Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has announced
a departmental realignment following a “second stage review”
undertaken shortly after being appointed last February
that would include structural adjustments and management
changes.
Chertoff did not say however that the reorganization plan
would affect the planned implementation of the department’s
new personnel system.
He revealed a six-point agenda on July 13 addressing
departmental policies, operations, and structures and said
details on the initiatives would appear in coming weeks
and months.
Chertoff said new management tools to centralize and
improve policy development and coordination would include
a new Directorate of Policy led by an undersecretary to
serve as the department-wide coordinator for policies,
regulations, and other initiatives.
That directorate would also assume the policy coordination
functions previously performed by the Border and
Transportation Security Directorate, he said, and it would
establish a single point of contact for stakeholders. It
would also include an Office of International Affairs,
Office of Private Sector Liaison, Homeland Security Advisory
Council, Office of Immigration Statistics, and Senior Asylum
Officer.
Under the plan an Office of Intelligence and Analysis would
gather and process intelligence from throughout the
community and distribute it to federal, state, local, and
private sector partners — and a new Director of Operations
Coordination would coordinate incident management activities
and departmental resources to translate intelligence and
policy into action.
