State of Illinois' Emergency Management Program achieves National EM Accreditation

This accreditation is Illinois' fourth consecutive accreditation by EMAP

SPRINGFIELD - The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) notified leaders with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) that Illinois will achieve national accreditation after an assessment team determined the state's program complied with all 66 national standards.

"There is nothing more important than making sure the people of our state are safe," said IEMA-OHS Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. "Illinois has seen severe weather and complex disasters so it's critical that our Emergency Management program is poised to meet those difficult challenges."

A team of certified assessors from around the world who conducted a week-long review of Illinois' program in April found Illinois' program met or exceeded all the standards.

To receive EMAP accreditation and re-accreditation, states are required to demonstrate 100% compliance with 66 standards. The standards cover 13 key program areas including planning, incident management, hazard mitigation, mutual aid, communications, public information, and more.

Illinois visited with the EMAP Program Review Committee (PRC) to present their accreditation report and seek full accreditation. The PRC provided a recommendation of Accreditation to the EMAP Commission, followed by an affirmative vote. Illinois' accreditation by EMAP is valid for the next five years.

EMAP is an independent non-profit organization that fosters excellence and accountability in emergency management and homeland security programs by establishing credible standards applied in a peer review accreditation program. EMAP accreditation is a voluntary process for state and local emergency management programs. Illinois is currently one of 34 states in the U.S. that are EMAP accredited.

This accreditation is Illinois' fourth consecutive accreditation by EMAP, something only a few programs have ever achieved.

"Numerous state agencies and all elements of IEMA-OHS contributed to our re-accreditation effort, making sure we met or exceeded the national standards in disaster response and recovery," said IEMA-OHS Office of Emergency Management Deputy Director Clayton Kuetemeyer.

Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS): Ready.Illinois.Gov

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