The States and Homeland Security: How are They Doing?; New Report from The Century Foundation Examines Homeland Security

6/25/2003

From: Christy Hicks of The Century Foundation, 212-452-7723; e-mail: hicks@tcf.org; web: http://www.tcf.org

NEW YORK, June 25 -- The September 11 attacks made clear the central role that state and local governments play in homeland security. The federal government has been developing a homeland defense strategy and has created a new department to execute it. None of that will matter however, unless state and local governments are a strong and effective part of the plan. But how have state and local governments improved their preparedness over the past 18 months? This new report from The Century Foundation looks at four states: Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin to provide a broad cross section of state and local government activities in responding to these new threats. Authors of the four reports looked for concrete ways in which agencies have changed the ways they do business.

University of Wisconsin political scientist Donald F. Kettl, who oversaw the papers, notes that the main theme emerging from all four reports is "business as usual." However, the papers also contain examples of successful homeland security efforts in each state. The authors of the four reports found little evidence that states and localities have improved protections for their residents. The reports provide evidence that:

-- There are substantial gaps of coordination between national, state and local government response operations.

-- More money is needed to plug those gaps.

-- However, putting more money into the system is not likely to close those gaps, unless the system fundamentally changes.

-- The state governments must become key players in enhancing local preparedness.

-- Building the system we need requires a new strategy for federal grants for homeland security.

The Century Foundation's reports show that to most effectively protect residents, federal, state and local governments must invest quickly in three key areas: an enhanced public health capacity; a personnel policy matched to the problem; and communication capacity to ensure that first responders can communicate with one another in the event of an emergency.

The state reports each highlight that more money alone will not solve the problems. The reports show that more money is needed, but enhanced security depends on a fundamental restructuring of homeland security strategies. The four case studies reveal that the states must be able to guarantee a minimum level of protection for residents and discuss options for setting these standards. The case studies illustrate the need for strengthening local coordination among departments and personnel, while enhancing the states' role in the coordinating function.

The case studies offer a nationwide plan for transforming homeland security in which states will play the primary role. The reports' authors argue for a federal grant system, in which:

-- The federal government sets minimum nationwide guidelines and appropriates the necessary funding;

-- The states receive grants and devise statewide plans to enhance coordination; and

-- Local governments maintain substantial discretion about how best to build and deploy their resources.

This paper was commissioned as part of The Century Foundation's Project on Homeland Security. Donald F. Kettl, the executive director of The Century Foundation Working Group on Federalism Challenges, served as the director of the four-state study and as author of the overview of the report. The reports were written by Louise K. Comfort of the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania); Robie Robinson, David A. McEntire, and Richard T. Weber, all of the University of North Texas (Texas); Dennis L. Dresang of the University of Wisconsin at Madison (Wisconsin); and Steven D. Stehr, the chair of the Department of Political Science/Criminal Justice Program at Washington State University (Washington). Mr. Kettl and the authors of the state papers are available for comment. For more information on this paper or to schedule an interview with an author, please contact Christy DeBoe Hicks at 212-452-7723 or hicks@tcf.org.

This paper is available on The Century Foundation's website at http://www.tcf.org or the homeland security website at http://www.homelandsec.org. The Century Foundation's Project on Homeland Security was created to help formulate coherent and comprehensive approaches to homeland security challenges. The Homeland Security Project looks at a number of areas including, the federal response to terrorism, federalism challenges, the public's need to know, bioterrorism, and civil liberties.

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The Century Foundation is a research foundation that undertakes timely, critical, and analytical studies of major economic, political, and social institutions and issues. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, TCF was founded in 1919 and endowed by Edward A. Filene.