READINGS

RESOURCES

2007 California Advocacy Efforts

SB 426 (Kehoe)  Status: Heald in Committee

This bill would establish a Deputy Director of Access and Functional Needs who will be charged with developing a plan to meet the diverse needs of over 23% of Californians who have difficulty seeing, walking, hearing, speaking and/or breathing.

National Advocacy Efforts

Based on the National Council on Disability's own research over the past three years in the area of homeland security, as well as Congressional and Executive Branch investigations, a number of key issues are identified as critical and related to people with disabilities. The key issue are as follows:

People with disabilities frequently encounter barriers to physical plants, communications, and programs in shelters and recovery centers and in other facilities or devices used in connection with disaster operations such as first aid stations, mass feeding areas, portable payphone stations, portable toilets, and temporary housing.  
                                                                                     
Many of these barriers are not new. Information and lessons learned are not shared across agency lines, and thus experience does not enlighten the development of new practices.  Many accessibility lessons learned during previous disasters are not incorporated in subsequent planning, preparedness, response, and recovery activities.   
                                                        
People with disabilities are too often left out of preparedness and planning activities. These activities include analyzing and documenting the possibility of an emergency or disaster and the potential consequences or impacts on life and/or property.  

Disaster preparedness and response systems are usually designed for people without disabilities, for whom escape or rescue involves walking, running, driving, seeing, hearing, and quickly responding to instructions and evacuation announcements.

Access to emergency public warnings, as well as preparedness and mitigation information and materials, does not adequately include people who cannot depend on sight and hearing to receive their information.     

The strengths and skills of community based organizations (CBOs) serving people with disabilities are not well integrated into the emergency service plans and strategies of local government. Emergency managers need to strengthen their relationships with these organizations by recruiting, encouraging, and providing funding and incentives to CBOs so that they can participate and assist in disaster preparedness and relief.

How Have We Responded, As A Nation, to These Key Issues?

Over the past several years, there has been much work that government at all levels - as well as private sector entities - has undertaken: such as attempting to strengthen the nation's emergency  preparedness system, emergency communications infrastructure (e.g., the emergency alert system and all-hazard warnings), and public safety communications networks, to name just a few examples.  
                                                                                                                               
Not surprisingly, over the past three years, federal policymakers have used NCD's research and input and lessons learned to design promising solutions. In addition, and as a result of Congressional hearings and Executive Branch evaluations of the America's response to Katrina and Rita, a specific set of legislated federal policy and organizational changes that will affect Americans with disabilities have been made.

For example, a number of critical changes were enumerated in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 5441) signed by President Bush on October 4, 2006.  Some of the more notable changes targeted to Americans with disabilities are that the Administrator of FEMA:

1. Will appoint a Disability Coordinator who will assess the coordination of emergency management policies and practices;

2. Will interact with stakeholders regarding emergency planning requirements and relief efforts in case of  disaster;

3. Will  revise and update guidelines for government disaster emergency preparedness;

4. Will carry out and will test or evaluate, a national training program to implement the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, and National Response Plan;

5. Will assess the Nation's prevention capabilities and overall preparedness, including operational readiness;

6. Will identify and share best practices, after action reports to participants, and conduct long-term trend analysis;

7. Will  coordinate and maintain a National Disaster Housing Strategy;

8. Will develop accessibility guidelines for communications and programs in, shelters, and recovery centers;

9. Will set up evacuations standards and requirements, and help all levels of government in the planning of evacuation facilities that house people with disabilities.

A few critical changes were also recently introduced as a result of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 (PETS Act). The PETS Act requires FEMA to ensure that state and local emergency preparedness operational and evacuation plans take into account the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals before, during, and after a major disaster or emergency.