Featured Article -- September 2006

Five Years Later... "Collaboration" is the word

Collaboration has increasingly become the defining force in local governments. The growing presence of councils of governments and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) across the nation prove that regional collaboration is a better way to meet multi-jurisdictional community challenges such as transportation, homeland security and emergency preparedness.

This is evident in the Kansas City region, where the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) coordinates a number of initiatives to comprehensively address homeland security and emergency preparedness issues. MARC is the association of city and county governments and metropolitan planning organization for the Kansas City region.

Regional Cooperation Enhances Capabilities
in the Kansas City region

Political and professional leaders in the Kansas City metropolitan area worked together to establish a regional homeland security infrastructure to oversee and guide the region’s efforts to enhance capabilities to prevent, deter, respond and recover from disasters, including terrorist threats. The MARC region includes Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri. The region is home to about 1.8 million residents and encompasses over 3,800 square miles.

Regional Structure and Organization

In August 2002, the MARC’s Board of Directors formed the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee (RHSCC) to oversee regional efforts to address new terrorist threats to the Kansas City metro area. Working together through the RHSCC ensures that duplication of effort is avoided, that resources are maximized, that all disciplines and jurisdictions are involved in planning and decision-making, and that all disciplines and the entire region benefit from the investments.

The RHSCC is composed of local elected officials, city and county managers, fire and police chiefs, public health and emergency medical directors, emergency managers, public works directors, and hospital and non-profit executives. The structure provides strong board leadership with a number of working subcommittees tasked to accomplish specific goals. The coordinating committee oversees the financial and programmatic aspects of the work, and reviews the status of all major investments on a bimonthly basis, reporting to stakeholders on the status of grant resources on a regular basis. The RHSCC oversees federal homeland security, public health and hospital bioterrorism prevention funds.

The regional structure and organization has been successful in large part because: it has built a level of trust among local officials; it allowed the region’s efforts to become comprehensive in a short period of time; it takes advantage of professional local government leadership; it fosters open communication and constant dialogue; and it works from a position of consideration of and respect for all disciplines’ needs. The organization is built on a regional culture of cooperation and has created a style of leadership that involves key local officials that are empowered to make decisions, recognizing political realities and focused on the outcomes of a more capable region.

Terrorism Early Warning Inter-Agency Analysis Center

At the direction of the RHSCC, the Kansas City Regional TEW was created in late 2005 to reduce the threat to public safety and security through a heightened level of inter-agency communications, analysis, and information sharing designed to anticipate and counter terrorism and criminal acts.

The Kansas City TEW serves the eight county MARC region and operates through a multidisciplinary, public-private partnership. The KCTEW will collect, evaluate, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence in a timely, effective, and appropriately secure manner, in coordination with local, state, and federal agencies charged with homeland security responsibilities, as well as private entities and the general public. The executive committee that governs the Kansas City Regional TEW includes representatives from many disciplines (law enforcement, emergency management, fire service and EMS, public health and private business) and local and federal government agencies.

The KCTEW has a very aggressive outreach program that incorporates regular presentations and meetings with private sector partners, an active public Web site, www.kctew.org and encouragement of citizen reporting. The Kansas City Crime Commission and the local Business Executives for National Security are active private-sector partners. A local business has donated computer equipment and furniture to allow the KCTEW to begin operations, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department is providing space for personnel and meetings.

Regional Plan Development and Local Adoption

Under the leadership of the RHSCC, the region updated its Metropolitan Medical Response System Bioterrorism Response Plan and is developing a Regional Coordination Guide to address actions required during major events requiring regional response.
The region worked together on the recent National Plan Review (Presidential Directive #197), and is developing coordinated local plans to address catastrophic events.
A study of the region’s special needs population is underway to identify special needs populations and how to best communicate with each group prior to and during emergencies.
The region began its work on interoperable communications by developing a three-phase regional interoperable communications plan. The first phase is being implemented in 2006.
A regional MetroGIS Consortium was established in 2004 to coordinate the region’s GIS resources and share GIS information. This consortium worked with local emergency managers to prepare a Regional GIS Geospatial Homeland Security Strategic Plan, which will guide investments in GIS to meet emergency preparedness and response needs.

