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Planning: Although people with disabilities may need additional services, the emergency management system must work to build provisions for these services into its plans so that people with disabilities are not excluded from services available to the rest of the community. A study by the California Specialized Training Institute of 1,200 California agencies found that few of the 168 respondents believed that emergency plans had been made in their communities. Other findings included the following: National Response Plan: The Homeland Security Act mandates the creation of a National Response Plan (NRP) predicated on a new National Incident Management System (NIMS). The NRP and the NIMS provide the structure that weaves the capabilities and resources of all of the jurisdictions, disciplines, and levels of government, and the private sector into a cohesive, unified, coordinated, and seamless national approach. Preparedness: Preparedness measures seek to enhance disaster response operations (e.g. by stockpiling vital food and medical supplies, through training exercises, and by mobilizing emergency response personnel on standby). A December 2003 Harris poll found only 44 % of people with disabilities knew whom to contact to get information in times of disaster or emergency, compared with 40 % in a 2001 poll conducted soon after 9/11. Only 39% of people surveyed had a plan for evacuating their home in the event of an emergency, compared with the 38 % who had a plan in 2001. People with disabilities also noted higher rates of anxiety than were found in the general population about future disasters and emergencies. Evacuation experience: After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, at the suggestion of the local emergency management office, The Associated Blind, a local service provider for people who have low or no vision and the New York City Fire Department developed a building evacuation plan and drill for the staff, most of whom are visually impaired. As a result of the plan, on September 11th, the entire staff calmly and safely evacuated their building’s 9th floor. During the attack on the Pentagon, equipment previously installed for people who are visually impaired made it possible for dozens of sighted individuals to flee the smoke-filled corridors as well. However, some plans for people with disabilities proved deadly because it simply required them to go to predetermined meeting sites within the building and wait for evacuation assistance. Physical, Communication, and Program Access: Access mistakes are being repeated in new disasters because lessons learned are not being carried into subsequent practice and solutions are not being shared across agencies. Disaster workers training: Through its work with World Trade Center consumers, CIDNY (the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York) identified administrative procedures that resulted in inappropriate service denials with a range of public and private agencies. Shelter managers and volunteers were not trained in how to identify at-risk individuals to help prevent unnecessary deterioration of their emotional and physical health. First responders: There are few training opportunities for first responders related to the specific needs of people with disabilities and activity limitations. Lack of training and experience in dealing with people with disabilities is a problem and a safety issue for people with disabilities, and for the responders. When triage methods are used, people with disabilities are told to wait in a specific location for assistance putting them and the first responders at risk. Information transfer: Many people with disabilities were unable to apply for benefits because they could not stand in line for the long periods of time required. Deploying well-versed disability-related experts would mean that more of these lessons would be learned quickly and permanently integrated into existing protocols, strengthening the nature, sensitivity, and quality of the response. Networking with Other CBOs and Government Emergency Response Agencies: Since September 11th, CIDNY has been working with FEMA, the Red Cross, and many assistance agencies to educate them on the needs of people with disabilities. CNDY will also pay more attention to helping consumers develop personal emergency preparedness plans. Funding: Social services agencies often are reluctant to take on added responsibility during a disaster because spending additional money may leave them unable to provide basic services to their clients for the rest of the fiscal year. Private nonprofit organizations and private for-profit organizations are not eligible for reimbursement from federal disaster funds unless they are mandated or identified before a disaster to have specific disaster responsibilities. CIDNY’s first attempts to get the attention of FEMA and the Red Cross were hampered by the general lack of understanding about the diverse, and sometimes complex, needs of people with disabilities. The funding organization was finally convinced after CIDNY submitted an explicit grant application detailing real-life examples of the problems people were facing and the center for independent living’s unique capability to understand and help resolve them. Recognizing the Value and Talent of CBOs in Disaster Activities: CBOs know best how to reach out to the populations they assist and are accessible in terms of design and layout of facilities, environmental needs such as indoor air quality and temperature, and communication, serving as satellite distribution sites to provide alternatives to traditional shelters. Community collaborative groups: Community collaborative groups bring together local CBOs serving