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Appendix C: Excerpts fromthe Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness, Executive Order 13347: 2005-2006 Progress Report.
(In-Press Copy)

Excerpted below is the Research Subcommittee chapter of the Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness, Executive Order 13347: 2005-2006 Progress Report. Washington, D.C., in-press, 2008. This document was in-press on the date this guide was published by the U.S. Department of Education. The in-press report is being published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, on behalf of the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals With Disabilities (ICC). Once published, the document will be available at http://www.disabilitypreparedness.gov.

[Below is from Page 30.]

Research Subcommittee

Background

People with disabilities are at particular risk during emergency and disaster situations. Typical ways of accommodating disabilities (e.g., wheelchair users descending buildings in elevators; people with vision impairments following a specific route home through the city; people who are deaf communicating via sign language interpreters) often get disrupted during times of crisis and infrastructure damage.

Research is needed to demonstrate disability-related interventions, technologies, standards, methods, and procedures that are safe, effective, and compatible with overall emergency management efforts. Answers are needed to address a multitude of questions, such as how to communicate with, evacuate, shelter, transport, and provide health and mental health services to people with physical, mental, and sensory impairments over the course of a disaster. Research efforts should focus on ways to incorporate disability considerations into standard operations rather than on methods that segregate people with disabilities from the general population during times of disaster. Finally, research is needed across the life cycle of disaster and emergency situations, covering the whole spectrum of emergency management (i.e., preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery).

Administration

The Research Subcommitteeis chaired by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education. Former Assistant Secretary of OSERS, Mr. John H. Hager, was the Department of Education's principal ICC representative during the time period covered by the information included in this section. The Research Subcommittee operates as a Task Force under the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR), Subcommittee on the New Freedom Initiative. The Chair of the ICDR during this time period was Mr. Steven James Tingus, who also was the Director of NIDRR.

Mission and Objectives

The mission of the Research Subcommittee of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC) is to assess, coordinate, and promote federally-funded research on emergency management as it relates to people with disabilities. Primaryobjectives of the Research Subcommittee include: assessing the state-of-the-art in emergency management research as it relates to people with disabilities; identifyingresearch gaps; soliciting public input; disseminating materials; andcoordinating and promoting federal funding efforts.

Accomplishments

The Research Subcommittee hasspearheaded federal initiatives in each area within its mission: assessment, coordination, and promotion of federal research. This section outlines progress within each of these areas.

Assessing the State-of-the-Art in Disability-Related Emergency Management Research

The Research Subcommittee conducted multiple projects aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the state-of-the art in research on emergency management issues related to people with disabilities. This included: 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. All of these activities are ongoing in nature and are being used to develop a comprehensive federal research agenda in emergency management and disability. The Research Subcommittee is working to disseminate results from these projects in order to enhance coordination among federal funding agencies and stimulate further research.

Bibliography

The Research Subcommittee developed a bibliography of research articles specific to emergency management related to people with disabilities.

Conference Recommendations

The Research Subcommittee is engaged in ongoing efforts to compile, synthesize, anddisseminate research recommendations from major conferences on emergency management issues relevant to people with disabilities. Relevant conferences have included, but are not limited to:

Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorism: A National Consensus Conference, Columbia University, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, February 2003.⁹
Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities: An Interagency Seminar of Exchange for Federal Managers, U.S. Department of Labor, December 2003.¹⁰
Workshop on Building Occupant Movement During Fire Emergencies, National Institute on Standards and Technology (NIST), June 2004.¹¹
Conference on Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities, National Organization on Disability (NOD), September 2004.¹²
Emergency Evacuation of People With Physical Disabilities from Buildings, Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR), Subcommittee on Technology, October2004.¹³
Accessible Notification and Communication: State of the Science Conference, Gallaudet University, November 2005.¹⁴
Considerations in Emergency Preparedness: A Two Track Conference, Columbia University, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, December, 2005.¹⁵

The pediatric preparedness conference included a focus on children's mental health and children with special health care needs. Information is available at: http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu and http://www.pediatricpreparedness.org.

Current Federal Research

In collaboration with DHS, the Research Subcommittee developed and administered a survey to federal agencies that examines current Federally-funded research focusing specifically on the intersection of emergency management and issues affecting people with disabilities. Ten Federally-funded projects emerged from this survey and other efforts to identify relevant federal research projects. These projects were funded by four federal agencies: the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Council on Disability. The projects include:

Access Alerts: Making Emergency Information Accessible to People With Disabilities.
Access to Locally Televised On-Screen Information: Auditory Messaging and Captions During Emergency Broadcasts.
Assessing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Persons With Disabilities.
Bottom-Up Modeling of Mass Pedestrian Flows: Implications for the Effective Egress of Individuals With Disabilities.¹⁹
Making In-Flight Communications and Entertainment Accessible.²⁰

The Department of Labor summary report and other information is available at: http://www.dol.gov/odep/programs/emergency.htm.
Information about the NIST conference is available at: http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire05/art023.html.
Information about the NOD conference is available at: http://www.nod.org/epiconference2004.
The ICDR Emergency Evacuation of People with Physical Disabilities From Buildings: 2004 Conference Proceedings, including research recommendations, are available on the ICDR Web site at http://www.icdr.us.
Gallaudet conference materials are available at http://tap.gallaudet.edu/emergencyconf.htm. Research recommendations are forthcoming at that location.
Columbia University's research recommendations are forthcoming.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Commerce. Grantee: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media. Total Funding: $550,000.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media. Total Funding: $450,000.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas. TotalFunding:$162,500.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities. Total Funding: $450,000.

