Emergency planning for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs to ensure inclusiveness

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Webster, JD
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Emergency Planning ◽  
Legal Advice ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Way

Recent investigations and litigation have prompted a shift in the way the field of emergency management plans for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. The purpose of this article is to aid readers in understanding some of the legal and practical requirements that may apply to jurisdictions' emergency preparedness programs to ensure the ability of plans, planning efforts, programs, and services to meet the needs of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. The cases of Communities Actively Living Independent and Free (CALIF) v. City of Los Angeles1 and Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled v. Bloomberg2 will be used as case studies. Note that this is not intended nor should it be construed as legal advice.

scholarly journals Are There Adequate Policies and Programmes in Place to Protect Infants and Young Children During Emergencies?

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s58-s58
Author(s):  
Tracey Dale ◽  
Foster Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Infants And Young Children ◽  
State Territory

Introduction:In emergencies, infants and young children are disproportionately affected due to specific food and fluid requirements, immature immune system, susceptibility to dehydration, and dependence on others. Provision of safe food and water to infants and young children is critical. However, it is challenging in the emergency context. Specific planning is vital to support infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E).Aim:To identify the extent to which Australian emergency management plans and guidance account for the needs of infants and young children.Methods:An audit of Australian emergency management plans and guidance was conducted as a part of the 2018 World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative assessment of Australian infant feeding policies. All national and state/territory emergency preparedness plans, and a sample of local government area preparedness plans, response plans, and other guidance were identified and searched for content related to the needs of infants and young children. Plans and guidance were searched for content related to the needs of animals as a comparison.Results:Vulnerability of infants and young children was commonly noted. However, content related to supporting the specific needs of infants and young children through appropriate IYCF-E was almost totally absent. In some cases, the guidance that did exist was misleading or dangerous. No agency at the federal, state/territory, or local government level was identified as having met the responsibility for ensuring the needs of infants and young children. The absence of any coordinated response for the needs of infants and young children is in stark contrast to consideration of animal needs, which have a delegated authority, plans, and guidance at all levels of government.Discussion:Planning for the needs of infants and young children in emergencies in Australia is dangerously inadequate. Action should be taken to ensure that appropriate plans exist at all levels of government.

‘Until Disabled People Get Consulted …’: The Role of Occupational Therapy in Meeting Housing Needs

1997 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Nocon ◽  
Nicholas Pleace
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Housing Needs ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Way

This article reports oh a study of the housing needs of people with disabilities (aged 16 to 65) in Shropshire. The study included interviews with disabled people and with frontline and managerial staff in several agencies, a survey of disabled people, and the analysis of quantitative data. The findings highlight the high level of need for adaptations and more appropriate housing for disabled people; the importance of greater user involvement in the way needs are identified and services provided; the need for reform of the Disabled Facilities Grant system; and the need for an integrated inter-agency approach to meeting disabled people's housing needs.

Emergency planning and people with disabilities: Massachusetts’ lessons learned

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin McGaffigan, MSW, MS, Public Policy ◽  
Chris Oliveira, BS ◽  
Diane Enochs, BA, MA
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Accessibility Barriers ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

Continued challenges responding to large-scale emergencies are recognized in the aftermath of events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Elders and people with disabilities often included under the label of “vulnerable” or “special populations,” are especially hard hit given communication and accessibility barriers often faced even prior to an emergency. Approximately 15 percent of those living within our communities have disabilities, which jumps to 41 percent for those 65 years or older.1 The prevalence of functional limitations due to age or disability indicates the need for these factors to be accounted for in planning, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts at the national, state, and local level to ensure a truly effective emergency response system that meets the needs of all residents. To achieve this effort emergency management, public health, disability and elder stakeholders within Massachusetts joined together to identify the existing planning gaps and to explore potential solutions to support emergency preparedness so that emergency management systems are responsive to all individuals in the community, regardless of age or disability. The Commonwealth’s process and lessons learned are discussed later.

Emergency planning and people with disabilities: Massachusetts’ lessons learned

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
Erin McGaffigan, MSW, MS, Public Policy ◽  
Chris Oliveira, BS ◽  
Diane Enochs, BA, MA
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Accessibility Barriers ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

Continued challenges responding to large-scale emergencies are recognized in the aftermath of events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Elders and people with disabilities often included under the label of “vulnerable” or “special populations,” are especially hard hit given communication and accessibility barriers often faced even prior to an emergency. Approximately 15 percent of those living within our communities have disabilities, which jumps to 41 percent for those 65 years or older.1 The prevalence of functional limitations due to age or disability indicates the need for these factors to be accounted for in planning, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts at the national, state, and local level to ensure a truly effective emergency response system that meets the needs of all residents. To achieve this effort emergency management, public health, disability and elder stakeholders within Massachusetts joined together to identify the existing planning gaps and to explore potential solutions to support emergency preparedness so that emergency management systems are responsive to all individuals in the community, regardless of age or disability. The Commonwealth’s process and lessons learned are discussed later.

Preparing for a Mass Shooting

2021 ◽  
pp. 116-132
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Active Shooter ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
The Way

This chapter discusses ways to prepare for a mass shooting incident. In terms of planning, these types of incidents are referred to as “active shooter situations” in which a shooting is unfolding and the outcome can potentially be affected by the responses to it. Discussed here are the drafting of emergency management plans and which factors should be considered in the planning process. The chapter then moves onto look at the use of drills and other exercises to help prepare for mass shootings. The views of emergency management experts and activists campaigning against active shooter drills are captured. This paves the way for the next chapter, which discusses how to respond and recover from a mass shooting incident.

