The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) is a

non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...

watchdog organization dedicated to improving disaster management systems. DAP was founded in 2007 by Ben Smilowitz as a reaction to the responses to hurricanes Katrina and

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...

. DAP is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization and is a 2008 Echoing Green fellowship organization.

Initiatives

* Disaster Accountability Project Hotline - a toll free hotline through which survivors of a disaster, relief workers, and whistle-blowers can report gaps in relief services. *

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

's ice policy - an effort to pressure FEMA to reverse its decision to only deliver ice for "medical emergencies" following a disaster. * FEMA Structural Reforms - among other reforms, DAP has advocated for the elevation of the FEMA Administrator to a

U.S. Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to t ...

-level position. * Report on Southern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness - a study conducted in 2009, which evaluated the emergency preparedness plans of 22 Southern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

based upon their comprehensiveness and accessibility to the general public. The study revealed that 11 of the 22 parishes surveyed could not or would not produce copies of their emergency plans when requested. * ReliefOversight.org - a website created as a response to the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's ca ...

. ReliefOversight.org monitors the activities of relief organizations in disaster zones during the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster.

References

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External links

Disaster Accountability Project website
Charities based in Maryland

Accountability Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the pub ...

Investigative journalism