Making a Request for Federal Assistance

Making a Request for Federal Assistance

When a requestor identifies an unmet need and seeks Federal assistance in filling that need, an Action Request Form (ARF) (FEMA Form 010-0-7) should be submitted to the FEMA Action Tracker. This ARF represents a request which must be validated and evaluated by the Operations Section Chief (OSC) or designee to determine if the request is eligible and will be part of the tactical response.

When filling out an ARF, the Requestor completes only Sections 1 and 2: “Requesting Assistance”. The ARF Form, an explanation and detailed instructions for completing an ARF are found in Appendices 2 and 3. Note: Anyone can request anything; however, requests must be reviewed for eligibility under the provisions of the Stafford Act and signed signifying the authorized State and/or Federal Official’s approval before action is taken.

Requests for Federal assistance fall into one of three categories: Direct Federal Assistance (DFA), Technical Assistance (TA) and Federal Operations Support (FOS). Requests for DFA and TA are submitted from the local level requestor to the State and then to FEMA for action in support of the State and locals when their

resources are absent or exhausted. Requests for FOS are submitted by FEMA internally or by other Federal Agencies to FEMA for actions in support of the Federal response. TA and FOS are 100% federally funded and DFA is subject to state cost sharing provisions per the declaration and Federal register notices.

Receiving and Working Requests for Federal Assistance

Request Priority

Request priority is assigned by the requestor and is not changed upon receipt by FEMA Operations. Priority designations include the following in order of importance: Lifesaving, Life Sustaining, High, and Normal.

Receiving ARFs: Initial Verification and Input into ATS

ARFs are routed to and received by the FEMA Action Tracker Specialist (ATSP). Upon receipt, the action tracker does the following:

Step 1: Verify Sections I and II are complete. If the description of requested assistance is unclear, the Requestor is contacted to provide the information needed.

Step 2: Verify Appropriate Authorization. All State requests must be submitted with an authorized State Approving Official (SAO) Signature. The responsibility for ensuring only authorized individuals sign for the SAO lies with the State; however, the FEMA element receiving requests is encouraged to obtain a list of authorized signatures in order to validate the integrity of ARFs submitted. An example of this Delegation of Signature Authority is in Appendix 4.

Step 3: Enter into ATS. Once Sections I and II of the ARF are complete, the ARF is input into the ATS.

ARFs may be faxed to the RRCC from a State Liaison Officer (LOFR), entered into ATS by a forward deployed team, or submitted directly to the Action Tracker at the RRCC or JFO depending upon connectivity and the life cycle of the event.

FEMA Eligibility Review

The Action Tracker provides a copy of the ARF to the OSC or designee for eligibility review, signature, and assignment for action. If the OSC delegates this authority to review and approve ARFs to one or more designees it should be in writing and communicated to the entire Operations Section.

The OSC or designee (Branch Director in coordination with OFA, if required) completes “ARF Section III: Sourcing the Request”. The following criterion is used to determine if the request is eligible:

44 CFR 206.225 Emergency Work Definitions

(3) In order to be eligible, emergency protective measures must:

(i) Eliminate or lessen immediate threats to life, public health or safety; -Or-

(ii) Eliminate or lessen immediate threats of significant additional damage to improved public orprivate property through measures which are cost effective.

The requested action must be eligible under the Stafford Act. (If needed, the Operations Section Chief may request guidance from the Office of Chief Counsel.)

The action requested must be beyond State and local capabilities (not applicable to Federal-to-Federal Support). If the action requested is within the Statutory Authority of another Federal department or Federal agency, the request will be forwarded to that Agency for action under their own authority without FEMA funding. The requested action must be for temporary and not permanent or restorative work normally limited to 60 days after the President’s Declaration. (This relates to Direct Federal Assistance (DFA) only. This timeframe may be extended by the Regional A Processing a Rejected Request

If the request is not eligible, an annotation is made on the ARF in Section V: Action Taken, Reason/Disposition, documenting the reason the request is rejected and returned to the Operations Action Tracker. The Action Tracker updates the ATS and returns the request through the same channels by which it was submitted to the requestor. If the requestor desires to modify and resubmit their request, they may do so. If the request is resubmitted, it request retains its’ original RTN.

Transferring a Request to an OFA with Statutory Authority

Occasionally, a request falls within an OFA’s statutory authority. In such a case, that agency is responsible for fulfilling the request under their statutory authorities. (A mission assignment is not issued.) A note is made in the comments field of the ATS, the request is within an OFA’s statutory authority along with the date, time and person from the OFA accepting the request for action. In addition the requestor is notified the action falls within a specified OFA’s statutory authority.

Processing an Approved Request

If the ARF is eligible and approved for action, it is signed in Section III on the “Operations Review” line. The source is identified and it is assigned for action internal or external to FEMA. This assignment is made by the Operations Section Chief (or designee) in coordination with the Logistics Section Chief (or designed i.e. External Support Branch Director) based upon capabilities and availability of resources. A Branch Director may assist in determining the most effective course of action. Once the OFA or FEMA organization tasked to fill the request is identified, the Branch Director then becomes a Project Manager with the responsibility for overseeing the work necessary to complete the request. As updates are available, the Branch Director/Project Manager is responsible for ensuring the ARF status is updated in ATS. (NOTE: One ARF may result in multiple follow on actions (e.g. Mission Assignments, 40-1, etc.). Each of these actions should be tracked in theATS.)

