**The Paradigm Shift in Planning for Special Needs Populations**

**Prepared by Brandi Lea , The University of North Texas**

**1^st^ Round of Tuesday, June 5^th^, Afternoon Breakout Session**

Brian Parsons and Debbie Fulmer from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security's (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties presented
"The Paradigm Shift in Planning for Special Needs Populations" at the
FEMA Higher Education Conference in June 2007. They expressed a need for
planning for special need populations, the legal justification, and how
to incorporate special needs populations into higher education
curriculums.

Special needs populations are difficult to prepare for and can often be
overlooked in disaster planning, response, and recovery. The most
obvious type of special needs population are those with physical and
mental disabilities that could have difficulties preparing, evacuating
and recovering after a disaster. There are other types of special needs
populations that are usually not accounted for or recognized. These
include children, cultural and minority populations, and those
populations that limited English proficiency.

**Civil Rights and Emergency Management**

The DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has been issued
executive order #13347 to prepare individuals with disabilities in
emergency preparedness. This order is meant to ensure the federal
government supports the safety of special needs populations before,
during and after a disaster. The organization must consider special
needs populations within the federal government; encourage government
agencies and the private sector to incorporate those with special needs
in their disaster planning and promote collaboration amongst government
and the private sector.

The office has been involved in many aspects of planning for special
needs populations. Within the federal government they have developed a
disability accommodation reference guide, provided guidance for
Emergency Support Functions (ESF) 6 and 8, participated in FEMA, TOPOFF,
and homeland security exercises, and has led "special needs" workgroups
for NPR/NIMS revision. In collaboration with federal, state, local, and
tribal governments the office has recommended special needs
consideration to revision of the Guide for All-Hazard Emergency
Operations Planning (SLG 101), and advised on the disability aspect in
the Nationwide Plan Review. The Office for Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties has also collaborated with non-governmental organizations.
They have acted as a liaison with Voluntary Organizations Active in
Disasters (VOAD), and given the American Red Cross information for their
"Serving People with Disabilities." The office has also talked with
emergency management programs around the country in order to encourage
them to incorporate special needs populations into their curriculum.

There are many statues that dictate the response required on a federal,
state, local and tribal level when dealing with special needs
populations. The American's with Disabilities Act, Commutations Act, and
Fair Housing Act are just a few. The key principles of disability law
are self determination (those with disabilities know their own needs),
there is no "one size fits all" to planning, equal opportunity,
inclusion, integration, physical and equal access, effective
communication, program modification (all programs must be able to serve
the disabled), and no charge for equal access.

**Defining Special Needs**

The definition of special needs has been under debate by different
organizations and government entities. The DHS Office for Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties has established a functional needs definition. This
means that the definition of special needs is broad to be able to
encompass all special needs populations; it does not focus on specific
diagnosis or labels.

According to the functional needs definition, members of the special
needs community may have difficulty maintaining independence,
understanding communication, getting transportation, and keeping
adequate supervision or medical care. It is important for special needs
populations to maintain their independence. This can stop resources from
being diverted to special needs populations that could be used elsewhere
during a disaster. Warning and informational messages need to be
disseminated in many forms to reach all special needs populations. This
includes languages other than English, and messages that are for the
deaf or blind.

**Assessments**

Emergency planners need to be aware of the types of special needs
populations in their area. This can be done by consulting U.S. census
data, health departments, and social services. There are many types of
special needs facilities that should be identified in a community. Day
cares, nursing homes, and places of worship are some facilities that
could have special needs populations. An assessment would give a broad
overview of what a communities demographics look like. This could aid in
the planning process to know what special needs populations to address.

Registries are also a way to know what types of special needs
populations reside in a community. The registry would be a data base of
individuals that meet state, local or tribal requirements for
individuals with special needs. Registries are voluntary. Individuals
can be skeptical of them. Some do not want their names on a registry
because they do not want to admit they have a special need, they think
their medical information will be made public or they fear there will be
financial or legal consequences to admitting a special need. For a
registry to be successful it must be kept up to date, and must be able
to be accessed during a disaster. It also needs to be made clear to the
special needs populations on the registry that it is not a replacement
for personal preparedness.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a tool that can be used to map
communities, facilities, and people who are in special needs
populations. GIS maps could help during evacuation and recovery to know
what areas of a community need more help, and what kind of help they may
need, i.e. transportation.

**Planning Considerations**

There are considerations that need to be made by all public and private
organizations pertaining to special needs populations in disasters.
Personal preparedness needs to be encouraged by all organizations.
Information on how to prepare as a special needs population should to be
disseminated in communities.

Organizations will have to consider methods for distributing information
to special needs populations. This could include sign language
interpreters and language translators, text message warnings, closed
captioning, phone trees, and door-to-door warnings. However the message
is sent, it should be timely and contain all necessary information. It
should also be appropriate for all the populations in a community; this
includes nursing homes and single parent households. It would be helpful
to keep templates of warning messages for all types of populations prior
to a disaster.

Evacuation is another aspect of disasters that special needs populations
can have difficulty in. Individuals with disabilities that are
previously known in a community should be planned to be evacuated and
may need to be taken out first. Transportation for these individuals may
need to be provided in order to evacuate, but also to return to their
homes. This type of special need individual includes those without cars
or in a fragile medical state.

When sheltering special need populations life safety issues are the top
priority. Appropriate care needs to be given to individuals, whether in
a shelter or if they are sheltering in place. It should also be noted
that all service animals are required by law to be allowed in public
shelters.

When planning for special needs populations all medical requirements
need to be taken into account. Interstate issues, HIPPA compliance, and
identifying medical and human service personnel who would be available
to help in a disaster is important. Planners should also be aware of
congregate facilities in their area and their emergency plans, such as
nursing homes. This can also provide a guide to which facilities would
need power restoration first, in order for life-sustaining equipment to
run.

As with all disaster planning, it is important to have training and
exercises. Special needs populations should be incorporated into
exercises in order for responders and volunteers to get a first hand
experience with them.

Recovery after a disaster is difficult for everyone, but the process can
be exasperated for special needs populations. All organizations involved
in disasters should consider how to restore services such as child care,
rehabilitation services, and personal care giver services shortly after
a disaster. Organizations also need to have representatives from the
special needs populations participate in long term recovery.

Special need populations need to be incorporated in disaster planning.
Organizations involved in disasters should know what populations are in
their community and what services they require. It is also very
important to educate the public so they can become more self reliant.

**Higher Education**

There are very few colleges and universities that offer courses on
special needs populations or incorporate the populations into their
curriculum. Higher education must plan for the whole community and this
includes special needs populations. When conducting a special needs in
disasters course, a broad view of what that means needs to be presented.
Higher education should move away from a medical-only focus of special
needs. It is also important to recruit individuals who either have
special needs or have special needs experience to be involved in the
curriculum design and speaking to students. Higher education is
producing the emergency managers and planners of the future. If they are
to plan for special needs populations, they must be educated about them.

**Discussion**

There were questions asked during the session that pertained to the
logistics of planning for special needs populations. Some believe that
it is impossible to plan for every type of population. Though it can be
difficult to plan for special needs populations it is the legal and
moral responsibility of emergency mangers and planners to incorporate
them into disaster planning and recovery.