DHS: Progress and priorities, II
department has consolidated more than 1,780 network sites into a single network that allows transparent monitoring of system performance and activity, prioritization of traffic, and a vastly improved security posture.
Improved workforce accommodations: The Office of the Chief Administrative Officer established initial DHS headquarters facilities, accommodated substantial growth, and set in motion a master building plan for consolidation of all headquarters functions. Planning includes the redevelopment of St. Elizabeths West Campus and reducing the number of locations within the National Capital Region from 40 locations to eight.
Protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties: The Privacy Office and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties have worked to enhance privacy and civil rights and civil liberties through the department’s work in cyber security, the use of satellite technology, airport screening protocols, and partnerships with Muslim-American communities.
Strengthened business processes and technology: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services launched a new fee schedule designed to bring decades-old systems into the twenty-first century and improve customer service.
Enhancing staffing and training: In 2007 the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center trained a record 60,458 students from all three branches of the federal government, as well as international, state, local, campus, and tribal law enforcement agencies. In addition, DHS recently launched new training and communications tools including DHSCovery, a state-of-the-art online training system.
Improved recruitment and hiring: DHS decreased the average time it takes to hire new DHS employees, four days shorter than Office of Personnel Management targets. DHS also exceeded targeted goals by hiring more than 2,300 protection officers, 11,200 transportation security officers, over 700 immigration enforcement agents and over 450 deportation officers.
Intelligence integration: The Under Secretary for I&A serves as the department’s primary driver for integration of its intelligence equities and has taken significant steps to build and mature the DHS intelligence enterprise, including: to improve DHS’ intelligence analysis, enterprise integration, and support to all its homeland security partners; establish the Homeland Security Intelligence Council, which comprises the heads of the intelligence components of the department; issue the DHS Intelligence Enterprise Strategic Plan that guides DHS Intelligence in furthering a strong, unified direction; and develop and implement appropriate directives, policies and procedures to uniformly lead, govern, integrate, and manage intelligence functions throughout DHS.
Building one DHS aAcquisition workforce and streamlining acquisitions: The Office of the Chief Procurement Officer is creating a unified DHS acquisition culture. Through the Acquisition Professional Career Program, the department is recruiting new talent for entry-level acquisition positions to develop a pipeline for future acquisition leaders. Acquisition process improvements ensured the critical U.S. Coast Guard Deepwater recapitalization program continued to move forward and resulted in the successful machinery trials of the first National Security Cutter, the USCGC BERTHOLF and the delivery of the first three Ocean Sentry Maritime Patrol Aircraft in 2007.
Systems consolidation: The Office of the Chief Financial Officer is reducing the number of DHS financial systems to realize cost savings and operational efficiencies. The department also will continue to consolidate its seventeen legacy data centers into two enterprise-wide data centers. This consolidation will result in improved cyber security, information sharing and configuration management.
