On July 26th, 2007, in response to concerns expressed across the country, the Department of Justice issued new guidance for the Red Cross and Offices of Emergency Operations concerning services to people with disabilities.
Please visit:
http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmt.htm
http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7emergencymgmtadd1.htm
http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterprog.htm
http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterchk.htm
DOJ: “An emergency management plan is the all-important first step in ensuring an effective response to emergencies and disasters. Public officials, specialists from organizations such as the American Red Cross, and community members should work together to develop a comprehensive plan to prepare for emergencies. One good way to test your emergency management plan is to enlist people with disabilities to role-play during emergency simulations. Seeking and using input from people with a variety of disabilities, and organizations with expertise on disability issues, will help ensure that your emergency planning and preparedness meet the access needs of people with disabilities in your community with respect to all phases of emergency management….”
DOJ:” One of the primary responsibilities of state and local governments is to protect residents and visitors from harm, including assistance in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. State and local governments must comply with Title II of the ADA in the emergency- and disaster-related programs, services, and activities they provide. This requirement applies to programs, services, and activities provided directly by state and local governments as well as those provided through third parties, such as the American Red Cross, private nonprofit organizations, and religious entities...”
The positions they set forth are consistent with the positions I have been advocating. Perhaps it’s time to listen.
· DOJ: “House people with disabilities in mass care shelters. ...The ADA requires people with disabilities to be accommodated in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, and the disability-related needs of people who are not medically fragile can typically be met in a mass care shelter…(They should )not be diverted to special needs or medical shelters.”
· It is unlawful to require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a family member or personal care attendant. The Red Cross and the Special Needs Shelters must provide assistance with activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, routine health care, and personal hygiene needs. This includes assistance with transfers to toilets and beds.
· DOJ: “House people with disabilities in mass care shelters even if they are not accompanied by their personal care aides…Some people with disabilities use personal care assistance for activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, routine health care, and personal hygiene needs.”
· DOJ: “One question that frequently arises is whether people with disabilities who use attendant care can be appropriately housed in mass care shelters. In most instances, they can.”
· DOJ: “…(S)ome shelter operators maintained policies that prevented people with disabilities who regularly use attendant care from entering mass care shelters unless they were accompanied by their own personal care attendants… Shelter operators should provide support services in mass care shelters to accommodate people with disabilities who are not medically fragile but need some assistance with daily living activities unless doing so would impose an undue financial and administrative burden.”
· DOJ: “Such assistance can be provided by medical personnel or trained volunteers.”
· DOJ: “Local governments and shelter operators may not make eligibility for mass care shelters dependent on a person’s ability to bring his or her own personal care attendant.”
· DOJ: “Adopt eligibility policies and procedures that ensure that people with disabilities are housed in “mass care” shelters unless they are medically fragile. The procedures should ensure that shelter staff and volunteers accept people with disabilities who need some assistance with activities of daily living even though their personal care aides may not be with them.”
· Accessible beds must be provided. Requiring people with disabilities to sleep on the floor is unlawful. DOJ: “Modify sleeping arrangements to meet disability-related needs….To maximize efficiency, shelter operators typically provide one standard type of cot or mat for use by shelter residents. However, some people have disability-related needs for cots to be modified or may need to sleep on cots or beds instead of on mats placed on the floor.
For example, a person with muscular dystrophy may require a cot with a very firm mattress to provide the physical support needed to facilitate breathing. Similarly, many people with mobility disabilities will be unable to use a sleeping mat placed on the floor.
For example, many people using wheelchairs or scooters will be unable to safely transfer on and off a cot or bed unless it is firmly anchored so it does not move and has a firm sleeping surface that is 17 - 19 inches above the floor. Shelter operators need to establish procedures that people with disabilities can use to request reasonable modifications to sleeping arrangements.”
· DOJ: “Establish policies and procedures and make advance resource arrangements so that people with disabilities can request cots and beds, modifications to cots and beds, securement of cots and beds, and specific placement of cots, beds, or sleeping mats when needed. In shelters where people will generally be expected to use sleeping mats placed on the floor, ensure that some cots and beds are available for people with disabilities…”
· For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, a reasonable number of TTYs must be provided at a reasonable number of shelters. DOJ: “Provide a TTY for the use of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
· The need to have medications refrigerated is not a basis for requiring a person with a disability to be in a Special Needs Shelter rather than a Red Cross Shelter. DOJ: “Whenever possible, provide refrigeration for certain types of medication. Many people with disabilities need medication that must be refrigerated. Shelters need to have a safe and secure refrigerated location where medications can be stored and accessed when needed.”
“Ensure that a reasonable number of shelters have back-up generators and a way to keep medications refrigerated (such as a refrigerator or a cooler with ice). Make these shelters available on a priority basis to people whose disabilities require access to electricity and refrigeration. Until all shelters have back-up generators and refrigeration capacity, routinely notify the public about the location of the shelters that have these features.”
· It is essential that people with disabilities and their advocates be an integral part of the planning and testing process.
DOJ: “Emergency managers and shelter operators must also ensure that eligibility criteria for mass care shelters do not unnecessarily screen out people with disabilities who are not medically fragile based on erroneous assumptions about the care and accommodations they require.”
“When you stage simulations or otherwise test the effectiveness of your emergency planning and preparedness, include people with a variety of disabilities in your testing. For example, enlist people with disabilities to role-play during simulation exercises and provide feedback.”
· Red Cross Shelters should train staff how to address the needs of people with disabilities, including people with autism. DOJ: “Consider low-stimulation “stress-relief zones.”…In locations where a school gym serves as the emergency shelter, a nearby classroom can provide the necessary relief from noise and interaction....”
· Red Cross staff, Special Needs Shelter staff, law enforcement, and hospital staff need to be trained about service animals.
DOJ: “How can a service animal be identified? Service animals come in all breeds and sizes. Many are easily identified because they wear special harnesses, capes, vests, scarves, or patches. Others can be identified by the functions they perform for people whose disabilities can be readily observed. When none of these identifiers are present, shelter staff may ask only two questions to determine if an animal is a service animal: (1) “Do you need this animal because of a disability?” and (2) “What tasks or work has the animal been trained to perform?”
If the answers to these questions reveal that the animal has been trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, it qualifies as a service animal and must generally be allowed to accompany its owner anywhere other members of the public are allowed to go, including areas where food is served and most areas where medical care is provided.
Questions about the nature or severity of a person’s disability or ability to function may not be asked. It is also inappropriate to question a person’s need for a service animal or to exclude a service animal on the grounds that shelter staff or volunteers can provide the assistance normally provided by the service animal.”
· When the immediate crisis is over, it is important to allow people with disabilities more time in shelter, to find accessible housing.
DOJ: “Provide people with disabilities a reasonable amount of time and assistance to locate appropriate housing...Shelters provide temporary refuge during and after an emergency until people can return home or arrange an alternative place to live. In some instances, shelter operators have required individuals with disabilities to move to hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions when these individuals could not locate accessible housing or the supportive services they needed to live in their own home as quickly as other individuals.
...Some people with disabilities who once lived independently in their own homes found themselves institutionalized soon after a disaster occurred...
Emergency managers and shelter operators may need to modify policies to give some people with disabilities the time and assistance they need to locate new homes.”
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