings could be used, and a process to address performance  deficiencies, DHS agreed. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The objectives of this report were to determine (1) to what extent does the  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have policies and  procedures in place to govern the Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)  program; (2) to what extent are FEMA’s human capital controls over the  DAE workforce consistent with internal control standards; and (3) to what  extent does FEMA’s DAE training incorporate key attributes of effective  training and development programs. The results  of the focus groups are not generalizable.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since fiscal year 2007 FEMA has obligated $33 billion in disaster assistance payments. FEMA relies heavily upon its cadre of DAEs, a reserve workforce who interact with disaster survivors. GAO was asked to review the management and training of DAEs. Specifically, this report addresses the extent to which (1) FEMA has policies and procedures in place to govern the DAE program; (2) FEMAs human capital controls over the DAE workforce are consistent with internal control standards; and (3) FEMAs DAE training incorporates key attributes of effective training and development programs. In addition, GAO describes FEMAs initiative to transform the DAE program announced in April 2012. GAO reviewed management documents such as program-specific and human capital-related guidance, interviewed FEMA officials, and conducted 16 focus group sessions with DAEs in four selected joint field offices chosen to provide geographic dispersion, among other factors. The results of the focus groups are not generalizable, but provide valuable insight into DAE experiences.

What GAO Found

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken steps to enhance its management of the Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE) program, such as through the establishment of a credentialing program, the FEMA Qualification System (FQS); however, management controls and training could be strengthened. For example, FEMA does not monitor how the regions implement DAE policies and how DAEs implement disaster policies across regions to ensure consistency. FEMAs Administrator noted that due to differences in how regions operate, it is problematic to deploy someone based in one region to another during a disaster. Establishing a mechanism to monitor both the regional implementation of DAE policies and procedures and DAEs implementation of disaster policies could help provide FEMA with reasonable assurance that disaster assistance is conducted in accordance with policy and implemented consistently.
FEMAs human capital controls could be strengthened. FEMAs regional DAE managers are responsible for hiring DAEs, but FEMA has not established hiring criteria and has limited salary criteria. By establishing standardized criteria for making hiring and salary decisions, FEMA would be better positioned to hire people with requisite skills and better ensure consistency across regions. Likewise, FEMAs performance appraisal system for DAEs is not consistent with internal control standards. FEMA does not have criteria for supervisors to assign DAEs satisfactory or unsatisfactory ratings. Thirteen of 16 regional DAE managers GAO interviewed stated that the appraisal process could be improved, such as implementing a rating scale instead of a pass/fail rating. FEMA officials noted that performance management is a critical component in DAE supervision and must be improved in fiscal year 2012. Establishing a more rigorous performance management system that includes criteria for given performance elements as well as guidance could help FEMA ensure that DAEs performance appraisals more accurately reflect performance and provide needed information to managers.
FEMAs DAE training is not consistent with key attributes of effective training and development programs, such as a plan for training staff. FEMA does not have a plan to ensure DAEs receive necessary training such as FQS requirements. Further, 13 of 16 regional DAE managers GAO spoke to said that they would like more opportunities for DAEs to receive training. A plan to ensure that all DAEs have opportunities for training and completing FQS requirements with related milestones would provide FEMA with a roadmap and ensure accountability for qualifying DAEs under FQS. In addition, FEMA does not track how much of the Disaster Relief Fund is spent on training for DAEs. Developing a systematic process to track training costs could provide FEMA with information to help it determine whether it is allocating its resources effectively.
In an April 2012 memo, FEMA announced plans to transform the DAE program beginning in June 2012; however, this effort is still in the early stages and as a result, it is too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of FEMAs planned actions.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that FEMA establish a mechanism to monitor both its regions implementation of DAE policies and DAEs implementation of disaster policies; criteria for hiring and compensating DAEs; and a plan to train DAEs within a set time frame. DHS concurred with the recommendations.