The following is an interview with Merry Carlson, commissioner of the National Commission on Children and Disasters. Carlson discusses the background and work of the National Commission on Children and Disasters. As noted in this interview, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (FEMA) Craig Fugate intends to have children be an area of emphasis. Questions were submitted to Carlson and she replied in writing.
Describe the work of the National Commission on Children and Disasters, and what was the motivation for the establishment of the commission in the first place?
The commission was formed out of concerns expressed by humanitarian assistance organizations and child advocates following Hurricane Katrina. Children comprise about 25 percent of our population and have unique needs during a disaster, yet it became quickly apparent in the aftermath of Katrina that this level of understanding and coordination among federal, state and local partners was lacking.
Couple Katrina with the more than doubling in the average number of presidential-declared disasters annually over the past two decades and you have a very compelling case to look more intently at the issues surrounding children and disasters.
Congress created the commission under federal law as a bipartisan, independent body. We have two years to look at all disasters, during each phase (preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery), across all levels of government and community to determine where the gaps in policy and services continue to exist. The commission will report its findings and recommendations to the president and Congress in October 2009 and 2010. To view basic facts about the commission please visit: http://www.childrenanddisasters.acf.hhs.gov/about.html.
It has been said that there are more laws governing pets in disasters than there are laws protecting children. Why in your estimation is that true?
The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act became law in 2006 after many individuals risked their lives and safety during Katrina to save or care for their pets. The PETS law requires local and state jurisdictions to submit disaster preparedness plans that take into account people with household pets and service animals so that human life is not in jeopardy. If the local and state jurisdictions fail to do so, they will not qualify for FEMA grants.
We have always assumed — and rightfully so — that parents, caretakers and even strangers will not abandon children and will go to heroic measures to save their lives. There is not a similar law required for meeting the needs of children. In fact, children are typically lumped in with several special needs populations, such as the elderly and the disabled. That fails to distinguish them as a distinct and immediate priority in disaster planning and management. While pets can be adequately addressed in an annex, the needs of children must be integrated into base disaster plans and target capabilities that are intended to serve the entire community. For some jurisdictions and states, this requires a change in thinking and a comprehensive revision of emergency plans and other foundation documents.
Emergency response always begins at the local level and planning for children varies by jurisdiction and state. The commission urges administrators who have responsibility for children — such as schools, child-care facilities, juvenile justice centers, group homes and day camps — to develop disaster plans, train their staff, and coordinate their plans and activities with local and state emergency managers. Sound emergency planning should not wait for legislation. Many states have laws, standards or funding requirements that require specific emergency planning for children. A nationwide strategy should be developed to include issues common to all states and territories to facilitate incorporation of state-relevant best practices and to facilitate development of children-centric emergency planning.
You had a public meeting with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate early in his tenure. How is the commission coordinating its work with FEMA?
To his credit, Fugate (by way of his training as a paramedic) understands that children are unique and cannot be treated as little adults in a disaster. Nor should children be marginalized or grouped with special needs populations. He is committed to changing this long-held viewpoint within FEMA and across the emergency management community. The commission meets regularly with Fugate and his senior staff to share information and assess progress on issues of importance to children. Along with FEMA, the commission is also working closely with other federal agencies including Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and Department of Housing and Urban Development to make children a greater priority.
As a result, Craig Fugate announced the creation of a "Children's Working Group" on Aug. 4, 2009. The working group will allow FEMA and its partners to explore and implement planning and response strategies specific to children throughout the agency and ensure that during a disaster the unique needs of children are not only considered, but fully integrated into how FEMA administers this support to states and the public. The commission strongly endorses Fugate’s proactive stance on children and disasters.
What have you found to be the primary barriers to protecting children in disasters?
As with most issues, no matter how essential, the primary barriers are understanding, time and resources. Until Katrina, the differences between children and adults during disasters did not receive much attention and were therefore not well understood. When it comes to emergency management, children are at a distinct disadvantage. They are subjected to an adult-sized emergency management world, especially when it comes to training, exercising, purchasing of equipment and stockpiling of medical countermeasures. Resources are prioritized to treat the most people at the lowest cost, which typically does not include children.
Few states have addressed pediatric issues, in part because funding to do so is extremely limited. Alaska received funding for a pediatric rural medical surge full-scale exercise, conducted July 2008, to send medical resources and experts to support local emergency response. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services had previously purchased pediatric ventilators and used the exercise to complete training for hospital staff.
Adding children to lists of priorities and requirements is not adequate. The time required to incorporate children into base disaster plans is substantial and a multitude of competing requirements vie for inclusion in grant requirements.
The commission is tasked with identifying barriers and potential solutions within a wide range of issues including: physical and mental health; elementary and secondary education; child welfare; child care; housing (sheltering, intermediate and long term); evacuation and transportation; juvenile justice; and relevant areas in emergency management.
To learn more about the commission’s findings, visit http://www.childrenanddisasters.acf.hhs.gov/subcommittee.html.
Sometimes good causes like yours get caught up in the federal interdepartmental rivalries. What is the commission doing to address the potential for that type of conflict between Health and Human Services, FEMA and the Department of Education?
Emergency planning and management is a shared responsibility and requires teamwork. Typically rivalries develop when a single agency is attempting to be “the team” and fails to recognize the expertise, roles and responsibilities of its sister agencies and partners. The commission has a role to facilitate awareness, knowledge sharing and communication across agencies and sometimes within them.
Unfunded federal mandates have been an issue for states and local jurisdictions. Many, if not most, local emergency management programs would have difficulty being able to help with a new initiative when their resources are already constrained.
The commission is very committed to developing practical, actionable recommendations that can be implemented at the state and local levels. We do not want our reports to sit on a bookshelf or worse yet, discarded in a “round file” because they do not have relevance in the real world or are seen as passing unfunded mandates to states and localities.
The commission is working with FEMA and the DHS to develop target capabilities and grant guidance around children that will be an eligible expense for reimbursement. But not every solution to benefit children has to cost money. Sometimes a little common sense in planning can go a long way. For example, the commission has collaborated with the American Red Cross on developing standards and indicators for mass care shelters with children in mind. This document provides guidance to shelter managers for providing a safer and more child friendly shelter environment, without adding expense.
What brought you to serve as a member of the commission?
In order to be useful, policy must be practical. By serving as a member of the commission, I hope to ensure that recommendations can be implemented by jurisdictions of all sizes and in areas in and outside of urban, hurricane-centric zones. I bring emergency management experience at both the local jurisdictional level and at the state level as both an emergency manager and in positions that required emergency management compliance as one of many program requirements, so I know what it is like to implement requirements at a variety of levels. This work has been in rural, insular areas facing immense geographic, logistical and weather challenges. As preparedness manager for the state of Alaska, I have seen firsthand the power of planning on successful community response to disasters. Alaska is part of a local/voluntary agency/state/FEMA team that is well on its way to achieving permanent housing in multiple communities between spring 2009 floods in May and the onset of Alaska’s winter, as early as September.
Thanks for participating in this interview. Do you have any last thoughts to share?
The commission welcomes ideas and feedback from the public. All disasters are local and the best ideas will most likely come from the community. Visit the commission’s interactive Web site, www.childrenanddisasters.acf.hhs.gov, where you can provide feedback or ask questions. It is important we hear from families and children who survived disasters.
[Photo courtesy of Andrea Booher/FEMA News Photo.]