Disaster debris management best practice case studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-182
Author(s):  
Julia Crowley, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Initial Survey ◽  
Disaster Debris

Objective: To identify debris management best practices for planning and responding to debris-generating disaster events.Methodology: Four best practice county case studies were selected through the responses of emergency management directors to an initial survey about debris management. Interviews were setup with the emergency management directors, and additional interviewees were identified through snowballing. Interviews were conducted, transcribed, and coded to identify six themes.Results: The six themes that were identified through the coding include: debris management plans, challenges, collaboration, learning, communication, and debris operations. Case study interviewees identified their pre-event debris management plans as important for an effective and efficient debris management process. Interviewees also demonstrated a strong willingness to work together on debris management as well as an understanding of individual roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, interviewees address the concept of learning from past disaster events as a means of managing the uncertainty of disaster debris management.

Emergency preparedness in Canada: The role of recreation

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 371-379
Author(s):  
Luke Palmer, BPA CJ
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Emergency Planning ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Elements ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Effective Use

Emergency management has traditionally been led by an attitude to react and respond and implement effective recovery efforts. The focus has now shifted to a preparedness perspective, promoting measures which encourage the public and responders to be better equipped leading to an increased level of resiliency. Effective use of Recreation-based stakeholders and facilities, in emergency planning, boasts a number of positive elements to all phases of emergency management. A literature review will focus on the importance of Recreation in relation to preparedness. Findings will seek to articulate how the involvement of Recreation, in the realm of preparedness, builds community resilience, enhances response and recovery operations and provides a unique leadership and knowledge base regarding the use of recreational infrastructure. This effort in turn leads to a community more capable of managing an incident and returning to normalcy.

scholarly journals Bodily difference, interdependence, and toxic half-lives : representations of disability in D.W. Gregorys Dirty Pictures, The Good Daughter, and Radium Girls

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Bradley Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Dramatic Criticism ◽  
Real People ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
Bodily Difference ◽  
The Way

People with disabilities have been a part of theatre for thousands of years. But typically they are represented as metaphors, where blindness or a limp symbolizes something about their character and has nothing to do with how they live their lives. When disability is reduced to a mere metaphor, it influences the way audiences perceive real people with real disabilities. D.W. Gregory is a contemporary playwright who is challenging the way people with disabilities are represented on stage. My research uses traditional dramatic criticism and close textual readings to analyze three plays by D.W. Gregory: Dirty Pictures, The Good Daughter, and Radium Girls. I use a number of theories from the field of Disability Studies to unpack these plays and learn how the disabled characters are crafted, how they interact with their worlds, and what implications they might have on wider culture. My results indicate that D.W. Gregory is writing characters with disabilities in ways that challenge traditional understandings of disability. Using Disability Studies as a way to analyze play texts is a powerful tool that has significant implications for social justice. Understanding these theories can change the way that artists create, and as a result, change the way that culture understands disability. Perhaps these ways of thinking and these plays can influence the way people with disabilities are treated, and improve the lives of all people. All our lives are interdependent upon each other.

scholarly journals Using Social Network Analysis to Understand Missouri's System of Public Health Emergency Planners

2007 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenine K. Harris ◽  
Bruce Clements
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
The State ◽  
Emergency Planning ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Effective Response

Objectives. Effective response to large-scale public health threats requires well-coordinated efforts among individuals and agencies. While guidance is available to help states put emergency planning programs into place, little has been done to evaluate the human infrastructure that facilitates successful implementation of these programs. This study examined the human infrastructure of the Missouri public health emergency planning system in 2006. Methods. The Center for Emergency Response and Terrorism (CERT) at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has responsibility for planning, guiding, and funding statewide emergency response activities. Thirty-two public health emergency planners working primarily in county health departments contract with CERT to support statewide preparedness. We surveyed the planners to determine whom they communicate with, work with, seek expertise from, and exchange guidance with regarding emergency preparedness in Missouri. Results. Most planners communicated regularly with planners in their region but seldom with planners outside their region. Planners also reported working with an average of 12 local entities (e.g., emergency management, hospitals/clinics). Planners identified the following leaders in Missouri's public health emergency preparedness system: local public health emergency planners, state epidemiologists, the state vaccine and grant coordinator, regional public health emergency planners, State Emergency Management Agency area coordinators, the state Strategic National Stockpile coordinator, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Weapons of Mass Destruction coordinators. Generally, planners listed few federal-level or private-sector individuals in their emergency preparedness networks. Conclusions. While Missouri public health emergency planners maintain large and varied emergency preparedness networks, there are opportunities for strengthening existing ties and seeking additional connections.

Christianity and Sports: Religious Functionaries and Charismatic Prophets in Ghana Soccer

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-259
Author(s):  
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
The Way

This paper examines the way in which, within an African religious and spiritual context, athletes – and in particular footballers of Ghana – employ religious functionaries and religious means from a variety of traditions in an attempt to achieve sporting success. Specific examples and case studies illustrate and contextualise this search. The connections of this mode of searching for success with traditional African views of causality and with a Pentecostalist/charismatic prosperity ethic are explored, and its consequences are assessed.

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