The National Mass Care Strategy

Knowledgeable sources have told me that the New National Mass Care Strategy will be unveiled to the public by the end of this month. Look for it on the National Mass Care Strategy website. I have had the opportunity to review and comment on earlier drafts and participated in July at a National Mass Care Strategy Conference with a sizable number of representatives of the national mass care community.

This is a good document and I want to commend FEMA, the American Red Cross and the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) for leading the effort to develop this strategy. Implementation of the strategy will begin upon publication of the document, and will take years to accomplish. I won't summarize the document here but encourage everyone involved in the mass care community to read it and think about how they can contribute to the implementation of the strategy.

I have already been thinking about where I can contribute. The Strategy has five goals:

• Build Scalability into Service Delivery
• Create the Opportunity for Improved Coordination and Participation
• Engage the Whole Community
• Standardize Mass Care Practices
• Strengthen and Unify Mass Care Legal and Policy Foundations

For each Goal a number of Sub-Goals were developed. These Sub-Goals are assigned in the Strategy to one of three Implementation Teams: Planning, Operations and Legislative Action. Some of the Sub-Goals are in areas of interest to me and for which I have expertise. I will be looking to the National Mass Care Strategy website for information on when and how these Implementation Teams will be formed and for opportunities to comment on the various implementation documents as they are drafted.

In the meantime the best contribution that I can make to the Strategy is to spread the word.