INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
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Monthly Updates - February 2008

In This Issue
Category of Links

www.disabilitypreparedness.gov
www.dhs.gov/disabilitypreparednessicc

Contact Us

disability.preparedness@dhs.gov

Correction: The National Organization on Disability Emergency Preparedness Initiative, in cooperation with the Homeland Defense Journal, hosted the Emergency Preparedness and Response Conference for People with Disabilities. The January ICC Update inadvertently credited the National Council on Disability with hosting this conference.

ICC Monthly Highlights

DHS Announces $3 Billion in Available Grant Funding

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the availability of 14 federal grant programs, "whose collective purpose is to strengthen prevention, protection, response and recovery capabilities at all levels of government." The grant programs represent more than $3 billion in available funding, about $376 million more than last year.

The grant programs for 2008 include:

  • Homeland Security Grant Program ($1.69 billion)
  • Infrastructure Protection Program ($852.4 million)
  • Emergency Management Performance Grants ($291.4 million)
  • Operation Stonegarden Grants ($60 million)
  • Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program ($60 million)
  • REAL ID Systems Integration and Data Verification Grant Program ($48.5 million)
  • UASI Nonprofit Security Grant Program ($15 million)

More information on each of these programs, including their associated sub-programs, is available in the DHS press release, http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1201882070387.shtm.

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ICC Monthly Updates

US Department of Homeland Security

FEMA National Advisory Council Holds Quarterly Meeting

A meeting of the FEMA National Advisory Council was held on February 12th-13th, 2008 in Washington, DC. Among the items on the agenda were: A Headquarters/Directorate Update covering the National Response Framework (NRF), the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Target Capabilities List (TCL); Subcommittee breakouts; and the opportunity for public comment. Margaret Schaefer, DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) Policy Advisor, who serves as the DHS/CRCL Liaison to the FEMA National Advisory Council, was in attendance. The Special Needs Subcommittee of the Council received a briefing from DHS/CRCL and Cindy Daniel, FEMA Disability Coordinator. The next meeting is scheduled for May 2008.

CRCL Provides Assistance to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Influenza Pandemic Project

On February 13th, DHS/CRCL staff participated in a conference call with members of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO's members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy, and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice. ASTHO has received a grant from CDC to develop model guidance for state, territorial, and local health officials on the protection of at-risk populations during an influenza pandemic. CRCL has been invited to contribute subject matter expertise to this effort and will be sharing relevant resources with the group so as to enhance the quality of the resulting guidance.

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Access Board

Emergency Transportable Housing Advisory Committee Meeting

The next in-person meeting of the Emergency Transportable Housing Advisory Committee is scheduled for March 27-28, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 27 and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 28. The Federal Register notice of this meeting is available at http://www.access-board.gov/eth/meeting4.htm.

The Access Board established this advisory committee to make recommendations for possible revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Guidelines to include provisions for emergency transportable housing.

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Recently Released Resources

California Office of Emergency Services Establishes New Office of Access and Functional Needs
The persistency of advocates for persons with disability in the State of California resulted in the establishment of an office within the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) specifically to identify needs of persons with disabilities before, during and after a disaster.

Mr. Richard Devylder was appointed to the position of Special Advisor to the Director on Access and Functional Needs. Richard and his staff of two will constitute the new Office of Access and Functional Needs.

Richard has served as an advisor, over the last three years, to OES and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, on issues related to disaster preparedness, response and recovery impacting people with disabilities, including areas of evacuations, sheltering, and communications. He was selected by Governor Schwarzenegger as a State Delegate to the 2006 Working Conference on Emergency Management and Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly. The delegation developed priorities for California to focus on in the coming years.

Richard has been blessed with great opportunities in both his personal and professional life. In 2003 he was appointed by Governor Davis to the position of Deputy Director, Independent Living and External Affairs for the California Department of Rehabilitation; is the former Chairman of the State Independent Living Council and Executive Director of Dayle McIntosh Center, based in Orange County. Richard has extensive experience advocating for people with disabilities at the local, statewide and federal level.

As Deputy Director for the California Department of Rehabilitation since August 2003, he was responsible for all funded programs of more than $20 million related to Independent Living and oversaw business related to external communications. As the former Executive Director of the Dayle McIntosh Center from 2000-2003, Richard was responsible for the day-to-day management of a staff of 45 and annual budget of over $3 million. He oversaw a broad range of services offered by the Center that provided the necessary support for people with disabilities to live independently, free from nursing homes.

