In July 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a preparedness grants and FEMA Integration Team (FIT) effectiveness virtual case study with the State of Connecticut. The purpose of the study was to understand the role of FEMA preparedness grants and FITs in the state’s coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic response. FEMA also drew from information that state officials in Connecticut provided through the Biannual Strategic Implementation Report (BSIR) and the Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)/Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR).
FEMA examined how Connecticut has used grant funds to support pandemic-specific core capabilities during its response. This case study identified three Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP)-funded projects that have impacted the state’s public health capabilities response. These HSGP-funded
investment projects were the New England Disaster Training Center (NEDTC), the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Ottilie W. Lundgren Mobile Field Hospital, and the Capitol Region Metropolitan Medical Response System (CR-MMRS). This case study found that investments in equipment upgrades and training using Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funds have
played a significant role in supporting Connecticut’s staffing, technological resource acquisition, and communication capabilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representatives from Connecticut emphasized that without preparedness grant funds, state and local emergency managers would not be able to sustain adequate staffing levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preparedness grant funds have also enabled the standardization of Connecticut’s State
Response Framework1 and its Emergency Support Function (ESF) format, which have allowed emergency managers to work with a common operating picture during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the presence of FIT members in the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) has provided state emergency managers with a readily available source of information regarding federal funding and resource allocation guidelines specific to the pandemic.
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