Counter-terrorism is the nation's highest profile challenge
since the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks
in September 2001. The conclusion is thatlarge segments
of the private sector, including most of our critical
infrastructure ans well as all Government facilities are
increasingly vulnerable to the immediate threat of terrorism.
People, government facilities and the supporting infrastructures
all are at risk.
The quality of the first response, almost always the
responsibility of local government, may well determine
how many people live or die. This burden extends beyond
the traditional "first responders" to include
much broader sectors of local government and the surrounding
community, particularly hospitals, public health clinics
and other health care providers. The NPSS Government
Preparedness and Consequence Planning Assessment program
is designed to provide local or county government officials
with an assessment of the current state of preparedness
for the jurisdiction and an evaluation of the response
components. The process examines risks, threats and
preparedness in a broader "complete response package",
which crosses governmental, departmental and organizational
boundaries. In this way duplication and cross-jurisdictional
conflicts are avoided and scarce local resources can
be allocated to where they are needed most.
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