Since the Council's inception in July 2004, the ICC has garnered new experience and perspectives that have strengthened the Council’s ability to integrate individuals with disabilities into the nation's emergency planning and preparedness efforts. Now in its second year, the Council has channeled this experience to meet new milestones and achieve the following accomplishments throughout the past year.

Emergency Communications Subcommittee

Chair: Federal Communications Commission—Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau

Accomplishment Highlights: Responded to the devastation following the Gulf Coast hurricanes by providing a senior disability expert to the Joint Field Office (JFO) in Austin, Texas to support disability response and recovery efforts; mounted 24/7 operations to help restore services throughout the region; established an internal Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Task Force to coordinate hurricane response efforts; worked closely with the communications industry to help identify resources for use by disaster personnel; facilitated disaster relief and fund raising efforts by temporarily reassigning the toll free number "1-800-RED-CROSS" to the National Chapter of the American Red Cross; and extended funding assistance to hurricane victims through targeted universal service fund support.

Emergency Preparedness in the Workplace Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Labor—Office of Disability Employment Policy

Accomplishment Highlights: Concentrated efforts to disseminate "Preparing the Workplace for Everyone: A Framework of Guidelines for Federal Agencies," a document for federal emergency planners, managers and employees to ensure the workplace is safe and fully inclusive of employees with disabilities; conducted outreach to federal officials and managers encouraging the incorporation of accommodation requirements and concerns of employees and visitors with disabilities in the development of emergency plans; in response to the residual effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, worked with state and local agencies to ensure the immediate assistance needs of people with disabilities were addressed to help stabilize access to both housing and transportation as well as reconnecting individuals to employment; and led a recovery/continuity of operations center for the National Finance Center in Smyrna, Georgia, which focused on the needs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture employees, including those with disabilities, and the extraordinary recovery issues faced by evacuees.

Emergency Transportation Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Transportation—Office of Civil Rights

Accomplishment Highlights: Actively responded to the transportation needs of people with disabilities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita by contacting disability service organizations in the Gulf Coast Region and initiated a federal response to remedy transportation issues; provided guidance and advice to recovery and transit agency leaders in the Gulf Coast Region after hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and participated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's review of Gulf Coast communities’ catastrophic evacuation plans to ensure people with disabilities were considered throughout the review and developed disability-focused evaluation criteria for the plan review.

Health Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Health and Human Services—Office on Disability

Accomplishment Highlights: In response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, arranged for the delivery of medications, food, assistive equipment and other life-saving supplies to evacuees with disabilities; worked with Medicare to ensure evacuees who were displaced to another state could refill their prescriptions; developed a draft guidebook for state and local emergency preparedness managers to help them to better assist people with disabilities; and cosponsored with DHS the "Working Conference on Emergency Management and Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly".

Private Sector Coordination Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Homeland Security—Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Accomplishment Highlights: Spearheaded initiatives and tasks geared towards achieving greater collaboration and exchange of expertise among the various entities that are involved in emergency planning and response. Such activities included but were not limited to: resolution of Hurricane Katrina-related issues through facilitation of communication between disability advocacy groups and federal agencies; submission of a letter from the ICC's Citizen Corps Subcommittee, comprised of disability consumer and advocacy organizations representatives, to the DHS Office of Grants and Training, that encourages the inclusion of disability related eligibility criteria in the DHS Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Emergency Management Performance Grants guidance; collaboration with the Salvation Army and American Red Cross in the development of disability related trainings; and participation in interagency meetings with representatives from the City of New Orleans including a public training session on the City Assisted Evacuation Plans.

Research Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Education—Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation Research

Accomplishment Highlights: The Research Subcommittee has provided strong leadership in gaining a comprehensive understanding of federal research available on emergency management issues related to people with disabilities that include developing a research bibliography; compiling relevant conference recommendations; surveying federal agencies to determine what federal research projects currently are being funded; and soliciting public input. Based in part on the findings of the Research Subcommittee, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research anticipates announcing funding opportunities for Fiscal Year 2007 that focus on research needs related to the intersection of emergency management issues and people with disabilities.

State, Tribal and Local Government Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Homeland Security—Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Accomplishment Highlights: Facilitated the integration of individuals with disabilities into numerous aspects of state, tribal and local government emergency planning and response efforts. The Subcommittee provided disability subject matter expertise in the development and execution of major emergency preparedness exercises including the Top Officials 4 (TOPOFF 4) exercise, Avian Flu Senior Official Exercise, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Hurricane Preparedness Exercises; assembled a team of disability subject matter experts to assess the level to which selected State and urban areas are taking actions to address requirements associated with integrating people with disabilities in their Emergency Operation Plans as part of the DHS led Presidential and Congressional mandated Nationwide Plan Review process; presented at several major conferences; and cosponsored with HHS a "Working Conference on Emergency Management and Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly" that connected State emergency management officials with key disability and aging experts.

Technical Assistance and Outreach Subcommittee

Chair: Department of Justice—Civil Rights Division

Accomplishment Highlights: Enhanced the usability of the Disability Preparedness Resource Center and continued in its efforts to provide a well maintained and timely Web site by regularly surveying the emergency management landscape for pertinent disability preparedness and response-focused information and resources; and secured the site a new URL: http://www.disabilitypreparedness.gov.

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