On emails from the Red Cross, I observe the following tag line: “The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.”
Not quite. Actually, when the Red Cross offers sheltering services on behalf of a title II entity like the Office of Emergency Management, it relies on the County to ensure that it offers its services in a nondiscriminatory manner, and acts in the role of a governmental agency.
In essence, it is an agent of the County, and need not rely on donations and volunteers to pay for the beds or obtain the assistance with transfers. It is not necessary to fundraise for the Red Cross in order to obtain the beds and assistance with transfer. Rather, since the sheltering services the Red Cross offers in disasters is an extension of the title II obligations of the County to provide these services, the Red Cross can (must) insist that it is given the funding and resources necessary to provide these services in a nondiscriminatory manner - from the County.
This funding, and the necessary staffing and resources, must be provided by the County, unless the County can show that doing so is an undue financial or administrative burden, based on the County’s Emergency Operations budget, not on the budget of the Red Cross. If the Red Cross fails in its obligations to people with disabilities, not only is there legal liability for the Red Cross, but also for the County. It relies on commitments from the County to all of the County’s citizens, to provide the sheltering services in a nondiscriminatory manner.
Marc Dubin, Esq.
Chair
Disability Advisory Council of the Red Cross, Miami-Dade/Keys Chapter
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1 comment:
Keep up the good work.
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