Nobody Left Behind: Disaster Preparedness for Persons With Mobility Impairments.²¹
Project Safe EV-AC: Safe Evacuation and Accommodation of People With Disabilities.²²
Saving Lives: Including People With Disabilities in Emergency Planning.²³
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access ^24*
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies ^25*

Public Input

The Research Subcommittee has sought, and will continue to seek, public input on research needs. In May 2006, the ICDR conducted a public comment meeting in which it invited and received input on the federal research agenda in disability and rehabilitation research, including emergency preparedness and disability. Among the comments received were suggestions from representatives of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness on areas for future research based in part on recommendations from the December 2005 Columbia Consensus Conference, "Considerations in Emergency Preparedness." The comments will be incorporated into the ICDR and the ICC's synthesis of research needs. In addition, the ICDR Web site has an ongoing public comment section specifically requesting input on emergency preparedness research needs (http://www.icdr.us). Informationabout both of these opportunities for public input is publicized through the ICDR and through the newsletter of the ICC. The Research Subcommittee will review and analyze all public input, and incorporate findings into efforts to coordinate and promote federal research in emergency preparedness and disability.

Coordinating and Promoting Federal Research

Interagency Coordination

The Research Subcommittee has conducted extensive discussions with multiple federal agencies regarding research needs in emergency management and disability, and has worked with these agencies to define specific areas in need of funding. Some examples of the multitude of questions still needing resolution include but are not limited to:

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media. Total Funding: $450,000. *Note: Thisproject does not focus on emergency issues, but the general focus on accessible in-flight communications would assist communications in the event of an emergency.
Funding Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention through the Association of Teachers of Preventative Medicine. Grantee: Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas. TotalFunding: $622,408.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: West Virginia University. Total Funding: $450,000.
Funding Source: National Council on Disability. Grantee: June Kailes. Total Funding: $25,000.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: University of Wisconsin/Madison. Total Funding: $4,324,988.* Note: This project does not focus exclusively on emergency issues, but does include a focus on accessible emergency alerts and communications.
Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grantee: Georgia Institute of Technology. Total Funding: $4,749,994. Note: This project does not focus exclusively on emergency issues, but does include a focus on wireless emergency communications.

What methods, technologies, and standards are appropriate for communicating with people with hearing, vision, cognitive, and other impairments during emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts?
What are the most effective interventions and methods for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery with respect to people with mental disabilities?
What methods, technologies, and standards are appropriate for evacuating people with disabilities from buildings, transportation systems, and cities?
What technologies, standards, and interventions are effective for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery when applied to infants and children with disabilities and/or chronic health care needs?

Promotion of Federal Research

NIDRR has provided strong leadership across federal agencies to promote federal funding in emergency management and disability. Based in part on the findings of the Research Subcommittee, NIDRRhas announced two proposed priorities for Fiscal Year 2007 that focus on research needs related to the intersection of emergency management issues and people withdisabilities.

In addition, NIDRR, for the first time, has included emergency preparedness and disability in its Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005–2009. The Plan, which presents a five-year research agenda, now incorporates emergency preparedness inthe discussion of the national policy context for NIDRR research. The Plan is available at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2006-1/021506d.html.

Future Goals

The Research Subcommittee continues its efforts in a multitude of areas, including but not limited to:

Soliciting public input from the disability community and other public and private stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of critical research needs.
Developing a comprehensive federal research agenda in the area of emergency management and people with disabilities.
Coordinating and promoting federal funding efforts.

Conclusion

The Research Subcommittee/ICC survey of federal research projects found that across the whole federal government there appear to be only 10 federal research projects focusing on emergency management and disability. In addition, the Research Subcommittee literature review revealed a dearth of published literature in emergency management and disability, and research recommendations from conferences also reveal numerous questions needing resolution. Untilempirical research provides answers to these questions, our nation will be left with good intentions and efforts that may or may not be effective.

Research necessary to providing answers is, for the most part, at the earliest stages of development. The Research Subcommittee intends to help bridge this gap by soliciting input on research needs, developing a comprehensive federal research agenda, andcoordinating and promoting federal funding efforts. Commitments from other agencies to fund research will be an important step in closing the gap.

Finally, the incorporation of disability-related research into ongoing research on emergency management will be an important means of ensuring that people with disabilities, and disability considerations, are fully integrated into emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts.

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Appendix C: Excerpts fromthe Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness, Executive Order 13347: 2005-2006 Progress Report.(In-Press Copy)