We recommended that FEMA assess the challenges state  and local officials reported, including the extent to which they can be  addressed, and implement corrective actions, as needed. For example, at FEMA’s request the Homeland  Security Studies and Analysis Institute assessed the effectiveness and  efficiency of the PA program in 2011. This included a new  process to develop and review grant applications, and obligate PA funds  to states affected by disasters; new positions, such as a new program  delivery manager who is the single point of contact throughout the grant  application process; a new Consolidated Resource Center (CRC) to  support field operations by supplementing project development,  validation, and review of proposed PA project applications; and a new  information system to maintain and share PA grant application  documents. As part of the new process, PA program officials identified  the need to ensure that staff emphasize special considerations, such as  hazard mitigation, earlier in the process. FEMA Designed the New PA Delivery Model to Address Workforce Management Challenges, but Efforts to Support Full Implementation Could Be Enhanced

		PA’s New Delivery Model Was Designed to Respond to Previously Identified Workforce Challenges

According to FEMA’s 2014 PA Program Realignment report and other  program documents, PA officials designed the new delivery model to  respond to persistent workforce management challenges related to  identifying the required number of staff and needed skills and training,  among other things, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the PA  preaward process. For example, following  Hurricane Matthew, FEMA credited the new delivery model, in part, with  its ability to close the JFO in Georgia sooner than several other JFOs in  neighboring states not involved in the implementation of the new delivery  model. Opportunities Exist to Enhance Workforce Assessment in the New Delivery Model

PA officials have not fully assessed the workforce needed for JFO field  operations, CRC staff, or FIMA’s hazard mitigation staff to support  implementation of the new delivery model for all future disasters. Opportunities Exist to More Fully Implement Two of Four Key IT Management Controls for FEMA’s New PA Information System

FAC-Trax is critical to the new PA delivery model and will be a primary  means of sharing grant application documents, tracking ongoing PA  projects, and ensuring that FEMA staff and applicants follow PA grant  policies and procedures. We found that FEMA’s  development of FAC-Trax fully satisfied best practices for project planning  and risk management, but additional steps are needed to fully satisfy the  areas of requirements development and systems testing and integration,  as discussed below. By analyzing progress made on  documented, high-level requirements, a step that reflects a key IT  management control for requirements development, the PA program will  have greater assurance that FAC-Trax will provide functionality that  meets user needs and expectations. Further,  FEMA officials work to implement these changes while supporting  response and recovery following disasters, including the catastrophic  flooding from Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 and widespread damages  from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. FEMA has developed new workforce processes, training, and  positions to address past challenges, but completing a workforce  assessment that identifies the number of staff needed will inform  workforce management and resource allocation decisions to help FEMA  ensure a more successful implementation. Further, FEMA’s new FAC-Trax information sharing  system provides FEMA and state and local applicants and grantees with  better capabilities to address past challenges in managing and tracking  PA projects. In its comments, DHS concurred with our recommendations  and described actions planned to address them. Appendix I: Selected Prior Work Related to Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Program

Appendix II: Assessment of Information Technology Management Controls for the FEMA Applicant Case Tracker (FAC-Trax)

Appendix II: Assessment of Information  Technology Management Controls for the  FEMA Applicant Case Tracker (FAC-Trax)
Table 2 shows details on the Federal Emergency Management Agency  (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) program office’s implementation of key  practices across four information technology (IT) management control  areas for its new information system, the FEMA Applicant Case Tracker  (FAC-Trax). ● Fully implemented: The agency provided evidence that it fully addressed this practice.
Why GAO Did This Study

FEMA, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has obligated more than $36 billion in PA grants to state, local, and tribal governments to help communities recover and rebuild after major disasters since 2009. Further, costs are rising with disasters, such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017. FEMA recently redesigned how the PA program delivers assistance to state and local grantees to improve operations and address past challenges identified by GAO and others. FEMA tested the new delivery model in selected disasters and announced implementation in September 2017.
GAO was asked to assess the redesigned PA program. This report examines, among other things, the extent to which FEMA's new delivery model addresses (1) past workforce management challenges and assesses future workforce needs; and (2) past information sharing challenges and key IT management controls. GAO reviewed FEMA policy, strategy, and implementation documents; interviewed FEMA and state officials, PA program applicants, and other stakeholders; and observed implementation of the new model at one test location following Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

What GAO Found

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) redesigned the Public Assistance (PA) grant program delivery model to address past challenges in workforce management, but has not fully assessed future workforce staffing needs. GAO and others have previously identified challenges related to shortages in experienced and trained FEMA PA staff and high turnover among these staff. These challenges often led to applicants receiving inconsistent guidance and to PA project delays. As part of its new model, FEMA is creating consolidated resource centers to standardize and centralize PA staff responsible for managing grant applications, and new specialized positions, such as hazard mitigation liaisons, program delivery managers, and site inspectors, to ensure more consistent guidance to applicants. However, FEMA has not assessed the workforce needed to fully implement the new model, such as the number of staff needed to fill certain new positions, or to achieve staffing goals for supporting hazard mitigation on PA projects. Fully assessing workforce needs will help to ensure that FEMA has the people and the skills needed to fully implement the new PA model and help to avoid the long-standing workforce challenges the program encountered in the past.
FEMA designed a new PA information and case management system—called the FEMA Applicant Case Tracker (FAC-Trax)—to address past information sharing challenges, such as difficulties in sharing grant documentation among FEMA, state, and local officials and tracking the status of PA projects, but additional actions could better ensure effective implementation. Both FEMA and state officials involved in testing of the new model stated that the new information system allows them to better manage and track PA applications and documentation, which could lead to greater transparency and efficiencies in the program. Further, GAO found that this new system fully addresses two of four key information technology (IT) management controls—project planning and risk management—that are necessary to ensure systems work effectively and meet user needs. However, GAO found that FEMA has not fully addressed the other two controls—requirements development and systems testing and integration. By better analyzing progress on high-level user requirements, for example, FEMA will have greater assurance that FAC-Trax will meet user needs and achieve the goals of the new delivery model.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making five recommendations, including that FEMA assess the workforce needed for the new delivery model and improve key IT management controls for its new information sharing and case management system, FAC-Trax. DHS concurred with all recommendations.