Regional Training and Exercise Program

Kansas City area officials decided to invest in a coordinated system of training and exercise support for the entire region, with oversight by a multi-disciplinary committee that assesses needs and develops multi-year plans and event schedules. Funds are allocated for the committee’s use in meeting these needs. The program offers a one-stop, Web-based calendar of all trainings, exercises, meetings and other events to maximize coordination of activities. The committee hosts awareness, operational and management training; train-the-trainer events; informational sessions and workshops; and regional and local exercises. The training and exercise program takes advantage of the regional Government Training Institute operated by MARC, which trains 10,000 local government officials annually.

Regional Coordination of Local Emergency Operations Centers

Local emergency managers representing the largest jurisdictions in the Kansas City region, including the city of Kansas City, Mo., have coordinated the purchase and use of crisis management software for their Emergency Operations Centers called WebEOC. Working together, eight major jurisdictions have designed a set of regional status boards and agreed to share web-based access of their systems with agencies within their cities and counties, and with each other. The regional boards create a regional Virtual EOC, allowing local emergency managers to provide situational awareness during events, coordinate media releases, request and track deployment of resources and patients, and monitor the availability of shelter space.

Special Team Organization and Enhancements

The region has invested in a limited number of special teams to meet specific target capabilities. The teams ensure that the entire region will be served, and that duplication of resources is avoided. The teams have standardized protocols, equipment, and training, and train and exercise together to ensure that their response is most effective in a large-scale event. Special teams have been enhanced in areas of hazardous materials response teams in eight fire departments; seven bomb squads working with the FBI and ATF; one regional tactical team composed of eight squads capable of responding to a CBRNE incident; a series of mental health teams from local not-for-profit organizations; and six technical rescue teams in four fire departments.

Use of Technology/Regional Applications

Regional Patient Tracking System: A web-based system that allows over 40 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies and 30 hospitals to use a standard triage tag, wireless bar code readers and a database to track patient movement and balance patient loads from a mass casualty event. The system uses the same hardware technology as the region’s personnel accountability tracking system, which leverages investments, reduces training time and limits equipment needs. The Patient Tracking System enhances information flow to and from EMS agencies, public health, hospitals, emergency management agencies and not-for-profit organizations involved in family reunification. The information is managed in seamless, secure system that is HIPAA-compliant.

Regional Metropolitan Emergency Information System (MEIS): A Web-based regional data warehouse that allows local agencies to store and share information on personnel, assets and emergency plans and protocols. The system allows local agencies to store and maintain their own personnel information, which can be uploaded to the region’s personnel accountability system. The MEIS is currently being used by over 70 local agencies, and over 1,000 first responder personnel records are stored in the system.

Medicine Dispensing Software System (MEDS/PODS): The region’s 10 local public health agencies (LPHAs) and 30 hospitals have agreed to use a standard software package to reduce the number of clinical personnel needed at a dispensing site. The MEDS/PODS software and wireless implementation allows LPHAs or hospitals to use automated medical screening and therapy recommendation based on standard protocols for determining appropriate preventive medications and dosages. The system can be used at locations that are not pre-wired, such as gymnasiums, and a variety of dispensing site configurations and equipment can be set up quickly without cabling.

Critical Incident Site Management System: The Kansas City, Mo., Police Department has developed a software system that allows police officers or other emergency responders to access information — on vehicle laptops or in command posts — on floor plans, entry/exit points, staging areas and other information for critical facilities such as schools, government buildings, chemical and utility plants and locations. The information allows law enforcement and other first responders to respond more efficiently and to quickly provide information to personnel arriving to offer mutual aid. Local law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies representing over 20 major jurisdictions throughout the metro area are working with the KCPD to pre-plan response with facility managers and enter the information into the easy-to-use system. Over 1,800 facilities have been identified, with  information collected and loaded into a central server for system application. The system has been used for actual events, including hostage situations and presidential visits.

Progressing as a Region

The Kansas City region’s public officials recognize that their communities face risks from both natural and man-made disasters, and that large-scale incidents require resources from multiple agencies. The level of cooperation among communities and disciplines in the metro area creates an environment for regional progress toward enhanced capabilities. Many years of planning, analyzing and learning from experiences have brought the region to a better level of sophistication in emergency preparedness. At the heart of the region’s success is the conscious decision of all parties to invest their efforts and resources for the greater good. Although we still have a long way to go, we are a lot farther down the road than we were five years ago.

 

 

 

The threat level in the airline sector is HIGH or Orange. See www.dhs.gov for details.

An online Suspicious Activity Report Form (SAR) will be available soon.