"The National Response Framework..... reflects our pledge to provide clear, concise information and a sound structure within which we can develop tailored planning for every one of the myriad types of challenges that we are likely to face as we enter into this new, very transformative century.... beyond the doctrine and the principles and the plans is the issue of culture. We need a culture of preparedness -- and that means engaging communities, businesses, schools and individuals, because despite our best efforts to put plans in place, and despite all the training that professionals undertake, unless we engage civic leaders to help us prepare the public, our emergency response efforts will always be strained and lives will be put at risk. And that's why we made community preparedness a priority in the National Preparedness Guidelines that we released in September. "We recognize it's a national effort to get community preparedness underway that will not be achieved overnight. But it will require instead continuous education and community involvement at all levels. And so we're taking a comprehensive approach by engaging community leaders, NGOs, and our partners in the private and public sectors so we can focus on preparedness and, as important, resiliency. "One of the ways we're building a culture of preparedness is our Citizen Corps program. In the nearly six years since its creation, Citizen Corps has seen tremendous growth and support from local communities. In fact, there are nearly 2,300 Citizen Corps Councils in all of our states and territories, and a new council is registered every two days. What these councils do is bring community and government leaders together to participate in emergency planning, training, exercise, and response surge development. The councils foster education and participation with the general public. "Our Ready campaign, which is undertaken with the private sector and the Ad Council, complements this grassroot effort through national preparedness messaging. The Ready -- by the way, it was a great set of ads -- which I saw previewed and then I saw a couple of them on TV in which they went out and they actually talked to families. And they said, do you have a plan for an emergency? And what they did is they talked to like every member of the family separately you know, there was the father, the mother, the kids -- and everybody said, oh yes, we have a plan. And then everybody's recitation of the plan was different. And it was great, actually. It was a great self-test, and we tried it at home, and we didn't do that well either. So we have actually now got our kids focused on these issues. And it requires constantly reminding people about it because, you know, you do get distracted with your day-to-day. "But I'll tell you, as someone who lived through 9/11 with my family, and lived through the anthrax attack, and lived through the sniper attack, having a plan and knowing that your kids know what they're supposed to do, for parents is the number one most important concern. Now, we have a website, www.ready.gov, which has useful information, and it gets quite a lot of hits. And this past September we sponsored our fourth annual National Preparedness Month. More than 14 -- more than 1,700 organizations partnered with us through our Ready campaign in that National Preparedness Month, and hosted various events educating people on preparedness and response. "In addition to reaching out through the Ad Council and these other media campaigns, private sector partners, such as the Council on Competitiveness and the Infrastructure Security Partnership, have worked with us, recognizing that we have to focus on resiliency as well as preparedness -- that means the community's ability to rebound and restore critical government and business functions after a disaster occurs. To that end we've provided funding to organizations like the Southeast Region Research Initiative to study and increase resiliency in our cities and other communities. Our goal here is to make sure that if, despite the best preventive and preparedness efforts, a disaster strikes, we can get back up and running and recover, as quickly as possible. And some of these efforts are now underway in Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina, working to increase community resiliency through SERRI-directed research. Finally, as we talk about various institutions, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention schools. Schools, in many way, are the network that binds communities most closely together. It gets parents most engaged, and, of course, as we all know, when children become part of the process of educating their parents, that's really a phenomenal engine for information and, frankly, driving good behavior. You know, when we've got kids involved in things like the fire safety campaign or recycling, they're like little relentless engines of propaganda. They never drop it -- they just nag again and again and again about the recycling and stuff. Don't take this as a comment on my family. "But, actually, it's a great lesson. It brings parents around to understanding what they need to do. We need to harness some of that great energy by educating a generation of children to readiness and preparedness -- not to frighten them, but to make sure that part of civic preparation is understanding how you play your role when there is a flood, or an emergency, or some kind of a medical situation, that requires community-based response. "And so we've worked closely with the Department of Education to ensure that schools across the country are engaged with our local Citizen Corps Councils and have the information and guidance, first to make sure they've got good plans, and second to make sure they've got their children engaged and their parents engaged in what they would need to do if, God forbid, we faced some kind of a catastrophe that affected a community and a school structure. "Finally, I want to highlight what is the key foundation element in everything that we're talking about in terms of preparedness -- and that is individual responsibility. We need your leadership at the local level to echo the message that we are sending at the national and state level, which is getting people prepared by getting together a kit of the necessary things that they need, making a plan, and staying informed. You all know that these three principles are the key to responding to any disaster of whatever kind. "Sometimes people think it's complicated. Sometimes people think it's just not going to happen. What we have to do is demystify this. We have to make it clear that this is no different than the kind of preparations a responsible person does before they take, for example, their family on a long vacation trip in the automobile. You know, you check the car, you check the tires, you make sure the automobile is running properly, maybe you take it in for an oil change. This is basic stuff that all of us do and learn to do in order to protect our families with respect to everyday challenges. And now, as you look at the possibility of hurricanes and ice storms and earthquakes, you'll recognize how important it is to build this same mindset, and to make it accessible to people if we're going to survive ice storms and fires and other kinds of catastrophes, and even, God forbid, some kind of medical emergency or a terrorist attack. "Not only do we have to demystify it, but we have to make this part of the morality of public life, part of civic responsibility, because my view is that when able-bodied people take the steps they need to take care of themselves for 48 or 72 hours, what they are doing is they are freeing the first responders to help those who cannot help themselves. On the other hand, if you simply throw your hands up and you don't bother, and you figure someone is going to come and take care of you, then what you're likely doing is distracting a responder who could otherwise be helping someone who can't help themselves. And I think -- so it is really a matter of public morality and civic engagement". (DHS, Remarks by Secretary Michael Chertoff to the National Congress for Secure Communities, December 17, 2007)