Critical Releases in Homeland Security: February 13, 2019

"The first goal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) 2018-2022 Strategic Plan is to 'Build a Culture of Preparedness'. Preparedness strategies to date have increased first responder and government capabilities, but individual and community progress towards enhanced levels of preparedness has been limited. Achieving the 2018-2022 Strategic Plan's vision of enhanced preparedness requires a bottom-up approach to close these gaps. This report highlights the vast diversity of American communities and households, indicating that a one-size-fits-all strategy is not well-suited to the specific demands of variable and distinctive environments - our Culture of Preparedness will have to be built one community at a time. Preparedness is a local matter, requiring solutions tailored to different cultural contexts and embraced by communities. [...] This report presents a culture-based approach to the preparedness goals laid out in the Strategic Plan."

"The drug crisis our country faces today is unprecedented. It has evolved over the past several decades and has steadily worsened with time. Every state and county, and every socioeconomic group in our country, is directly affected by the negative consequences of illicit drug use. However, today we can see American ingenuity across the Nation, sparked by the commitment to save lives, at work to establish lasting solutions to this monumental problem. Law enforcement and public health innovators working side-by-side at the local level, assisted and inspired by families who have lost loved ones to the scourge of drug use, resourced by government agencies at every level working with private sector partners, are already making a difference. This National Drug Control Strategy, the Trump Administration's first, establishes the President's priorities for addressing the challenge of drug trafficking and use, now and in coming years. It also provides the strategic direction necessary for the Federal government to prevent initiates to drug use through education and evidence-based prevention, provide treatment for those suffering from the disease of addiction so they can reach long-term recovery, and reduce the availability of these dangerous drugs in every American community."

"One lesson from recent events is that emergencies happen. And happen often. From disease outbreaks to natural disasters to man-made crises, the stakes are high: Americans face serious health risks and even death with increasing regularity. Therefore, as a nation, it's critical to ask, 'Are we prepared?' The public health emergencies of the past year--an unusually severe flu season, confounding cases of acute flaccid myelitis, two major hurricanes, and the deadliest fire season in California's history--reinforce the need for every jurisdiction to be vigilant about preparing for emergencies in order to safeguard the public's health. 'The Ready or Not: Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism' series from Trust for America's Health (TFAH) has tracked public health emergency preparedness in the United States since 2003. The series has documented significant progress in the nation's level of preparedness as well as those areas still in need of improvement."