Certifying Personnel - According to FEMA, “The process of authoritatively attesting that individuals meet professional standards for the training, experience and performance required for key incident management functions.” Volunteers assisting in disaster response and recovery must also be certified, trained and credentialed.
Chain of Command - According to FEMA, “The orderly line of authority within the ranks of the incident management organization.” The chain of command should be written into the emergency operations plan (EOP); every incident command department should have a clear understanding of their position in the chain of command prior to a disaster event.
Citizen Corps - A community-level program that brings government and private-sector groups together to increase community preparedness by educating the public of local risks, engaging volunteers to help augment resources for public safety, preparedness and response capabilities, and bringing community stakeholders together with emergency management to ensure the whole community is integrated into disaster planning. The organization is administered by the Department of Homeland Security.
Command Staff - According to FEMA, “The staff who report directly to the incident commander, including the public information officer, safety officer, liaison officer and other positions as required. They may have an assistant or assistants, as needed.”
Common Operating Picture - According to FEMA, “An overview of an incident by all relevant parties that provides incident information enabling the incident commander/unified command and any supporting agencies and organizations to make effective, consistent and timely decisions.”
Common Terminology - According to FEMA, “Standardized words and phrases used to ensure consistency and to allow diverse incident management and support organizations to work together across a wide variety of incident management functions and hazard scenarios.”
Communications/Dispatch Center - The facility and staff that handles calls from the public and emergency management, such as a 911 call center or emergency control. According to FEMA, “The center can serve as a primary coordination and support element of the Multiagency Coordination System(s) (MACS) for an incident until other elements of the MACS are formally established.”
Community - A political entity that has the authority to adopt and enforce laws and ordinances for the area under its jurisdiction. A community is typically an incorporated town, city, township, village or unincorporated area of a county; however, each state defines its own political subdivisions and forms of government.
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) - Administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide communities with resources to address a wide range of development needs. Under the CDBG Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, HUD provides flexible grants to help cities, counties and states, especially in low-income areas, recover from presidentially-declared disasters. CDBG-DR funding is a main source of long-term recovery assistance to help localities fully rebuild. Communities apply for CDBG-DR after FEMA funding to help with initial recovery efforts has been distributed.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) - A community-level program that trains citizens to provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organizes untrained spontaneous volunteers and collects disaster information to assist professional responders in allocating resources following a disaster. CERTs are administered by FEMA.