... is a progression of actions that are taken with the purpose of minimizing losses or injuries within the organization.

The State Office of Risk Management provides active leadership to enable State of Texas client agencies to protect their employees, the general public as well as the state’s physical and financial assets.

July 26, 2011

October 7, 2009

The State Office of Risk Management (SORM) would like to extend an opportunity to attend the above webinar by the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA).

Many state agencies host or sponsor a wide variety of special events. Special events include an array of activities, including athletics, carnivals, fairs, markets, shows, arts and concerts. The risks associated with these activities need to be managed to maximize the benefits as well as prevent and minimize losses from injuries and damage to property.

The webinar will integrate traditional risk management principles and practices into special event planning and management to prevent cancellation, loss of preparation efforts and resources.

The participants will:

• Discover practical strategies that can be applied to managing special event risks;
• Be informed about readily available resources in the field of special event risk management;
• Learn the do's and don'ts for special events planning and delivery.

Possible attendees include Risk Managers, Volunteer Coordinators and Event Planners.

Space is limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis. There is no cost to attend. Click here to register Training Calendar.

If you can not attend in person, there are other options for participation at your location or to purchase a CD of the presentation. For more information, go to PRIMA's website, www.primacentral.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Sally Becker at 512-936-1573 or sally.becker@sorm.state.tx.us.

February 15, 2008

FEMA Trailers

The State Office of Risk Management (SORM) has been made aware that some state agencies own or occupy trailers that were acquired from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). High levels of formaldehyde or other contaminants in these trailers may present hazards to occupants according to FEMA and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). FEMA has contacted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a study of indoor air quality of FEMA trailers. The following website contains information about CDC activities:

• FEMA and CDC Joint Press Releases

State agencies should review their property inventories to determine if they own or occupy potentially affected trailers. Good ventilation is recommended by the CDC to reduce potential exposure. SORM recommends agencies refer to the CDC guidance document for further developments on remediation and control of specific indoor air quality hazards inside FEMA trailers. The following website contains mitigation information:

• FEMA Trailer Study - Fact Sheet

The following website at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains additional indoor air quality information involving FEMA trailers:

• Environmental Hazards and Health Effects - FEMA Trailer Study

SORM is available to assist state agencies in the guidance and interpretation of the above information from the CDC. SORM would like to thank Mike Saraceno of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in alerting SORM about the presence of FEMA trailers at state agencies.

December 4, 2007

On behalf of the State Office of Risk Management (Office), I would like to thank you for your support during the Sunset Review of the Office by the Legislature this year. As you may know, after thoroughly reviewing the Office and its operations, the Legislature determined that there is a continuing need for both the Office and the programs it administers.

I believe that it is the efforts you have each undertaken in risk management that have been recognized by Sunset and the Legislature. The Office may only succeed when the client entities we serve succeed, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to continue working with you. To that end, the Legislature has mandated a number of targeted issues in which our organizations will be expected to partner pursuant to Senate Bill 908, 80th R, which include:

1. Mandatory agency-level business continuity plans;
2. Enhanced return to work services, including possible coordination services, expanded data collection on outcomes and leave use, additional guidelines, and potential modifiers for the assessment methodology;
3. Payment of indemnity benefits via electronic funds transfer; and
4. Options to prepare state agencies for catastrophic claims.

While the Office did not receive specific fiscal resources to implement these programs, I believe that we can attempt to address the Legislature's expectations to some extent within existing resources. Beginning in the next few weeks and over the coming year the Office will be providing client agencies with guidance on how to implement the new legislative requirements in your agency. This information will be important to the compliance and reporting process, and I want to ensure that it is directed to the correct staff at your agency.

To view and update contact information for your agency, you may log into the Risk Management Information System (RMIS), and use the "RMIS User Access and Agency Contact Information Management" link.

Questions regarding updating contact information and the RMIS system should be directed to SORM's Data Security Administrator, Jennifer Whitwell. Jennifer can be reached at 512.936.1574, or via email at jennifer.whitwell@sorm.state.tx.us.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I want to assure you that it is my intent to work with you to minimize the burden of meeting the legislative mandates and support your efforts and I look forward to working with you.