U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
The Emerging Landscape - The Law
Related to People with Disabilities and
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Webinar Part 2:State/Local Emergency
Managers and Others Active in Disaster
Response
Learning Objectives
• What are the key trends that will affect emergency
planning for individuals with disabilities?
• What are the key disability civil rights principles that
apply during emergencies?
• How are these principles being integrated within national
emergency management doctrine?
• How are these principles being integrated into planning
guidance for state and local emergency managers?
• What are the implications for emergency preparedness
and individuals with disabilities?
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Two photos depicting 1. individuals impacted by disasters
(left photo) and 2 individuals who are becoming an active
part of the response (right photo)
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Section 1:
Key Trends
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Demographics
• Increasing aging and diversification of the population
• Increasing preference for home and community based
living
• Increasing importance of real time communication
• Increasing reliance on electrical power
• Increasing reliance on assistive technology
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Disasters
•
•
•
•
Intensity and frequency of natural disasters
Populations living in high hazard areas
Density of population - exposure to hazards
Living in the post-9/11 world
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Section 2:
Antidiscrimination
Principles
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Key Laws and Directives
Key Laws and Directives Include:
• Rehabilitation Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Fair Housing Act
• Architectural Barriers Act
• Communications Act
• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act
• Executive Order 13347 on Preparedness and Disability
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Self-Determination - People with disabilities
are the most knowledgeable about their own
needs.
• Whenever choices are available, people with disabilities have
the right to choose their shelter location, what type of services
they require, and who will provide them.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
No “One Size Fits All” - People with
disabilities do not all require the same
assistance and do not all have the same needs.
• Many different types of disabilities affect people in different
ways. Preparations should be made for individuals with a variety
of functional needs, including individuals who use mobility aids,
require medication or portable medical equipment, use service
animals, need information in alternate formats, or rely on a care
giver.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Equal Opportunity - People with disabilities
must have the same opportunities to benefit
from emergency programs, services, and
activities as people without disabilities
• Emergency recovery services and programs should be designed
to provide equivalent choices for people with disabilities as they
do for individuals without disabilities. This includes choices
relating to short-term housing or other short- and long-term
disaster support services.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Inclusion - People with disabilities have the right to
participate in and receive the benefits of emergency
programs, services, and activities provided by
governments, private businesses, and nonprofit
organizations.
• Inclusion of people with various types of disabilities in planning,
training, and evaluation of programs and services will ensure
that this population is given appropriate consideration during
emergencies.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Integration - Emergency programs, services, and
activities typically must be provided in an integrated
setting.
• The provision of services such as sheltering, information intake
for disaster services, and short-term housing in integrated
settings keeps individuals connected to their support system
and caregivers and avoids the need for disparate service
facilities.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Physical Access - Emergency programs, services, and
activities must be provided at locations that all people
can access, including people with disabilities.
• People with disabilities should be able to enter and use
emergency facilities and access the programs, services, and
activities that are provided. Facilities typically required to be
accessible include: parking, drop-off areas, entrances and exits,
security screening areas, toilet rooms, bathing facilities, sleeping
areas, dining facilities, areas where medical care or human
services are provided, and paths of travel to and between these
areas.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Equal Access - People with
disabilities must be able to
access and benefit from
emergency programs,
services, and activities
equal to the general
population.
•
Equal access applies to emergency
preparedness, notification of
emergencies, evacuation,
transportation, communication, shelter,
distribution of supplies, food, first aid,
medical care, housing, and application
for and distribution of benefits.
Woman using a wheelchair signs up for disaster
assistance in Houston Astrodome. (Hurricane
Katrina, 2005)
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Effective Communication -People with disabilities
must be given information comparable in content and
detail to that given to the general public, as well as
accessible, understandable, and timely.
• Auxiliary aids and services may be needed to ensure effective
communication. These may include pen and paper or sign
language interpreters through on-site or video interpreting for
individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing or have
speech impairments. Individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, have
low vision, or have cognitive disabilities may need large print
information or people to assist with reading and filling out forms.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
Program Modifications - People with disabilities must
have equal access to emergency programs and
services, which may entail modifications to rules,
policies, practices, and procedures.
• Service staff may need to change the way questions are asked,
provide reader assistance to complete forms, or provide
assistance in a more accessible location.
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Antidiscrimination Principles
No Charge - People with disabilities may not be
charged to cover the costs of measures necessary to
ensure equal access and nondiscriminatory treatment.
• Examples of accommodations provided without charge to the
individual may include ramps, cots modified to address
disability-related needs, a visual alarm, grab bars, additional
storage space for medical equipment, lowered counters or
shelves, Braille and raised letter signage, a sign language
interpreter, a message board, assistance in completing forms, or
documents in Braille, large print, or audio recording
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Antidiscrimination Principles
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill
of Rights Act promotes:
• Self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and
inclusion
• Apply to living, learning, working, and enjoying life in the
community
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Section 3:
The Emerging
Landscape
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Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8 –
National Preparedness
PPD-8 describes the Nation’s approach to preparing for the
threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to the
security of the United States. National preparedness is the
shared responsibility of our whole community.
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PPD-8 (continued)
Individual and community preparedness is fundamental to our
success. By providing the necessary knowledge and skills, we
seek to enable the whole community to contribute to and benefit
from national preparedness. This includes children, individuals
with disabilities and others with access and functional needs,
diverse communities, and people with limited English proficiency.
Their needs and contributions must be integrated into our efforts.
Each community contributes to the Goal and strengthens our
national preparedness by preparing for the risks that are most
relevant and urgent for them individually.
