Cultural Literacy and Planning Toolkit

 

CONTENTS

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)

Special Needs Populations Toolkit

For Local & Regional Emergency Planners

[Introduction] [Use of the CD] [Disclaimers]

Introduction
 

Comprehensive and thoughtful planning is the key to effective response to the needs of persons with special needs during an emergency event, especially large scale events.  To provide information and resources to assist in planning for these populations, the Missouri Disaster Recovery Partnership formed a Special Needs Populations Taskforce (SNPTF) lead by DHSS and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and supported by SEMA.  The SNPTF has identified and catalogued resources in the form of a CD library for emergency planners, whether they are associated with municipal or county government, hospitals, public health or other organizations active in disaster.  With the assistance of committees representing disaster response organizations, human service agencies and individuals representing those with special needs, the SNPTF produced a series of CDs that comprise the toolkit, specifically:

·        Planning for Seniors and People with Disabilities

·        Planning for Children and Youth

·        Culturally Competent Disaster Planning and Response

To provide a comprehensive compendium of materials and to allow each CD to be useful independent of the others, some information is duplicated between CDs due to its value for multiple groups.

 
Due to the federal emphasis on planning after 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax incidents, there was a great investment in resource development by public and private entities.  These CDs reflect the resources available to catalogue in 2005.  The record-setting 2005 hurricane season including Hurricane Katrina and increasing public awareness of avian flu as a potential threat will undoubtedly result in more publications and lessons learned for special populations.  The CD user is encouraged to check for more current information or updates to any of these resources using the links in addition to the copies of material provided on the CDs.  Information on the CD represents material in the public domain and may be reproduced or adapted for local application in planning efforts with proper attribution. 
 
For additional copies of the CD, to download its contents from the web or to get information about planning for special needs populations, please contact either:

 

Department of Health and Senior Services

 State Emergency Management Agency
Center for Emergency Response & Terrorism Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 570 PO Box 116
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102 2302 Militia Drive
Phone:  573-526-4768 Jefferson City, MO 65102
Web:  www.dhss.mo.gov Phone:  573-526-9101
  Web:  http://sema.dps.mo.gov/semapage.htm
 
Use of the CD
 
All of the information on the CD library is in Adobe Acrobat format pdf format or in MS word or both in some instances.  To view the files contained on the CD, put the CD in the appropriate drive and double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.  Double click on the icon for your CD drive.  When the CD opens, double click on files and folders to access them.  These files and folders can be saved to the user’s computer.  A table of contents is included on each CD and will include the CD introduction and Use as a file as well as the catalogue of the CD’s contents. CD contents can also be viewed in a webpage by double-clicking on "Index". 
 
Disclaimers
 
Any opinions or positions expressed in materials included in the toolkit do not represent the policy or position of the Missouri Departments of Health and Senior Services, Public Safety or Elementary or Secondary Education or any of its Divisions. 
Inclusion in the toolkit does not constitute endorsement of any book, product, or publication by the Missouri Departments of Health and Senior Services, Public Safety or Elementary or Secondary Education or any of its Divisions. 
Although efforts were made to include as much relevant material as possible, this toolkit may not contain all of the resources available in web, print or electronic media on this topic.  Omission of other information or resources is not intentional. 
All attempts have been made to properly attribute any materials included; any copies or use of these materials should respect all copyright laws and should include proper attribution.