Public-Private Sector Partnerships ORGANIZATION: CITIZEN CORPS CHARNIECE JOHNSON

CITIZEN CORP- BACKGROUND  Citizen Corp is a locally implemented, grass roots movement –based organization.  A grass roots movement, “…springs up spontaneously due to some pressing issue that a community feels needs to be changed or enhanced” (Manuel, 2014).  Established to regulate and strengthen community safety and preparation practices with help from the citizens.  A public-private partnership regulated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Established and implemented in 2002 to ensure resiliency in the community the case various incidents.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS?  Public-private partnerships have been proven efficient as it pertains to timely execution and advancement of needed changes.  “Public-private partnerships have been effective pathways to greatly increasing the speed-of-execution of product development among many other ancillary benefits” (Cellucci, 2010).  Through this contractual agreement between the public and private sector entity enables them to share assists, skills, risks, and best practices pertaining to offered products and services.  This type of partnership helps bolster the city, state, or nation’s preparedness in the case of various disasters and incidents.  Productivity and efficiency through collaboration and communication strengthens public safety practices and efforts.

METHOD OF DELIVERY  Citizen Corp uses collaborative methodology to enforce public safety practices.  This partnership,”… strives to bring together government and community leaders and engage the public in all-hazards emergency preparedness” (National Partnership-Citizen Corps).  FEMA creates relationships with local and state entities to establish Citizen Corp Councils at local levels. Goals, strategies, and methodologies are then created and tailored to the needs of the community and population.  Their “Local Strategy” focuses on these major public structures…  Planning and Capacity Building-  Outreach and Education  Training and Exercises  Volunteer Programs & Surge Support

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES  “The mission of Citizen Corps is to harness the power of every individual through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds”(Citizen Corps).  Based on the social aspects and needs of the population, inclusive approaches will be made.  Community leaders of outside organizations will then communicate and join efforts to establish public safety standards.  This all-inclusive approach includes organization and associations involved with: emergency response, business/workplace, education systems, churches, disability advocates, government leaders, and other various neighborhood groups.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS  There are certain attributes all Citizen Corp Councils must have in order to remain efficient and relevant in communities.  These attributes include, but not limited to…  COMMITMENT - Without commitment on both the public and private sector entities, from elected and governmental officials, the council will lack stability and reliability.  VISION - Strong vision of the overall mission, goal, and objective of the (CCC) will create a firm foundation for the implementation of the vision.  PARTICIPATION - This attribute ties into commitment. Participation that is without consistency will eventually lead to abolishment of the partnership.  SHARED RESPONSIBILITY - All risks must be shared equally among entities. There must also be mutual benefits for both parties of the partnership.  RESOURCES - Substantial funding and allocating of necessary resources will further the success and relevancy of provided services and products.

FUNDING  FEMA, is the federal regulator for Citizen Corps. They have encouraged all councils to seek funding from grants that are available through local and state levels of government.  Because FEMA is an organization under the Department of Homeland Security, all of their allocated funding comes from the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP)  Within HSGP, There are three interconnected grant programs that provide necessary funding: State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), and the Stone garden (OPSG).  In 2014, These are the statistics regarding the available grant funding for partnerships like Citizen Corp:  SHSP- $401,346,000  UASI- $587,000,000  OPSG-$55,000,000  Source for statistics- ( program-hsgp)

TRAINING AND EXERCISES  “Citizen Corps hosts and participates in joint training and exercises with the public and private sectors” (National Partnership-Citizen Corps).  This partnership, implemented locally, relies on federal and/or state training programs for all mandates. Local entities have to report to a higher entities for regulations, policies, structures, mandates, etc.  Citizen Corps, a community ran entities, will defiantly need public safety related training to ensure best practices.  A few of National Preparedness Resources utilized by Citizen Corps are the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program and Emergency Management Training.  Training and exercises include “…preventing, deterring, responding to and recovering from acts of terrorism and catastrophic events” (

CITIZEN CORP PARTNER PROGRAMS  Department of Homeland Security(DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services(DHHS) have joined forces to administer partner programs through Citizen Corps.  These are various programs active throughout communities and cities involving public safety entities as well as the involvement of community members  They are as follows…  CERT: Community Emergency Response Teams - The DHS administers training programs targeted in disaster preparation, readiness,response, and evacuation methods throughout the community.  Fire Corps - Pairs volunteer firefighters with local fire departments to help respond to disasters. The volunteers are members of the community. Administered by the DHS.  Neighborhood Watch - Adds knowledge on terrorism awareness to crime prevention throughout neighborhoods. Funded by DOJ.  MRC: Medical Reserve Corps - Uses medical professionals and volunteers to coordinate outreach, blood drives, case management, and other training initiatives. Administered by DHHS.  VIPS: Volunteers in Police Program - Aims to enhance the utilization of volunteer officers in local and state police departments. Funded by DOJ

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS  Without specific statements regarding strengths or weaknesses of Citizen Corps, suggestions were composed  If this public-private partnership adheres to these key considerations, it will strengthen the organization as a whole  Citizen Corps needs to remain…  Publically Accessible- All allocated resources, capabilities, visions, missions, etc. need to be completely accessible to all members of the organization, and those that are just members of the community.  Dedicated- An organizational structures to manage/staff the partnership full time should be created and implemented.  Resourced- Facilities and needed funding must be readily and consistently available.  Engaged- Effective two-way communication between public and private sector organizations is important.  Sustainable- Any and all applicable strategic plans should be implemented to support log-term viability.

LONG TERM PREDICTION  Citizen Corps has the potential to expand its affiliates and partner programs all across the United States.  This partnership has covered a lot of public safety ground already, with many active programs still in place.  Some of the other affiliate and partner programs include the Home Safety Council, E9-1-1 Institute, Civil Air Patrol, etc.  As long as funding is continuously available through the Department of Homeland Security, Citizen Corps has the opportunity to plant programs around communities, neighborhoods, and cities countrywide.

SOURCES  Cellucci, T. A. (2010, July). Innovative Public Private Partnerships. Retrieved from rships_0710_version_2.pdf  Citizen Corps. (n.d.). Retrieved from  FY 2014 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). (2014, March 24). Retrieved from program-hsgp  Manuel, D. (2014). Definition of Grassroots Movement. Retrieved from movement/  National Partnership-Citizen Corps. (n.d.). Retrieved from