Richard earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, Long Beach, in Speech Communication (emphasis on interpersonal and organizational) in 1992. As a result of life experiences without arms or legs, Richard's purpose is to work toward improving quality of life for people with disabilities, which is reflective in his accomplishments.

National Response Framework Online Course
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed an online introductory training course that focuses on the new National Response Framework (NRF), and aims to introduce participants to the concepts and principles of the NRF. Geared for government executives, private-sector leaders, and emergency management practitioners, participants of this course will learn:

  • The purpose of the NRF.
  • The response doctrine established by the NRF.
  • The roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in the NRF.
  • The actions that support national response.
  • The response organizations used for multi-agency coordination.
  • How planning relates to national preparedness.

This course, which takes about three hours, is available at http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS800b.asp.

2008 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws
The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released the 2008 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws, describing “15 essential and lifesaving highway safety laws,” and is a call to action for Governors and state legislators. In 2006, motor vehicle crashes caused over 42,000 deaths and over 2.5 million injuries and cost the nation over $230 billion. Passage of the 15 laws identified in Advocates' report will help prevent these tragedies and, at the same time, will save the states billions of dollars in economic costs associated with highway crashes.” The report is available at http://www.saferoads.org/sec_roadmap2008.htm.

GAO Issues Report on National Disaster Response
The GAO report, FEMA Should Take Action to Improve Capacity and Coordination between Government and Voluntary Sectors, examines several issues including: the shift of lead agency for Emergency Support Function 6 from American Red Cross to FEMA; the role of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters based upon National Response Framework; and collaboration between the National Council on Disability and FEMA. The full report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08369.pdf.

2007 Disasters by the Numbers
The Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) has released its report on 2007 disasters. Notable findings include:

  • The world saw an increase in the number of floods, compared with the average of the last seven years.
  • The United States saw the highest number of reported natural disasters in 2007, with 22.

To view the entire report, visit http://www.unisdr.org/eng/media-room/facts-sheets/2007-disasters-in-numbers-ISDR-CRED.pdf

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Upcoming Events

March 5, 2008
What's New in the National Response Framework (NRF)
WebCast, Teleconference (VTC), and Television Broadcast
The National Response Framework was released on January 22, 2008. The Framework supersedes the National Response Plan (NRP) and more adequately serves as a guide to how the nation conducts incident response. The Framework ensures that government executives, private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) leaders, and emergency management practitioners across the nation understand domestic incident response roles, responsibilities and relationships in order to respond more effectively to any type of incident. The broadcast will address the purpose, scope, key concepts, and training associated with the new Framework.

Those wishing to access the discussion via the Internet web cast can go to http://www.vodium.com/goto/fema/nrf.asp and click on the National Response Framework button. Visiting that site prior to the web cast is important in order to assure that any connectivity issues involved with individual computer settings, are addressed before the broadcast.

March 5, 2008
Emergency Evacuations From Major Cities
Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
This online event will feature leading U.S. emergency managers who will explore the lessons they have learned in the field and how these should be applied to enhance evacuation planning and preparedness. Ample time will be allocated for audience Q&A. For more information, see http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/spotlight.html?id=801&preview=1

March 5, 2008
Summit on Emergency Preparedness and At-Risk Populations
Booz Allen Hamilton Virginia Square Conference Facility
Arlington, VA
Senior officials at Booz Allen will speak about megacommunities and their work to address preparedness. Participants will be able to engage in dialogue with a diverse stakeholder group and learn the value of creating their own megacommunity to effectively address the challenges of emergency preparedness and vulnerable populations.

For more information or registration contact Daniel Early by Friday, February 29, 2008 at early_daniel@bah.com or (703) 377-8915.

March 6-8, 2008
National Severe Storm Workshop - "From Readiness to Recovery"
Norman, Oklahoma
A national forum for academia, emergency management, media, and NOAA to exchange information and techniques for public safety during severe weather. The conference allows workshop participants to step out of their normal operational roles and responsibilities and take part in a simulated emergency. Role playing interactions among the different groups managing the scenario spur on-going discussions about ways to improve emergency communications and the warning process. For more information please visit: http://www.norman.noaa.gov/NSWW2008/index.html.

