The State of Kansas through the efforts of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and key partners in emergency preparedness and response, has received full accreditation through the Emergency Management Accreditation Program.
“This accreditation is a significant ‘stamp of approval’ that validates the commitment this state has to emergency management and protecting the health and safety of Kansans,” said Gov. Sam Brownback. “I congratulate the director of KDEM, Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, and his staff on a job well done.”
KDEM worked jointly with its state partners including Kansas Highway Patrol, Health and Environment, Agriculture and the Kansas National Guard, and successfully demonstrated compliance with all 104 standards to attain accreditation.
EMAP is a voluntary review process for state and local emergency management programs that is a means of demonstrating through self-assessment, documentation and peer review, that a program meets national standards for emergency management.
“I am extremely proud of our KDEM team and our state partners for the efforts that went into receiving this accreditation,” said Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas adjutant general and Division of Emergency Management Director. “It was a long and challenging process, but receiving this accreditation is an indicator of the skill, dedication and commitment of our team.”
Angee Morgan, deputy director of KDEM, led the staff through the nearly year-long process to become accredited.
“I have extremely dedicated people working with me,” said Morgan. “They are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and this accreditation is well-earned.”
The state began working toward accreditation early in 2012 providing documentation on how it prepares for and responds to disasters. These documents were uploaded to a website for EMAP officials to review for compliance with EMAP standards. These standards cover:
- Program Management
- Administration and Finance
- Laws and Authorities
- Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Consequence Analysis
- Hazard Mitigation
- Prevention
- Operational Planning
- Incident Management
- Resource Management and Logistics
- Mutual Aid
- Communications and Warning
- Operations and Procedures
- Facilities
- Training
- Exercises, Evaluations and Corrective Action
- Crisis Communications, Public Education and Information
An on-site assessment team was conducted in Topeka Dec 10-14, 2012, to review the documentation. KDEM staff then had 30 days to provide additional information to the EMAP council for review and was recently notified of the state’s successful completion of the accreditation process.
