Access and Functional Needs in Disaster
Written by Brianna Lentz
What’s Being Done and Where Do We Go Next?
Disability Pride Month Flag
As Disability Pride Month comes to an end, now is a great time to check in on the work being done for those with access and functional needs (AFN) in the disaster space. This month the Congressional Emergency Preparedness, Response, & Recovery Subcommittee had a hearing on Supporting Underserved Communities in Emergency Management. Among others speaking on underserved communities, Marcie Roth joined to discuss the needs of people with disabilities saying, “they [federal, state, local, and tribal governments] have not adequately implemented, monitored, or enforced their obligations to ensure compliance with civil rights laws.” We also attended the National Access and Functional Needs Symposium to discuss partnerships, protecting the whole community, inclusive sheltering, and inclusive active shooter awareness training.
According to Vance Taylor, the Chief for the Office of AFN in the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), “this is the first time we [federal, state, local, and tribal governments, private sector, and community partners] have come together from across the United States with a singular mission to integrate AFN in emergency management.”
As far as disaster statistics for this population, there aren’t many. One of the most internationally recognized statistics found that after the Great East Japan Earthquake, “mortality rates of persons with disabilities were two to four times higher than those without disabilities.” In 2005, 63% of those that died in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina were over the age of 65. Fast forward 16 years, 59% of the deaths caused by Hurricane Ida were over the age of 65. In both cases, this demographic made up less than 15% of the population. In the 2018 California Camp Fire, 79% of the deaths were over the age of 65 and another 4% were people who identified as having a disability or access and functional need.
I know you are thinking, “we know that people with disabilities are disproportionately impacted… but what do we do about that?”
For many local and state governments who lack the amount of funding to make the, quite frankly, drastic changes to the system needed (California’s Office of Access and Functional Needs as a jumping off point), the answer is typically personal preparedness for these people. Many big disaster organizations and states have a “Get Ready”/ “Ready Now” guidebook or toolkit for people with disabilities (which can be found in CalOES’s Office of AFN online library) and that is a great first step, but it is only the first. So, what then?
Many next steps have been identified in numerous settlements and remedial work plans over the years. Let’s look at some:
Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc., Disability Rights Advocates, and Westchester County, NY
Chiappetta v. New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
D.C. Center for Independent Living, et al. v. District of Columbia
Communities Actively Living Independently and Free, et al. v. City of Los Angeles
Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, et al. v. Mayor Bloomberg, et al.
(You can view the agreements and suits at the disability rights advocates website.) This list is by no means all-encompassing nor is it meant to call out any singular person or group. The point I am making here is that many of us are unaware of everything going on surrounding people with disabilities in disaster, nor does anyone expect emergency managers to know everything about it. However, as emergency managers, crisis professionals, and planners, it is our responsibility to make sure every voice is being not just brought to the table but heard. Through lawsuits and settlements, many states and big cities have either access and functional needs positions or disability integration officers in their emergency operations center (EOC). However, there is no federal guidance in the National Incident Management System regarding AFN. The Post-Katrina Reform Act Sec. 213 does designate a Disability Coordinator from FEMA to make sure the needs of individuals with disabilities are being met, but as we all know, disasters start and end locally.
According to the Hurricane Harvey After Action Report for Individuals with Disabilities, the establishment of a disability integration officer was offered as one of the recommendations to “equitably meet the needs of Texans with disabilities experiencing disasters.” The Texas Department of Emergency Management chose to establish a full-time position, however, for many smaller states and cities that is not feasible. The creation of this position in the EOC does not necessarily need to be filled by a full-time staff of the emergency manager; it can be filled by a Center for Independent Living employee, the city’s ADA Coordinator, or another partner who is heavily integrated in the community and is given adequate emergency management training. Given the little amount of guidance, you can also put the disability/AFN coordinator in any place in the EOC. Through my research I have found these positions in the Command staff as an advisor, in the operations section as its own branch, and in the ESF 6 branch.
I would like to point out an important group doing work looking at AFN roles in the EOC, the Inclusive EM Community. Dawn Brantley, the Acting Director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, created this group to bring together emergency management professionals and community stakeholders who are working or interested in inclusive emergency management. They have a group that is currently compiling resources and building the foundations of AFN EOC positions for everyone to use.
As you can see above, we still have a long way to go. However, we have many people diligently working to make it safer for people with disabilities before, during, and after a disaster. All we need to do is bring them to the table and listen to what they have to say.
