Chairman's Announcement and PSHSB Report on Impact of June 2012 Derecho on Communications Networks and Services

Marcie Roth, Director of FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, would like to share a recently released report from the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau regarding the impact of the June 2012 Derecho.  The inquiry, conducted by the FCC’s PSHSB, included in-depth investigation, public comment and analysis culminating in a report released today entitled “The Impact of the June 2012 Derecho on Communications and Services: Report and Recommendations.” 

 FCC CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES ACTION TO STRENGTHEN RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY OF 9-1-1 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS DURING MAJOR DISASTERS.   Based on findings and recommendations of a comprehensive inquiry into widespread 9-1-1 service failures in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions as a result of 2012 derecho storm; Final report delivered by the FCC's PSHSB.  

News Release. News Media Contact: Justin Cole at (202) 210-2437, Justin.Cole@fcc.gov  http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-318333A1.docx

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-318333A1.pdf

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-318333A1.txt

Webinars Focused on Emergency Preparedness for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Emergency Preparedness - What Does That Mean For People With I/DD, Their Families, And Their Communities?
AUCD (Association of University Centers on Disabilities) www.aucd.org
and
aaidd (American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) www.aaidd.org
presents a webinar on:

Tuesday, January 22, 2013
3:00pm-4:00pm EST

Register for this webinar 

Webinar Description:

Emergency preparedness is an essential part of living for any individual or family. For those with intellectual disabilities, their families, or those providing support, however, emergency preparedness may require more specific plans of support. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a number of resources to prepare and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities before, during, and after natural disasters. Of key importance is the implementation of self-determination practices in this area. One example of this implementation is the “Feeling Safe, Being Safe” training curriculum through which individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have become advocates and trainers in emergency preparedness..

This webinar will cover a) the current state of disaster preparedness for individuals with I/DD, (b) identify gaps in preparedness plans, and (c) discuss future research in this area particularly in linking community resources/supports/services with individual, family, and agency disaster planning and how social connectedness and resources might be leveraged to provide such support. Join Ms. Marcie Roth, Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination at the Department of Homeland Security/ FEMA and Ms. Dawn Skaggs, Principle Investigator for the Hawai`i Emergency Preparedness System of Support and the Project Coordinator for the Hawaii Department of Health Developmental Disabilities Division Emergency Preparedness and Consumer Directed Training Projects at the Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai`i at Manoa as they discuss key issues around emergency preparedness for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Topics will include how FEMA supports individuals before, during, and after disasters and how individuals with I/DD have become certified emergency preparedness trainers through the “Feeling Safe, Being Safe” training curriculum. The speakers will also explore opportunities for future research and careers in this area.

Speakers:
Marcie Roth was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, DC in June 2009. She serves as Senior Advisor to Administrator Fugate and Director of the FEMA Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, leading the national transformation towards integrating the access and functional needs of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of whole community emergency and disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. Ms. Roth also leads the work of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities which is Chaired by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Ms. Roth joined FEMA after serving as President and CEO of Global Disability Solutions Group, leading national and international initiatives with a focus on emergency management and disability issues. Over the past 20 years she held senior leadership positions with the National Coalition for Disability Rights, National Spinal Cord Injury Association, National Council on Independent Living and TASH.

Dawn Skaggs is the Principle Investigator for the Hawai`i Emergency Preparedness System of Support and  the Project Coordinator for the Hawaii Department of Health Developmental Disabilities Division Emergency Preparedness and Consumer Directed Training Projects at the Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai`i at Manoa.  In these capacities she developed and leads a cross discipline, multi-agency council of state, county and local organizations and stakeholders to establish and execute best practices for including individuals with disabilities as leaders in the planning, preparation, and response activities for various emergencies. She has been instrumental in identifying emerging best practices throughout the country; applying culturally competent adaptations that make resources and information meaningful and relevant and expanding the emergency preparedness resources and opportunities for individuals and agencies in Hawaii.

Register for this webinar 

FEMA Provides Accessible Technologies for Hurricane Sandy Survivors

On December 16, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced efforts to better serve Hurricane Sandy survivors who are deaf, hard of hearing or blind by providing the New York disaster recovery centers with a number of technologies to help people with disabilities better access information. The assistive technology tools utilized are enhanced listening devices, iPad 3s with real-time-video remote sign language interpreting apps, and captioned phones to get accessible disaster recovery information. 

“We’ve been engaging the real experts, people who use these tools on a regular basis, as our planning partners,” Marcie Roth, Director of FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. “We are so far ahead of where we were, even a year ago, but that doesn’t mean that we’re there yet. We’re in a position where we’re using for the first time some of the most advanced technology in one of the worst disasters. This is a great teachable moment, but we have to make sure no one falls through the cracks in this learning curve.” 

For more information, visit:

http://www.fema.gov/news-release/fema-continues-innovations-meet-access-and-functional-needs-integration.

Emergency Preparedness-What Does That Mean For People With I/DD, Their Families, And Their Communities?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 3:00pm – 4:00 pm (ET)

https://www.aucd.org/template/event.cfm?event_id=3557&id=16

Emergency preparedness is an essential part of living for any individual or family. For those with intellectual disabilities, their families, or those providing support, however, emergency preparedness may require more specific plans of support. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a number of resources to prepare and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities before, during, and after natural disasters. Of key importance is the implementation of self-determination practices in this area. One example of this implementation is the "Feeling Safe, Being Safe" training curriculum through which individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have become advocates and trainers in emergency preparedness.

Major Wireless Carriers Accelerate Availability of Text to 911

On December 6, 2012, the FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the four major wireless carriers – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile – have agreed to accelerate the availability of text-to-911, with major deployments expected in 2013 and a commitment to nationwide availability by May 15, 2014.  

Text-to-911 will provide consumers, including millions of consumers with hearing and speech disabilities, access to emergency services by enabling them to send a text message to 911.  This will also provide consumers with enhanced access to emergency communications in situations where a voice call could endanger the caller, or a person with disabilities is unable to make a voice call.  Text-to-911 will be available as an addition to, not a substitute for, voice calls to 911 services, and consumers should always make a voice call to 911 during an emergency if they can.

Links to the announcement:

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db1207/DOC-317786A1.doc

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db1207/DOC-317786A1.pdf

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db1207/DOC-317786A1.txt

Online Toolkit Assists to Help Make Social Media Messages during Emergencies More Accessible

The online toolkit provides tips, resources and apps to help people with a disability to overcome accessibility challenges of social media. The kit also includes guidelines to assist the emergency sector, government, community, media and business to make social media messages more accessible.

http://emergency20wiki.org/wiki/index.php/Accessibility_Toolkit

IPAWS Bill Passes House

September 19, 2012 — After Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA) introduced the FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2012 [H.R. 2903] to the U.S. House of Representatives in September, the bill passed with a unanimous vote. The bill focuses on improving the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) assistance to state and local regions, making FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) a law, and establishing an advisory committee to provide recommendations for IPAWS. Currently, IPAWS is authorized by Executive Order 13407. Under this bill, the implementation of IPAWS requires “the capability to alert and warn and provide the equivalent amount of information to individuals with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs” [H.R. 2903]. In addition, the IPAWS system will, “to the extent technically feasible, be designed to provide alerts to the largest portion of the affected population, including nonresident visitors and tourists and individuals with disabilities and access and functional needs, and improve the ability of remote areas to receive alerts” [H.R. 2903].