Front-End Accountability

To ensure front-end accountability in the California Port Security Grant Program (CPSGP), the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) will issue grant guidelines (to be issued in August 2007) establishing criteria based on the National Strategy for Maritime Security, the California State Homeland Security Strategy, and the Investment Justification for Port Security submitted to the US-DHS.

The grant process will incorporate a peer review process to identify eligible applications with the greatest impact on port security across the State. The Peer Review Panel (PRP) will be comprised of security directors from the 11 eligible ports, or their designees, (provided all ports elect to participate in the CPSGP). The PRP will have multiple functions including; project nomination, project review and recommendation on allocations to OHS. OHS will retain the final approval for all projects related to the CPSGP.

The criteria for grant funding shall be based on a project's ability to address implementation of each individual port's security strategic plan and include risk analysis that assesses risk, vulnerability, and risk consequence. In order to ensure a comprehensive approach to port security across California, OHS will make all grant awards in consultation with the California Maritime Security Committee.

The PRP will have specific criteria for eligibility developed by OHS and the grant awards will include the clear terms and conditions that are to be met for the completion of the grant. In addition the grant award will delineate the clear outcome of the grant; because of the nature of security the general outcome for all grants will be to make each port across California more secure.

As part of the application process OHS will require that each port certify that they are not suspended or debarred.

Port authorities will be required to provide a copies of their most recent financial statements to establish their financial posture and demonstrate that they have the accounting practices and procedures in place to ensure they are able to manage and account for the grant funds. Since, we only have 11 eligible grantees we have already conducted our outreach activities to each of the ports.

Performance Standards and Outcome Measures

The outcome measures of the CPSGP will be based on "hardening" the port infrastructure across the State.

As part of the front-end accountability the ports are identifying how each project is reducing their security risks by analyzing threat, vulnerability and consequence.

To ensure that outcomes measures are achieved OHS will be reviewing each project and ensuring that the project addresses the identified vulnerabilities. While there is no objective formula to quantify the amount of reduction to in risk to each port, we will be able to identify the specific mitigation effect that the project has on the identified risk to the port. To help in this process the PRP whom are subject matter experts in port security will be reviewing each project nomination to ensure that each of the nominations addresses a serious and credible threat inside of the port. Since each grant will be project based and the project will have been approved by OHS and the PRP each and every grant will be addressing a specific measured outcome (the project) that will address the security risks of the port.

Since OHS administers numerous homeland security related grants, there is an extensive process in place to ensure that all bond proceeds will be expended in accordance with the front-end criteria and processes.

OHS will not even authorize the grant until all of the front-end process has been accounted for and completed.

OHS uses the Automated Ledger System (ALS) to track all grant expenditures for the $1.3 billion in federal funds that we have received, so we will use the same process to ensure that all grant activities are tracked appropriately. A project will not make the list until the grant has been awarded and the grant process is under way. In the event that the project cannot be completed or needs to be significantly changed, OHS will delete or change the project on the ALS after we have issued a revised or amended grant agreement. In addition, OHS will maintain a list of eligible projects for all grants and we will publish that list on the website so that public will have access to the information.