U S Government Accountability Office

Disaster Assistance Workforce U S Government Accountability Office

" Since fiscal year 2007 FEMA has obligated $33 billion in disaster assistance payments. FEMA relies heavily upon its cadre of DAEs, a reserve workforce who interact with disaster survivors. GAO was asked to review the management and training of DAEs. Specifically, this report addresses the extent to which (1) FEMA has policies and procedures in place to govern the DAE program; (2) FEMA's human capital controls over the DAE workforce are consistent with internal control standards; and (3) FEMA's DAE training incorporates key attributes of effective training and development programs. In addition, GAO describes FEMA's initiative to transform the DAE program announced in April 2012. GAO reviewed management documents such as program-specific and human capital-related guidance, interviewed FEMA officials, and conducted 16 focus group sessions with DAEs in four selected joint field offices chosen to provide geographic dispersion, among other factors. The results of the focus groups are not generalizable, but provide valuable insight into DAE experiences. "