	Background

Section 550 of the DHS appropriations act for fiscal year 2007 requires  DHS to issue regulations establishing risk-based performance standards  for the security of facilities that the Secretary determines to present high  levels of security risk, among other things. Senior ISCD Leaders Developed the ISCD Memorandum to Highlight Various Challenges Hindering CFATS Implementation

		ISCD’s Memorandum Based Largely on Observations of Senior ISCD Managers

Our review of the ISCD memorandum and discussions with ISCD officials  showed that the memorandum was developed during the latter part of  2011 and was developed primarily based on discussions with ISCD staff  and the observations of the ISCD former Director in consultation with the  former Deputy Director. In November 2011, the former Director and  Deputy Director provided the Under Secretary with the ISCD  memorandum entitled “Challenges Facing ISCD, and the Path Forward.”  These officials stated that the memorandum was developed to inform  leadership about the status of ISCD, the challenges it was facing, and the  proposed solutions identified to date. ISCD Management Was Concerned That Challenges Place the CFATS Program at Risk

The ISCD memorandum discussed numerous challenges that, according to  the former Director, pose a risk to the program. In  addition, the memorandum provided a detailed discussion of the issues or  problems facing ISCD, grouped into three categories: (1) human capital  management, such as poor staffing decisions; (2) mission issues, such as  the lack of an established inspection process; and (3) administrative issues,  such as a lack of infrastructure and support, both within ISCD and on the  part of NPPD and IP. ISCD Has Begun to Take Various Actions Intended to Address Challenges Identified

		ISCD’s Action Plan Included Time Frames and Appears to be Helping Address Some Legacy Issues

ISCD is using an action plan to track its progress addressing the  challenges identified in the memorandum, and, according to senior  division officials, the plan may be helping them address some legacy  issues that staff were attempting to deal with before the memorandum  was developed. They said that they agreed that actions being taken in the plan were  needed to resolve challenges facing ISCD. ISCD’s June 2012 Plan Update Showed 38 Action Items Completed

Our analysis of the June 2012 version of the ISCD action plan showed  that 40 percent of the items in the plan (38 of 94) had been completed. The remaining 60 percent (56 of 94) were in progress. For the remaining 56 items that were in progress as of June 2012, 40  involved human capital management and administrative issues. Action Plan Performance Measures Could Help Gauge Progress

ISCD, through its action plan, appears to be heading in the right direction  towards addressing the challenges identified, but it is too early to tell if the  action plan is having the desired effect because (1) the division had only  recently completed some action items and continues to work on  completing more than half of the others, some of which entail long-term  changes, and (2) ISCD had not yet developed an approach for measuring  the results of its efforts. The agency  concurred with our recommendation and developed a new action item  (number 95) intended to develop metrics for measuring, where practical,  results of efforts to implement action plan items, including processes for  periodic monitoring and indicators for corrective actions. ISCD Officials Stated That Almost Half of the Action Items Required Collaboration with or Action by NPPD or IP

According to ISCD officials, almost half of the action items included in the  June 2012 action plan either require ISCD to collaborate with NPPD and IP  or require NPPD and IP to take action to address the challenges identified  in the ISCD memorandum. NPPD, IP, and ISCD officials have been  working together to identify solutions to the challenges the memorandum  identified and to close pertinent action items. This  includes collaborating with NPPD officials representing the NPPD human  capital, facilities, and employee and labor relations offices, among others,  and with IP’s Directorate of Management Office.
Why GAO Did This Study

The events of September 11, 2001, triggered a national re-examination of the security of facilities that use or store hazardous chemicals in quantities that, in the event of a terrorist attack, could put large numbers of Americans at risk of serious injury or death. As required by statute, DHS issued regulations that establish standards for the security of high-risk chemical facilities. DHS established the CFATS program to assess the risk posed by these facilities and inspect them to ensure compliance with DHS standards. ISCD, a division of IP, manages the program. A November 2011 internal ISCD memorandum, prepared by ISCD senior managers, expressed concerns about the management of the program. This statement addresses (1) how the memorandum was developed and any challenges identified, (2) what actions are being taken in response to any challenges identified, and (3) the extent to which ISCD's proposed solutions require collaboration with NPPD or IP. GAO's comments are based on recently completed work analyzing the memorandum and related actions. GAO reviewed laws, regulations, DHS's internal memorandum and action plans, and related documents, and interviewed DHS officials.
In a July 2012 report, GAO recommended that ISCD explore opportunities to develop measures, where practical, to determine where actual performance deviates from expected results. ISCD concurred and has taken action to address the recommendation.

What GAO Found

The November 2011 memorandum that discussed the management of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program was prepared based primarily on the observations of the former Director of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD), a division of the Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) within the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). The memorandum was intended to highlight various challenges that have hindered ISCD efforts to implement the CFATS program. According to the former Director, the challenges facing ISCD included not having a fully developed direction and plan for implementing the program, hiring staff without establishing need, and inconsistent ISCD leadership--factors that the Director believed place the CFATS program at risk. These challenges centered on three main areas: (1) human capital issues, including problems hiring, training, and managing ISCD staff; (2) mission issues, including problems reviewing facility plans to mitigate security vulnerabilities; and (3) administrative issues, including concerns about NPPD and IP not supporting ISCD's management and administrative functions.
ISCD has begun to take various actions intended to address the issues identified in the ISCD memorandum and has developed a 94-item action plan to track its progress. According to ISCD managers, the plan appears to be a catalyst for addressing some of the long-standing issues the memorandum identified. As of June 2012, ISCD reported that 40 percent (38 of 94) of the items in the plan had been completed. These include requiring ISCD managers to meet with staff to involve them in addressing challenges, clarifying priorities, and changing ISCD's culture; and developing a proposal to establish a quality control function over compliance activities. The remaining 60 percent (56 of 94) that were in progress include those requiring longer-term efforts--i.e., streamlining the process for reviewing facility security plans and developing facility inspection processes; those requiring completion of other items in the plan; or those awaiting action by others, such as approvals by ISCD leadership. ISCD appears to be heading in the right direction, but it is too early to tell if individual items are having their desired effect because ISCD is in the early stages of implementing them and has not yet established performance measures to assess results.
According to ISCD officials, almost half of the action items included in the June 2012 action plan require ISCD collaboration with or action by NPPD and IP. The ISCD memorandum stated that IP and NPPD did not provide the support needed to manage the CFATS program when the program was first under development. ISCD, IP, and NPPD officials confirmed that IP and NPPD are now providing needed support and stated that the action plan prompted them to work together to address the various human capital and administrative issues identified.