EMAP Frequently Asked Questions
- What is an emergency management program? A jurisdiction-wide system that provides for management and coordination of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities for all hazards. The system encompasses all organizations, agencies, departments, entities, and individuals responsible for emergency management and homeland security.
- What is EMAP? The Emergency Management Accreditation Program, or EMAP for short, is a voluntary accreditation process for state, regional, territorial, tribal, county and municipal government programs that coordinate and/or provide activities related to disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. EMAP, as an independent public nonprofit organization, fosters excellence and accountability in emergency management and homeland security programs by establishing credible standards applied in a peer review accreditation process.
- Who or what gets accredited? Emergency management accreditation is available to state, regional, territorial, tribal, county, and municipal government programs responsible for disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery (see What is an emergency management program? above). The accreditation process examines program capabilities and is different from individual certification. Accreditation requires documented compliance with all 63 EMAP standards
- On what is accreditation based? Accreditation is based on a state, regional, territorial, tribal, county, and municipal programs showing that it meets criteria, set out in the Emergency Management Standard, that describe the elements an emergency management program should have in place to be prepared to deal with the jurisdiction's hazards and threats. As described in more detail below, accreditation includes a self-assessment phase as well as a on-site assessment by an independent review, or "assessor" team.
- What does a program do to become accredited? A program must submit an application and pay an application fee, conduct a self-assessment of its program using the EMAP standards, undergo on-site assessment by an independent, trained team of assessors, and be reviewed by the EMAP Program Review Committee. The EMAP Commission then will determine whether accreditation will be granted. Accreditation will be valid for five years, at which time a program may apply for reaccreditation. More info: Steps to accreditation.
- Seek/request information
- Program Assessment Tool Subscription
- Self-assessment and documentation
- Application
- On-site assessment and assessment report
- Committee review and recommendation
- Accreditation decision by the EMAP Commission (Accredited, Conditional Accredited, Accreditation Denied).
- Accreditation maintenance
- Reaccreditation (five years)
- How much does accreditation cost? Costs of accreditation include subscription ($450), an application fee based on population, and costs of on-site assessment. Expenses associated with the on-site assessment include travel expenses of the assessor team plus administrative costs. The EMAP Commission and staff are committed to keeping the costs of accreditation -- in dollar and staff resource terms -- to the minimum necessary to conduct a meaningful accreditation review.
- Who will "assess" my program?The EMAP Commission and its Technical Committee maintain a cadre of individuals trained and certified to perform assessments of state and local emergency management programs. The cadre is available as a source of assessors from which assessor teams are assembled and scheduled to conduct assessments.Assessors must adhere to the EMAP Code of Conduct. All assessors are required to attend and complete assessor training and be accepted by EMAP prior to participating on an EMAP on-site assessment. Assessors serve as neutral factfinders and prepare an assessment report with their findings; they do not, however, make the final determination as to accreditation.
- Who determines if a program is accredited? The 10-member Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) Commission decides accreditation status. After self-assessment, assessment report by the assessor team, and committee review, the commission reviews application materials and documentation along with the review committee's recommendation to determine whether to grant accreditation or conditional accreditation or to deny accreditation.
- What happens if accreditation is not received at the end of the process? The Program Review Committee's recommendation is forwarded to the EMAP Commission for final action. If the candidate program is accredited, the commission provides a letter and certificate of accreditation. Conditional accreditation is available to programs with deficiencies that can be addressed in not longer than nine months. If accreditation is denied, the applicant program will be provided information about the reasons for the decision. The director or chief administrator of the applicant program may challenge an appealable decision within thirty (30) days of receipt of written notice of the EMAP Commission decision. The appeal must be in writing and must specify the grounds on which the appeal is made, which must be either a procedural violation or substantive error by EMAP in its review of the program. A nonrefundable appeal fee of $500.00 must be submitted with the program's letter of appeal.
- Why should a program seek accreditation? Through the accreditation process, an emergency management program conducts its self-assessment and requests evaluation by an independent team of assessors. The assessment provides an unbiased review of where the program stands in comparison to national standards and in what areas it needs to improve. By achieving accredited status, an emergency management program demonstrates to the public and to elected officials that it is using its resources to provide the capabilities that emergency managers nationwide agree are necessary to be prepared for and to respond to natural and human-caused disasters.
- How does my program benefit by participating in the EMAP process?
- For an emergency management program, EMAP:
- Provides benchmarks for program management and operations;
- Focuses on comprehensive emergency management;
- Encourages collaboration of state- and community-wide programs rather than individual agencies;
- Validates professional capabilities;
- Recognizes program quality and individual effort;
- Demonstrates effective use of public resources and provides justification for resources;
- Encourages intra- and interagency communication and team-building through the assessment and accreditation process.
- For individual emergency managers, EMAP:
- Broadens perspective on the profession of emergency management and emergency preparedness activities;
- Deepens understanding of one's own program organization and operations;
- Expands experience and knowledge through networking and sharing of best practices; and
- Contributes individual skills to improving the nation's public safety and security by increasing emergency management program effectiveness.
- For an emergency management program, EMAP:
- Can a city or county program apply for accreditation and go through the process if its state program has not been accredited? Yes, there is no requirement that a local program wait until its state program is accredited to go through the process.
- If I manage a private sector emergency management or business continuity program, can my program be accredited? While EMAP does not accredit private sector programs, a private sector organization or an individual can register with EMAP and use the Emergency Management Standard, EMAP Program Assessment Tool, and other resources to benchmark and improve emergency preparedness activities.
- What resources are available to help my program use EMAP? The Candidate's Guide to Accreditation, which is available online in portable document format (.pdf), provides detail about accreditation steps, organizing documentation, and EMAP policies, procedures, and forms. EMAP offers a two-day Accreditation Manager Orientation several times a year to assist individuals who will be their programs' lead point of contact on standards and assessment. The orientation includes information about standards, documentation of compliance, and pointers for conducting your program's assessment. More info: Resources for Programs.
