Government Technology - July 2008 - (Page 37)

they may be the primary caretaker for a family member or are unable to leave their children because they have no alternate care, said Holdeman, who was director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management prior to joining ICF International. “It’s one thing to have a name on a roster; it’s another thing to really have a plan in place and be prepared,” Holdeman said, adding that names on the roster should belong to people who know they will be expected to perform some duty and be committed to doing so. Are provisions for emergency necessities, such as temporary cell service, written into organizational contracts? Percentage of state government respondents Percentage of local government respondents Total percentage of respondents Yes No Don’t know 39% 12% 49% 19% 35% 47% 30% 22% 48% Practice Is Essential David Taylor, CIO of the Florida Department of Health, said the survey results are encouraging and show improvement from a few years ago, though he believes the most important thing about having a disaster recovery plan is practicing with it. “The risk in all of these plans is that folks create a plan and then put it on the shelf and don’t pull it off until the first time they’re in a crisis situation,” Taylor said. “It is imperative that they practice the plan, the individuals who are involved in the plan know exactly what their role is and what the relationship of their role is to other people’s roles in the plan. Unless that’s practiced, people really don’t understand how to implement their role in a disaster.” Tabletop exercises can be helpful, he said, but real-life simulations are the most valuable for identifying vulnerabilities. “Actually using the stuff in a closest to real-life simulation as possible — that’s where the real learning takes place and the real value happens,” Taylor said. In Florida, agencies are required to test their plans at least once per year, he said. The Florida Department of Health tests its plan biannually. Since Taylor’s agency is responsible for coordinating emergency health and medical care in a disaster, the agency must be able to have necessary systems up and running in a very short time. “It’s important for us to set up treatment areas regardless of the physical location — buildings, warehouses, camp- grounds, etc. — so we practice that,” he said. “We bring out the satellite systems, the 800 MHz radio and get all of that in place, and we test that twice a year.” For the most recent test, Taylor’s staff went to a 4-H Club camp, where they simulated a mass evacuation due to falling satellite debris and in fewer than 30 minutes set up the techDoes your organization back up its data in a remote location that’s unlikely to be affected by a local or regional emergency? 15% Don’t Know 66% Yes 19% No Has your organization identiﬁed key staff to be contacted in an emergency event? Yes No Don’t know 5% 1% 81% 13% 95% Can these key staff members access decision-making information and perform their job functions remotely?* Yes No Don’t know 7% *Only those who responded “yes” to question one were asked the second question. nology equipment necessary to administer emergency medical care to evacuees. “We revise our processes and procedures each time we do it,” he said. Drew Leatherby, issues coordinator of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), said the need for education throughout an organization is something NASCIO has tried to emphasize at the state level. “You must have an education program in place not only to educate your critical staff, but so that even your rank-and-file staff should be aware that there is a disaster recovery plan and at least be marginally aware of what’s going to be expected of them if there is a shutdown,” said Leatherby, who has written several papers on the topic for NASCIO. 37 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - July 2008

Government Technology - July 2008 Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for ... Generation 2.0 at Work Dangerous Convenience Tainted Justice? Are You Ready? E-Discovery Basics Smart Docs Advanced Math Online Video Blues Spectrum Personal Computing Products signal:noise

Government Technology - July 2008

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