CDC’s Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI)
CDC’s Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) is a federally funded program that enhances preparedness in the nation’s largest population centers, where nearly 60% of the population resides. The program prepares jurisdictions to effectively respond to large public health emergencies with life-saving medicines and medical supplies.
State and large metropolitan public health departments use CRI funding to develop, test, and maintain emergency response plans. These plans detail how health departments will quickly receive medical countermeasures from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and distribute them to local communities.
SNS is the nation’s largest supply of medical countermeasures for use in a public health emergency severe enough to deplete local supplies
Funding
CDC funds CRI through the PHEP cooperative agreement. CDC provides CRI funds to 50 states and four large metropolitan areas. States distribute CRI funding to their local CRI planning jurisdictions to support all-hazards medical countermeasure distribution and dispensing planning and response. See the CRI funding column of the PHEP Budget Period 4 (Fiscal Year 2022) Funding table.
Participating Cities and Metropolitan Areas
The CRI project began in 2004 with 21 cities. It has since expanded to a total of 72 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with at least one CRI city in every state.
Albany, NY
Albuquerque, NM
Anchorage, AK
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Baton Rouge, LA
Billings, MT
Birmingham, AL
Boise, ID
Hartford, CT
Honolulu, HI
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jackson, MS
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Little Rock, AR
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Manchester, NH
Memphis, TN
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Burlington, VT
Charleston, WV
Charlotte, NC
Cheyenne, WY
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Nashville, TN
New Haven, CT
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha, NE
Orlando, FL
Peoria, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, ME
Portland, OR
Providence, RI
Richmond, VA
Columbia, SC
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Des Moines, IA
Detroit, MI
Dover, DE
Fargo, ND
Fresno, CA
Riverside, CA
Sacramento, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Seattle, WA
Sioux Falls, SD
St. Louis, MO
Tampa, FL
Trenton, NJ
Virginia Beach, VA
Washington, DC
Wichita, KS
Technical Assistance to Ensure MCM Operational Readiness
CDC’s Division of State and Local Readiness (DSLR) provides technical assistance to participating CRI jurisdictions for developing plans and testing their capability to receive, distribute, and dispense medical countermeasures. CDC developed the Online Technical Resource and Assistance Center (On-TRAC) to provide state, local, and territorial public health departments with a secure, user-friendly platform for requesting technical assistance.