While California has a reputation of being well prepared for emergencies, disasters on the scale of Hurricane Katrina are prompting scrutiny of the State's ability to respond to crises.  While the state's population continues to grow, scientists forecast inevitable earthquakes and floods that will far exceed the severity of previous incidents.  And the threat of terrorism persists.  Since 2001, the Little Hoover Commission has conducted three emergency preparedness reviews, which are described below.  The current study examines the role and organization of the State in preparing for disasters that have the potential to impact millions of Californians.

Previous Studies

Soon after the terrorist attacks in 2001, the Commission reviewed California's state of readiness and issued recommendations in a report, Be Prepared:  Getting Ready for New and Uncertain Dangers.   That report called for improvements to State organization and policies to better protect the public and found that the weakest link in protecting Californians was the public health system.

The Commission then undertook a thorough review of public health and found that the state's scientific public health system had been neglected, in part because it was embedded in a large department focused on providing Medi-Cal insurance and services to individuals.  The Commission's recommendations for rebuilding this system are contained in To Protect and Prevent:  Rebuilding California's Public Health System.

As a follow-up to emergency preparedness and public safety recommendations made by the Commission in 2002 and 2003, the Commission published a June 2005 letter-report, Recommendations for Emergency Preparedness and Public Health.

If you would like more information regarding this study, please contact Toby Ewing, the project manager for the study.  If you would like to be notified electronically of meetings and events associated with this study and be notified when the review is complete, please send a request to littlehoover@lhc.ca.gov.