Our Mission
Support people with disabilities before, during and after a disaster.
14 unfair points
FEMA’s Disability Integration (DI) mission has a new vision that provides a unified focus across multiple components. Its success depends on a coordinated effort that constitutes disability integration and inclusivity at various levels of sophistication and impact, and is based on 14 potential inequities that impact the survival journey of people with disabilities.
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What we do
Our office helps FEMA fulfill the agency’s shared mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters in ways that maximize inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities.
We provide federal, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, the public sector, and nonprofit organizations with the tools, training, resources, and strategies they need to ensure people with disabilities can participate in and benefit from programs and services at every stage of emergency management.
We are divided into two divisions: The Executive Management and Training Division provides Disability Integration Advisors and Disability Integration Specialists to support Joint Field Office senior management and individual programs during disasters. Deployable staff are professional advisors who provide disability accessibility advisory services, technical assistance, and risk management consulting.
Our Programs and Policy Division provides technical assistance to FEMA leadership and FEMA programs and components to ensure that FEMA programs and services meet the needs of people with disabilities before, during, and after a disaster.
Executive Management and Training Department
The Cadre Management and Training Division helps ensure that members of FEMA’s Disability Integration Cadre are trained and ready to mobilize rapidly to disasters. At the disaster site, they serve as high-level advisors to FEMA leadership regarding the needs of people with disabilities. They also:
Provide technical assistance, training, and resources to ensure that people with disabilities affected by disasters can access and use FEMA programs and services. Work with state, local, tribal, local NGO, and private sector partners to provide information, referrals, training, and technical assistance on inclusive emergency management practices.
The Disability Integration Cadre is comprised of Disability Integration Advisors and Disability Integration Specialists. When a disaster occurs, Disability Integration Advisors are deployed to affected communities to work closely with the Federal Coordinating Officer, Chief of Staff, and other key decision makers to provide expertise on the demographics of affected areas, advise on accessibility of FEMA programs, provide training to field staff, ensure policies and programs include the needs of people with disabilities, and engage with community leaders on disability issues in emergency management. As the scope and resources of disaster operations expand, Disability Integration Specialists may be deployed to provide additional support.
Program and Policy Division
The Programs and Policy Division provides technical assistance to FEMA leadership, programs, and services to fulfill the agency’s mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters, with a focus on integrating the needs of people with disabilities into those programs and services. The division:
Work with FEMA program offices to develop strategies to promote the incorporation of the needs of persons with disabilities into the design and implementation of new programs, as well as to identify potential barriers to access and develop strategies to eliminate those barriers Work with internal and external stakeholders to assess and improve the capacity and capabilities of the Office of Disability Integration Coordination to serve persons with disabilities across the spectrum of emergency preparedness and response Provide data-based decision support tools to the Disability Integration Coordination Office, the Disability Integration Executive, and agency leadership, including the Disability Demographics and Program Utilization Report, a series of research studies on the experiences and utilization of FEMA programs of persons with disabilities who have applied for FEMA assistance.
background
In 2007, FEMA appointed a Disability Coordinator as required by the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006. The Disability Coordinator advises the FEMA Administrator on issues related to persons with disabilities before, during, and after a disaster. The Office of Disability Integration Coordination was established in 2010 to support the work of the Disability Coordinator.
Check out FEMA’s Strategic Plan to read more about how FEMA is working to incorporate the needs of people with disabilities in all aspects of the agency and the communities we serve.
Featured Training: New version of IS-368.A: Including People with Disabilities in Disaster Response is designed for all stakeholders involved in disaster response. It outlines information and strategies on how to include people with disabilities in mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
Comprehensive emergency management and disaster preparedness
FEMA promotes comprehensive emergency management and disaster preparedness by:
Advise state, local, tribal, and territorial partners on evacuation plans and accessible transportation for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Equip FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers with communications equipment so that people who are blind, deaf, or have other communication access needs can receive disaster information directly. Improve disaster housing strategies and guidance to ensure that people with disabilities have access to general shelters and temporary housing that meet their needs and keep families together. Share functional needs support services guidance with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. The guide provides strategies on practical cots and sleeping environments for evacuees with disabilities, assistance with personal care, hygiene, and dietary needs, and accommodating service animals with disaster victims in shelters. Distribute recovery information published after a disaster in native languages and alternative formats such as Braille and large print. Register disaster victims to receive federal assistance using mobile devices at home or in temporary shelters. Include closed captioning and ASL interpretation in video products and webinars. Procure and distribute durable medical equipment and other medical supplies. Work with state, local, tribal, and territorial officials to identify potential needs of people with disabilities and address gaps in disaster response and recovery.
“We Prepare Every Day” Video
The “We Prepare Every Day” videos provide practical preparedness tips for everyone and showcase people with disabilities taking the lead to prepare themselves and their families for disasters and emergencies. The videos provide equal access and include open captions, certified deaf interpreters, and audio description. Visit our resources page to take the lead in your own preparedness.
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leadership
To learn more about key staff in this program, visit our FEMA Offices and Leadership page.