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The Fund Finder News
Public Safety Grants Consulting

The Fund Finder News
A Bi-Weekly Grants News and Information Update By Kurt Bradley
Issue 11, September 24, 2004

"NIMS Update: A Letter from Tom Ridge"

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has issued a letter spelling out what will constitute NIMS compliance.

In the Aug. 13 edition of the Fund Finder we discussed the importance of complying with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). In that article we discussed that the DHS had not officially promulgated the rules regarding compliance with NIMS as stated by HSPD-5.

The Problem?
The problem was that the directive stated that compliance with NIMS would be a requirement for receiving or applying for federal grant assistance. However, there were not yet any official compliance guidelines. Without a published set of guidelines to state what would constitute compliance, departments were left scratching their heads as to how they would be able to access the funding streams without not knowing how to comply.

The Compliance Guidelines
I asked some tough questions of the National Incident Management Integration center and received some "unofficial" but helpful responses. At the same time I, as well as others, expressed your concerns to several members of Congress and at NIMS. Those concerns have apparently been addressed – on September 8, 2004, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge issued a letter spelling out what will constitute compliance for these agencies. In the letter Director Ridge also adjusted the timetables for compliance.

Departments are strongly encouraged to follow the directions and instruction in this letter. Doing so is integral to your department being considered compliant or "becoming compliant", so as not to effect your chances when applying for federal funding streams. For more details, visit the NIMS website.

The Letter
You may download and read the full text of the letter in your choice of 3 formats:

Highlights from the letter include:

  • Background of NIMS
  • Scope of program
  • Minimum FY 2005 NIMS Compliance Requirements
  • FY 2006 and FY 2007 Requirements

Next: Oct. 13, 2004 – NIMS Compliance Update: USFA Releases Incident Command System Self-Study 2nd Edition »