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Whole Community
FEMA initiated a national dialogue on a Whole Community
approach that attempts to engage the full capacity of local
residents, the private sector, NGOs, and government
agencies at all levels. This philosophy provides a lens
through which residents, emergency management
practitioners, organizational leaders, and government
officials can understand and assess the needs of local
residents and the best ways in which to organize and
strengthen their assets, capacities, and interests.
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Whole Community (continued)
Three Core Principles:
• Understand and meet the actual
needs of the whole community
• Engage and empower all parts
of the community
• Strengthen what works well in a
community on a daily basis
Women using wheelchair provides testimony at Public Forum.
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National Preparedness Goal
Core capabilities are essential for the execution of each of
the five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation,
Response, and Recovery. Each mission area includes the
core capability of Public Information and Warning: “Deliver
coordinated, prompt, reliable, and actionable information to
the whole community through the use of clear, consistent,
accessible, and culturally and linguistically appropriate
methods…”
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National Disaster Recovery
Framework (NDRF)
The NDRF provides guidance that enables effective
recovery support to disaster-impacted States, Tribes
and local jurisdictions. It provides a flexible structure
that enables disaster recovery managers to operate in a
unified and collaborative manner. It also focuses on
how best to restore, redevelop and revitalize the health,
social, economic, natural and environmental fabric of
the community and build a more resilient Nation.
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NDRF (continued)
The NDRF requires an effective, accessible public
information effort so that all stakeholders understand
the scope and the realities of recovery. The NDRF
provides guidance to assure that recovery activities
respect the civil rights and civil liberties of all
populations and do not result in discrimination on
account of race, color, national origin (including limited
English proficiency), religion, sex, age or disability.
Understanding legal obligations and sharing best
practices when planning and implementing recovery
strategies to avoid excluding groups on these bases is
critical.
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NDRF (continued)
Community Considerations Include:
• Recognize that best practices are not to be confused with legal
obligations to engage in recovery activities that are fully
inclusive of individuals with disabilities and other individuals with
access and functional needs. Relevant legal obligations are
spelled out.
• Ensure the integration of people with disabilities and other
individuals with access and functional needs into all aspects of
emergency management rather than as a supplement or annex
to a plan.
• Involve community, cultural and disability organizations, such as
independent living organizations, protection and advocacy
agencies and disability agencies in recovery planning efforts
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and all recovery committee types.
NDRF Community Considerations
(continued)
• Integrate disability and access and functional needs
considerations into housing, economic and workplace
development, health care, child care, transportation and
infrastructure strategies.
• Ensure that all print, electronic and face-to-face communications
are accessible to people with disabilities and other at-risk
populations with access and functional needs.
• Ensure that recovery measures and metrics take into account
the recovery progress of persons with disabilities and other
individuals with access and functional needs.
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Comprehensive Preparedness
Guide 101, Version 2.0
CPG 101 provides guidance for developing emergency
operations plans. It promotes a common understanding
of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and
decision making to help planners examine a hazard or
threat and produce integrated, coordinated, and
synchronized plans.
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CPG 101 (continued)
Version 2.0 of CPG 101 expands on the fundamentals
contained in the first version. With this edition, greater
emphasis is placed on representing and engaging the
whole community—to include those with access and
functional needs, children, and those with household
pets and service animals.
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CPG 101 (continued)
CPG 101 establishes:
• The importance of knowing and engaging the whole
community, including the disability community.
• Guidance for involving individuals with disabilities in all
steps of the planning process.
• Detailed questions for consideration to ensure that plans
integrate the perspectives and needs of individuals with
disabilities.
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Functional Needs Support Services
(FNSS) Guidance
The intent of this planning guidance is to ensure that
individuals are not turned away from general population
shelters and inappropriately placed in other
environments (e.g., “special needs” shelters,
institutions, nursing homes, and hotels and motels
disconnected from other support services).
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FNSS (continued)
Definition:
• Functional Needs Support Services (FNSS) are
defined as services that enable individuals to maintain
their independence in a general population shelter.
FNSS includes:
• reasonable modification to policies, practices, and
procedures
• durable medical equipment (DME)
• consumable medical supplies (CMS)
• personal assistance services (PAS)
• other goods and services as needed
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FNSS (continued)
Key concepts:
• Children and adults with disabilities have the same right to
services in general population shelters as other residents.
• This guidance is intended to be used in conjunction with
general population shelter Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) to ensure that all shelter residents
benefit equally from programs, services, and activities.
• Emergency managers and shelter planners have the
responsibility of planning to ensure that sheltering services
and facilities are accessible. The decisions made in the
planning process determine whether integration or
segregation occurs during response.
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Section 4:
Implications
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For Individuals with Disabilities
• Rising expectations for emergency preparedness,
response, and recovery
• The temptation to relinquish personal responsibility
• The cavalry will come, but later
• Emergency services as the last resort
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For Emergency Planning
•
•
•
•
•
It’s a disaster, but it’s still the law…
What laws apply to what parties
Resist the quick-fix approach
The shift to “access and functional needs”
Defining the “whole community”
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For Emergency Management
For Emergency
Management:
• Direct involvement of
the disability community
• Integration into
emergency operations
• Participation in training
and exercise
• Looking to FEMA, DHS,
and DOJ as resources
Woman using wheelchair and service dog, wearing
emergency equipment, participates in community
emergency training exercise.
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For More Information
• DOJ ADA Best Practices Toolkit:
www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmt.htm
• Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities in Disasters:
www.fema.gov/oer/reference/index.shtm
• FEMA Office of Disability Integration and Coordination
www.fema.gov/about/odic/
• Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency
Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities
www.dhs.gov/disabilitypreparedness
• Federal Disability Portal www.disability.gov
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Speaker Contact Information
Brian S. Parsons, MPA, MUEP
Senior Policy Advisor
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office: 202-357-7787
E-mail: brian.parsons@dhs.gov
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