Meeting the Request Internal to FEMA

If the request will be met internally, it will be filled through existing incident resources or FEMA Logistics.

Resources on the incident are under Operations’ control and assigned for action on the ICS 204. Once the resource requirement has been validated and approved, it’s entered on the ICS 215 and if the resource is available, it can be assigned to the appropriate branch as part of the ICS 204. If the resource is not on the incident the appropriate steps should be taken to order the resource.

Action requests assigned to Logistics, once reviewed and accepted by the Logistics Section Chief (LSC), will be ordered and tracked by the Ordering Unit. Status updates will be entered into the ATS.

Meeting the Request External to FEMA (utilizing OFAs) The OSC (or designee) will assign a Branch Director to work with the most appropriate OFA to meet the request. Once this determination is made, the ATS is updated. Next the Branch Director coordinates with the Mission Assignment (MA) Manager to determine if a MA is needed. Tracking is a collaborative effort between the FEMA Project Manager, the OFA Action Officer, and if necessary, the Action Tracker. The Project Manager is responsible to ensure status updates are entered into the ATS. dministrator if necessary.)

The Resource Request training link can be found within the WebEOC Resource Request board.

• WebEOC is a Web-Enabled incident management system.

• WebEOC is a data base that contains incident records.

• Because WebEOC is Web-Enabled it can be accessed from the office, at home or on the road, if you have an internet connection, you can access WebEOC.

• Used in the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) and Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) to coordinate the use of FEMA assets.

• Provides a link from the NRCC/RRCC to state Emergency Operations Centers during real-time events and exercises.

• Allows users to have access to real-time information simultaneously without having to purchase the product.

• Unlimited users

• User friendly, easy to learn

• Customized to meet FEMA needs

• Complies with ICS/NIMS/ESF structures

• WebEOC is a Web-Enabled incident management system.

• WebEOC is a data base that contains incident records.

• Because WebEOC is Web-Enabled it can be accessed from the office, at home or on the road, if you have an internet connection, you can access WebEOC.

• Used in the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) and Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) to coordinate the use of FEMA assets.

• Provides a link from the NRCC/RRCC to state Emergency Operations Centers during real-time events and exercises.

• Allows users to have access to real-time information simultaneously without having to purchase the product.

• Unlimited users

• User friendly, easy to learn

• Customized to meet FEMA needs

• Complies with ICS/NIMS/ESF structures

Final Approval by the OPS Section Chief The FEMA Branch Director submits the completed ARF (to include the SOW, projected end date, cost estimate breakdown) to the OSC for final review and approval. The OSC should obtain State concurrence for requests that have a State cost share before giving final approval on the ARF. - 7 - Legal Authority for Verbal Mission Assignment

Under Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 44, Section 206.7, FEMA’s role, through the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO), is to execute the Stafford Act authorities, which includes committing FEMA resources and the mission assignment (MA) of other Federal D/As. Section 206.7 States— “All directives, known as mission assignments, to other Federal agencies shall be in writing, or shall be confirmed in writing if made orally, and shall identify the specific task to be performed and the requirements or criteria to be followed. If the Federal agency is to be reimbursed, the mission assignments will also contain a dollar amount, which is not to be exceeded in accomplishing the task without prior approval of the Federal Approving Official.”

“Verbals”

The preferred method to receiving requests for Federal assistance is the written ARF process described above. However, there are cases in which verbal requests are made and verbal direction to act is given. Verbal requests and direction to act are reserved for issues of the most urgent nature where immediate action is imperative. The chain of custody on a verbal request is the same as a written request.

Verbal Requests for Federal Assistance

Verbal “requests” for Federal assistance should be converted to a written ARF as soon as practicable and submitted to the OPS Action Tracker for entry into ATS. FEMA staff may prepare an ARF on behalf of a requestor; the ARF should reflect the actual requestor’s information. A note should be made on the ARF to identify who assisted in ARF preparation and that the request was verbal. On occasion the actions requested from a verbal request are already in progress. Once the verbal request is actually documented on an ARF the normal administrative signature approval process is still required. Any supporting documentation (email, notes, and memos) should be attached to the actual ARF request for historical purposes.

Verbal Tasks to Provide Federal Assistance

Often verbal requests are immediately followed by verbal “taskings” to OFAs. As with verbal requests, verbal taskings to provide Federal assistance must be documented as soon as possible and linked to the ARF requesting that assistance. Some OFAs have made documenting verbal tasks a part of their common actions. (I.E. USACE documents verbal mission assignments.) Documenting verbal tasks should be done in coordination with the MA Manager in the Operations Section. Verbal tasks are also to be entered into RATS and tracked through completion.