The majority of local, state, and federal government resources are primarily focused on life-saving activities such as fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical response, while nongovernmental and faith-based organizations have focused on mass care services. Engagement of the Whole Community in building mass care capacity is vital to increasing national response capability. Day-to-day community and state preparedness activities are a critical component of successful mass care response. Working together, Whole Community partners can bridge shortfalls in mass care services and help to ensure that the life-sustaining needs of disaster survivors are met, regardless of the size and location of the disaster.  Additionally, Whole Community partners must insure that the needs of children, individuals with disabilities and other access and functional needs, and older adults are met. To reach the level of preparedness required to meet catastrophic disaster risks, our country must build a system that encourages individuals, families, communities, states, and the private sector to all participate in building resiliency and capacity.

For such a system to be effective, it must be built on a foundation of common terminology; well-defined position and roles, responsibilities, and qualifications; and training programs that are flexible in design to adapt to various delivery methods and organizational needs but reflect standardized system fundamentals. 

Essentially, mass care must become an open system capable of incorporating the full range of resources present in our society. Collectively, we must also more fully understand the capabilities and capacities of the Whole Community, so we can identify where gaps exist that must be addressed for catastrophic events. 

The federal government recognized the importance of mass care in emergency management when it included mass care in the Federal Response Plan (FRP), released in April 1992. The FRP created the Emergency Support Function 6 (ESF-6), which at that time consisted primarily of mass care activities.