Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Richard Marks
Executive Director
Ph: 609-924-2110 x703
CPS Approved to Assist for School Safety Grants Assistance
WASHINGTON, DC - December 20, 2007 - The U. S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools, announced this week that they expect to release the application for the FY 2008 Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant competition on or around December 20, 2007. REMS Grant Applications in the past have been released in late spring of each year, which means that the applications will be due approximately three months earlier than in the past.
The Department of Education announcement indicates that the Application Release will include guidelines to local educational agencies (LEA’s) for preparation and submission of competitive applications by the mid-February deadline.
Following the release of the grant application, the Department of Education plans to schedule a series of Question and Answer telephone calls to provide additional information about the grant application guidelines and procedures.
The REMS Grant is an important source for funding of school districts or other LEA’s for improvement of emergency plans and equipment. In the past, the Department of Education has encouraged multi-district consortium applications. REMS Grant awards typically are made in the amounts of $100,000 to $500,000, and have been awarded to approximately 90 applicants each year.
CPS school safety initiative consultants (www.cardinalpointstrategies.com) have been approved for use of REMS grant funds, and provide robust tools for site assessments to identify vulnerabilities, and best practice guidelines and templates to review and improve on incident plans for each school building. The secure web-based portal facilitates review of plans with the first responder community, and makes incident response plans and building floor plans available online to authorized school and emergency response personnel. They can also provide a straightforward and simplified process for schools to achieve compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as required by new FEMA and Department of Education rules.
When the guidelines for REMS Grant applications are released, we will identify grant objectives that can be met with the CPS School Safety resources and will provide appropriate guidelines and text for inclusion of these solutions in your REMS Grant application.