[please excuse cross postings]

Council of State Archivists receives $2.6 million from FEMA to develop
records-related disaster preparedness training for state and local
governments

http://www.statearchivists.org/prepare/iper/index.htm

Iowa City, Iowa. October 17, 2007-State and local government agencies
throughout the United States will be better prepared to protect essential
records during emergencies thanks to a Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) grant. The agency awarded $2.6 million to the Council of State
Archivists (CoSA) to lead a new national initiative to provide critical
training to state and local government agencies in every state, the District
of Columbia, and the territories.

When state and local governments are faced with natural or manmade
disasters, certain records help them respond to and recover from the
emergency. The Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER)
project will develop workshops for delivery nationwide designed to teach
state and local governments how to identify and protect their most essential
records and recover those damaged by disasters.

According to Vicki Walch, Executive Director of CoSA, the need for such a
program became apparent in 2005 during the organization's response to
Hurricane Katrina. "Archivists discovered that records were not identified
as an asset of government in the National Response Plan," said Walch. "We
knew from experience that whether a disaster is a localized fire or a
widespread terrorist attack, the governments with good records management
programs in place are best prepared to respond to and recover from an
emergency." 

David Carmicheal, director of The Georgia Archives who will chair the
project's Advisory Board, cites examples of records used by governments
during emergencies: "At crucial times states, cities, and counties
immediately turn to documents containing communication plans and delegations
of authority. Infrastructure records tell them where the gas mains and
electrical lines are and whether bridges and tunnels can withstand the
stress of the disaster. All of these help the government respond at the
moment of the emergency," Carmicheal observed. "After the disaster,
governments need records to restore the community. Deeds and other property
records, court records, and historical records help put a community back
together again and restore order."

The IPER initiative will develop a national curriculum and create Web-based
seminars, which will be customized to meet specific needs and concerns at
the state and local levels. Teams from each state will enhance the
curriculum with guidance about state-specific regulations and ways to
prepare for the kinds of disasters most common in the region. They will then
deliver the training to state, local, and tribal government agencies
statewide. 

The state archives and records management program will coordinate each
state's team. Other team members will include representatives from the state
emergency management agency, the state chief information officer and
information technology agency, as well as a local government representative.
The regional offices of the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will actively support
this effort.

Rex Wamsley is director of FEMA's national Continuity of Operations
Division. He noted that the "development of common training for use in each
of the states will enhance the potential for inter-governmental cooperation
throughout the nation. FEMA's national and regional offices have been
working actively with the National Archives and state archives for the last
two years to protect essential records. We want to ensure that governments
at all levels can recover and resume operations quickly following a natural
disaster or other emergency. Records are key to that process. The IPER
project will allow us to reach into every county, city, and village
nationwide, giving officials the information they need to protect essential
records in time of crisis."

Conley Edwards, state archivist of Virginia and president of the Council of
State Archivists, the organization which is leading the project, commented,
"We are thrilled by the support received from FEMA's Competitive Training
Grants Program for this project. It will ensure that state and local
governments know how to secure records that are essential to protecting
life, property, and individual rights as well as those that are necessary to
restoring order and resuming essential operations of government following a
disaster."  

"The Council of State Archivists would like to thank the National Archives
and Records Administration and FEMA's Continuity of Operations Division,"
Edwards added. "Their partnership and commitment contributed significantly
to the success of this proposal. In tragedies that have occurred throughout
the nation, vital records have been lost or compromised. This training and
support will maximize the potential for governments to safeguard our
nation's documentary heritage and, as importantly, ensure that our nation's
identity and that of its citizens will be safeguarded." 

The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) is a national organization comprising
the directors of the principal archival agencies in each state and
territorial government. Working collectively through their membership in
CoSA, the state archivists encourage cooperation among the states on matters
of mutual interest, define and communicate archival and records concerns at
a national level, and work with the National Archives and other national
organizations to ensure that our nation's documentary heritage is preserved
and made accessible. 

More information on the IPER project and CoSA's nationwide Emergency
Preparedness Initiative is available on the organization's Web site:
www.statearchivists.org/prepare.

Contacts:   David W. Carmicheal, IPER Advisory Board Chair and Director, The
Georgia Archives, 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow GA 30260. Telephone:
678-364-3714. [log in to unmask]

Victoria Walch, Executive Director, Council of State Archivists, 308 East
Burlington Street #189, Iowa City IA 52240.  Telephone: 319-338-0248.
[log in to unmask]

###

Photos to accompany this press release on the 
Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) Project
are available at
http://www.statearchivists.org/prepare/iper/photos-10-2007release.htm

 


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