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New Jersey is cognizant of the need to include all
relevant disciplines in the process of homeland security planning.
In order to include and encourage the active involvement of
pertinent participants in all 21 of New Jersey's counties, a
multi-discipline working group has been established. The
County Working Group (CWG) has been charged with the responsiblity
of creating a county homeland security strategic plan, identifying
county needs, prioritizing homeland security projects and developing
operational and implementation plans for each project.
Creation of a CWG was a requirement established by
the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (designated state
administrative agency - SAA) in order to receive local share pass
thru dollars under the FY2003 Homeland Security Grant Program.
The CWG was initially established to facilitate the planning
function in identifying county shortfalls that could be supported by
their FY03 State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) award to
respond and mitigate a large scale emergency.
The CWG has continued to remain a requirement in
order to receive local pass thru dollars of the Homeland Security
Grant Program (HSGP) and will for future grant awards. The CWG
is staffed with representatives from the various disciplines of
first responders and key representatives of the county government
structure. The membership roster listed below is believed to
reflect the core disciplines needed to effectively and intelligently
discuss the issues relating to prevention, protection, mitigation
and recovery/response to a terrorist attack. As needs and
situations dictate, counties may add to the membership. The CWG is minimally comprised of the following:
Emergency Management Coordinator
(Serves as chair unless otherwise
designated by county Exec/Admin)
County Fire Coordinator
County Police Chief's Association Representative
County Health Department Representative
County Prosecutor's Representative
Hazardous Materials Team Representative
County Administration / Fiscal Representative
County Medical Examiner
County Hospital Representative
Representative from the two most populated towns/cities
County Domestic Preparedness Planner
County Critical Infrastructure Coordinator
County Health Officer
The members of the CWG meet monthly to
prioritize and develop the strategies and spending plan proposals
based upon the needs and information they receive from their
respective disciplines. The CWG serves as the forum for open dialogue and
discussion between the various disciplines and county government.
This is the group that provides the capacity for the disciplines
within their respective county to respond to an act of terrorism
and, more importantly, design the preventive measures to detect,
delay, devalue or deny terrorists the opportunity or means to attack.
Working together the members determine needs, coordinate activities,
and monitor the implementation of homeland security initiatives.
Regional coordinators from the New Jersey Office of Homeland
Security and Preparedness attend CWG meetings, as well as meetings
of the various disciplines represented on the CWG, to provide
guidance to the county, aid in the formation of grant applications,
and foster regional thinking.
Members of the county working group inform their
constituency groups, municipalities, and disciplines they represent
of the CWG's activities, priorities and progress and are charged
with keeping the lines of communication open. They serve as
the conduit of information in this "bottoms up" planning approach.
Coordination, cooperation, communication, and clarity are all
paramount and essential to the success, effectiveness, and
efficiency of the CWG. Their collective efforts greatly
contribute to our state's enhanced level of preparedness and
homeland security.
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GOAL I: Prevent Terrorist
Attacks
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Enhance the county’s intelligence and information collection,
analysis, sharing and dissemination capabilities to provide
durable, reliable, actionable, timely and effective information
and intelligence in a multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary
environment.
GOAL II: Protect Critical
Infrastructure and Reduce Vulnerability to Terrorism
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Reduce the vulnerability and the risk of a terrorist attack on
critical infrastructure and key resources by developing
protective plans and implementing preventative programs.
- Enhance government’s
capacity/capabilities to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack
and ensure continuity of government during and after an event by
developing viable and effective plans
GOAL III: Respond to
Incidents of Terrorism Quickly and Effectively
- Enhance New Jersey’s first
responder preparedness using the Preparedness Cycle: Plan;
Organize, Train, & Equip; Exercise; and Evaluate & Improve.
- Strengthen communications
(voice, data and information) and emergency notification/warning
capabilities.
- Strengthen health and
healthcare response capabilities so that injured, ill, exposed
populations are rapidly and appropriately cared for or
protected.
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Enhance regional collaboration to develop partnerships across
multiple jurisdictions to build and share capabilities
GOAL IV: Recover from
Terrorist Attack(s) and Restore Quality of Life
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Restore infrastructure and other government services to the
impacted area.
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Restore quality of life to impacted populations with minimal
delay.
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Requests to
fund homeland security projects are submitted by the discipline
representatives of the
Salem County Working Group (SCWG). Each funding cycle the SCWG
is required to prepare a spending plan describing the projects that
the county intends to support during the federal fiscal year for
which an award is granted. Requests for funding are submitted
during the period which the spending plan is being drafted and
whenever funding becomes available due to a balance resulting from a
project that was completed under budget or one that was not
completed.
Requests for
funding must meet all of the requirements listed below:
- Proposals must support the
goals and objectives of the Salem County Working Group.
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Proposals must satisfy the
requirements of the Homeland Security Grant Program as
specified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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Proposals must satisfy any and
all additional requirements specified by the New Jersey
Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.
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Proposed equipment items must be listed on
the US Department of Homeland Security’s Authorized
Equipment List (AEL).
- Proposals must be
submitted in writing to the Salem County Working Group. An
Application for Homeland Security Funding (Salem County
Working Group Form 100) must be completed to satisfy
this requirement.
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Cost estimates must be
obtained in accordance with New Jersey’s Local Public
Contracts Law and provided to the Working Group along with
the written proposal.
No
proposals shall be put to a vote without satisfying these
requirements.
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