March 11-14, 2008
VEMC Conference
Hampton, Virginia
The 2008 VEMC "It Can Happen Here", will be held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center on March 11th through the 14th. The tentative key note speaker for this year is current chairman of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association-IV and former director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield. Some provisional workshop topics are crisis management for schools, water system disruptions and rural/agricultural drought issues (tabletop exercise), and Minnesota bridge collapse debris management. For more information please visit: http://www.vdem.state.va.us/.

March 13-14, 2008
Crossing Borders Emergency Preparedness Conference
Buffalo Niagara Convention Center
Buffalo, NY 14202
Regional, national, and international experts will come together during the 2008 Crossing Borders Emergency Preparedness Conference to provide critical information about bi-national measures being taken to plan, prepare and protect the Western New York and Southern Ontario Regions in the event of natural and man-made disasters. The conference includes a session on Reaching Vulnerable Populations: Communicating in the Presence of Risk. For more information, please contact the office of Border Community SERVICE at (716) 286-8010 or Nancy Brennan Blundell via email at nbb@niagara.edu or visit http://www.semo.state.ny.us/uploads/2008_Crossing_Borders.pdf.

March 15-19, 2008
2008 NDMS Training Summit
Nashville, TN
The 2008 National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Training Summit will help promote interaction between federal, state, local and tribal governments, the private sector, non-profit organizations, and academia for the purpose of enhancing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of those involved in the management or delivery of public health and medical care during disasters of any origin. Expert faculty will present on key topics such as clinical care, public health, and disaster response. Networking with these expert faculty members as well as many of the nation's leaders in the field of emergency management, will give participants access to the latest in emergency response and coordination capabilities. For more information, see http://www.ndms.chepinc.org/

April 1-2, 2008
Partners in Emergency Preparedness
Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center
Tacoma, WA 98402
The Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference is the largest and most successful regional emergency preparedness conference in the Pacific Northwest. Partners in Emergency Preparedness annually hosts over 500 people representing business, schools, government, the nonprofit sector, emergency management professionals, and volunteer organizations. The Partners Conference attracts top-notch speakers with expertise that includes earthquake research, contingency planning, school preparedness, technology, news media, and public health. Speakers and exhibitors provide cutting-edge information on subjects such as business continuity planning, school safety, public health preparedness, homeland security, and public information. For more information, see: http://capps.wsu.edu/conferences/emergencyprep/.

April 17-18, 2008
Community Preparedness: Addressing the Needs of Diverse Populations
The Yale Center for Public Health Preparedness
New Haven, Connecticut
The aim of this conference is to provide supportive and exemplary methods of emergency response for state and local planners in an effort to reach all community members in an emergency. For more information, see http://publichealth.yale.edu/ycphp/conference.html.

May 5-9, 2008
16th Annual National VOAD Conference
Little Rock, AR
The Annual meeting of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) brings together VOAD members and interested persons to learn about new policies that impact VOADs, share innovative ideas that can be adapted, and strengthen existing relationships and build new ones.

May 7-9, 2008
10th Annual Midwest Emergency Preparedness & Response Conference
Winnebago County Local Emergency Planning Committee
Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort, Rockford, IL
Attendees of this annual conference will come away with information to conduct their activities safely, in compliance with current standards and laws, begin awareness and preparation for emergency events, fulfill other training and response requirements. For more information, see http://www.winn-lepc.org/pages.php?id=5.

May 12-16, 2008
Governor's Hurricane Conference
Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Governor's Hurricane Conference was created to provide a forum to supply the training and knowledge necessary to respond to yet another hurricane strike. The 2008 Governor's Hurricane Conference will focus on the impacts of this season and the lessons learned, and it will provide attendees with the tools to prepare themselves for the next hurricane response. For more information, see http://www.flghc.org/.

June 1-4, 2008
Public Risk Management Association's 29th Annual Conference
Anaheim, CA
PRIMA's 2008 Annual Conference sessions include topics in human resources, law/legal, financing, public administration, risk management, schools, terrorism and much more! Additionally, attendees will have access to state-of-the-art risk management products and services at our industry-leading trade show. The Annual Conference attracts companies featuring safety, workers' compensation, finance, insurance, training and software geared specifically to the risk management professional. For more information, see http://www.primacentral.org/content.cfm?sectionid=5.