at-risk populations to specifically address issues related to disaster preparedness and response. They establish cooperative agreements allowing such organizations to collaborate when their own staff or resources are reduced or unavailable. Information and Referral 2-1-1: In 2000, the FCC assigned the phone number 2-1-1 for community information and referral nationwide. Currently established 2-1-1 systems are completely funded by the state and local government, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other agencies. While 20% of the population have 2-1-1 telephone service in 21 states lack of funding prevents access of this service throughout every state. Department of Homeland Security: The 2002 Homeland Security Act combined 22 government agencies into the new DHS providing one point of contact for state and local groups and the private sectors to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks and to minimize the damage if such attacks do occur. On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of DHS’s EP&R and continued its mission to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities: The July 2004 President’s Executive Order established the council to report on their achievements; the best practices among all governments and private organizations and individuals for emergency preparedness planning relating to individuals with disabilities; and recommendations. Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: The CRCL protects civil rights and civil liberties and supports homeland security by providing DHS with legal and policy advice. Any person eligible to receive disaster aid from FEMA is entitled to those benefits without discrimination. Equal Rights Officer Cadre: The cadre staff work proactively with community relations and other disaster field office components to resolve civil rights issues and they investigate disability-specific civil rights complaints and maintain contact with the disability community. Using Funding Sanctions to Enforce Section 504 and ADA. The CRCL is currently working on a draft document that will remind grantees of their Section 504 and ADA obligations. The CRCL also stated that the Department of Justice is working on guidance for state and local emergency planning departments reinforcing their legal obligation to comply with Section 504 and ADA in planning for, operating, and managing shelters. Often the threat of temporarily withholding even a portion of the funds is enough to persuade a grantee to rethink its plans and attend to the assurances. Section 508: Section 508 requires DHS to ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the information available to other employees. Section 508 also requires that the public with disabilities have access to and use of the same information and data provided to the general public. Current disability-specific initiatives: CRCL has identified a number of objectives that reflect a commitment to making DHS a model workplace for people with disabilities, including paid internships for students with disabilities; integrating people with disabilities into emergency preparedness and planning; increasing disability-related knowledge and information; and communicating with people with disabilities about homeland security. Federal Communications Commission: FCC rules state that emergency information that is provided in the audio portion of the programming must be provided using closed captioning or other methods of visual presentation such as open captioning, crawls, or scrolls that appear on the screen. Emergency information provided by these means should not block any closed captioning, and closed captioning should not block any emergency information. Section 79.2 of the FCC’s rules requires that all critical details must be made accessible; including details on the areas that will be affected by the emergency, evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of areas to be evacuated, specific evacuation routes, approved shelters or the way to take shelter in one’s home, instructions on how to secure personal property, road closures, and how to obtain relief assistance. Many broadcasters and public emergency management agencies are not aware of their legal responsibilities to modify their information procedures, regarding captioning,describing visual information, and digital television closed captioning. FCC Complaint Processing: Complaint procedures are found by typing in “complaint” in the search engine or by choosing the “for consumers” icon, which links to an electronic complaint filing form on the FCC website. The FCC’s rules currently require that accessible information be made available to members of the disability community in times of emergency. Through public notices, the FCC has diligently reminded broadcasters and multichannel video program distributors of their obligation to provide captioning for emergency information. Broadcasters’ Interpretation of “Emergency”: In April 2004, the FCC sent letters to several local television stations in the Washington, D.C., area about the failure of these stations to caption reports on the sniper shootings, clarifying that the shootings constituted an emergency event during which “emergency information” might have been broadcast. Telecommunications Relay Services: Telecommunications relay services (TRS) enable callers with hearing and speech disabilities who use TTYs and other technologies, and callers who use voice telephones, to communicate with each other through a third-party communications assistant. On 9/11, TRS providers were unprepared for the volume of calls that were made, resulting in the breakdown of TRS communications in several states. Return to the top of the page.
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