June 2-5, 2008
11th Annual FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Conference
Emergency Management Institute
Emmitsburg, MD
One goal of FEMA is to encourage and support the dissemination of hazard, disaster, and EM-related information in colleges and universities across the U.S. In the future, more and more emergency managers in government as well as in business and industry will come to the job with college education that includes a degree in emergency management. In order to build disaster resistant and resilient communities, a broad range of college students and professionals need courses that introduce them to hazards, disasters, and what to do about them. In support of this effort, the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, has undertaken several projects with the aim of promoting college-based emergency management education for future emergency managers and other interested personnel. One of those projects is the annual FEMA EM Higher Education Conference. For more information, see http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/educonference08.asp.

June 2-6, 2008
World Safety Conference & Expo 2008
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Las Vegas, NV
NFPA offers this event for professionals in fire protection, life safety, electrical, and security. Education tracks include: Building & Life Safety; Codes & Standards; Detection & Suppression; Disaster Preparedness / Business Continuity; Fire & Emergency Response; Industrial Fire Safety and Security; necforum™; Premises Security; Public Education; and Research. For more information, see http://www.nfpa.org/categoryListWSCE.asp?categoryID=1059&cookie_test=1.

June 15-18, 2008
18th World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM)
"Resilience - Individual, Community, Business"
Toronto, Ontario
CANADA
WCDM is a premier annual event that addresses issues common to all aspects of disaster and emergency management. The conference program includes speakers from many parts of the world and provides excellent opportunities for training and networking among those in the fields of emergency planning/management, business continuity, emergency response, risk management, IT disaster recovery, disaster management research, emergency communications, emergency health, security, HR, environmental, community planning, as well as for the organizations which supply and service these professions. For more information, see http://www.wcdm.org/aboutwcdm.html.

Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop
July 12-15, 2008
Broomfield, Colorado, USA
The Natural Hazards Center invites proposals for session topics for the 2008 Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop. The annual workshop is designed to bring members of the research and applications communities together for face-to-face networking and discussion of cutting-edge issues related to hazards and disasters and society's efforts to deal with them. To submit a session idea, go to http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/workshop/current.html. Session topics must be submitted by November 2, 2007, to be considered.

November 15-20, 2008
IAEM 56th Annual Conference & EMEX 2008 "Putting a New Spin on Emergency Management"
Kansas City (Overland Park), Kansas
The IAEM Annual Conference provides a forum for current trends and topics, information about the latest tools and technology in emergency management and homeland security, and advances IAEM committee work. Sessions encourage stakeholders at all levels of government, the private sector, public health and related professions to exchange ideas on collaborating to protect lives and property from disaster. For more information, see http://www.iaem.com/events/annual/intro.htm.

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Join the ICC Listserv!

The Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC) has created a listserv. Please join our listserv to receive the ICC's Monthly Updates and Quarterly Newsletter, Emergency Preparedness NOW, and access other information pertinent to emergency preparedness and individuals with disabilities.

To join please visit http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/archives/icc-dispreppubs-l.html or go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/ and click "Online Mailing List Archives," then select "ICC-DISPREPPUBS-L" and complete the subscription form. For more information about the ICC please visit www.disabilitypreparedness.gov.

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About the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties oversees the implementation of Executive Order 13347, Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness, which was signed by President Bush in July 2004. This Executive Order is designed to ensure the safety and security of individuals with disabilities in all-hazard emergency and disaster situations. To this end, the Executive Order created an Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities. The ICC is comprised of senior leadership from more than 20 Federal departments and agencies. Its mission is to ensure that people with disabilities and their specific needs are fully integrated into all aspects of our nation's emergency management system; including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The Secretary of Homeland Security is the Chair of the ICC, and he has delegated that role to Mr. Daniel Sutherland, the DHS Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The Council has concentrated its work in eight major areas:

  1. Emergency Communications;
  2. Emergency Preparedness in the Workplace;
  3. Emergency Transportation;
  4. Health;
  5. Private Sector Coordination;
  6. Research;
  7. State, Local and Tribal Government Coordination; and
  8. Technical Assistance and Outreach.

For more information about the ICC please visit http://www.disabilitypreparedness.gov.

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