Webinar January 14th: Preparedness-Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities "FEMA Promising Practice: Communication Outreach and Toolkits"

Announcing a new webinar - "FEMA Promising Practice: Communication Outreach and Toolkits" January 14th, 2016 Webinars begin at 2.30pm ET/1.30pm CT/12.30 pm MT/11.30am PT/9.30am Hawaii. Registration: Free on-line at http://www.adapresentations.org/registration.php This webinar will have two presentations that address responding to communications and outreach needs of the whole community. In the first presentation, we will hear from members of the Community Outreach and Effective Communications Subcommittee of the Texas Disability Task Force about how they work to ensure access through outreach to the community. One of the products created and distributed by the Texas Disability Task Force is the Effective Communications Toolkit. The Effective Communication Toolkit applies to emergency management and public information professionals who work for, or with, local jurisdictions to communicate warnings, notifications, and other messages to news media and to the public. It also contains face-to-face operational communication tools for shelter managers and first responders. In the second presentation, we will hear from the Public Safety Committee of the Seattle Commission for People with disAbilities and their Emergency Shelter Communications Toolkit, a Field Manual designed for use primarily by any facility planning for, or pressed into service as, an emergency shelter. Written by disability subject matter experts, it provides information, tools, and resources, to address communication barriers which can be present in an emergency shelter situation. The manual also has value for any emergency management professional in communication with people with disabilities. Learning objectives: Learn elements that ensure that emergency communications services and equipment address the functional and access needs of people with disabilities as part of a “whole community” approach. Learn about the development, goals, and contents of the Emergency Shelter Communications Toolkit, and its uses, in the field and in planning, outreach, and other emergency management activities. Presenters: Russell Cook, MCP, Chair, Disability Task Force on Emergency Management, has served as the Business Continuity Coordinator and the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) since December of 2011. In this role, Mr. Cook works daily to ensure the resiliency of the agency. During his 20 years in Texas state government, he has also served as a Fiscal Manager and Property Manager for the Texas Department of Human Services and the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. Ron Lucey, Executive Director, Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities, was the technical assistance and accessibility manager for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitation Services' Center for Policy and Innovation. Mr. Lucey also has worked for the City of Austin where he served as a city commissioner and chairman of the Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities. His perspective as a person with a visual disability has helped him effectively advocate for accessibility and the rights of Texans with disabilities. Laura M. Stough, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Center on Disability and Development, Texas A&M University is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Assistant Director at the Center for Disability and Development, and is a Faculty Fellow at the Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Stough's research explores inequities in the provision of social and educational services to individuals with disabilities and their families. She is the co-author of the book Disability and Disaster: Explorations and Exchanges, as well as of over 40 professional articles and chapters. Deborah Witmer, a resident of Seattle, Washington, is a disability advocate working to improve community resilience, and building partnerships within the disability and emergency management communities. As a Commissioner on the Seattle Commission for People with disAbilities, and Co-Chair of their Public Safety Committee, she serves as the Liaison with the Seattle Department of Emergency Management, responding, when activated, with the ESF-6 Branch. She also serves as the Co-Chair of the Disability Advisory Group, supporting on-going partnerships between nonprofits and individuals in the disability community and emergency management professionals. Deborah also serves as the Disability Representative on the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team, a FEMA-established, 8-county, catastrophic planning group in Washington State. These 90 minute webinars are delivered using the Blackboard Collaborate webinar platform. Collaborate downloads files to your machine in order to run. We recommend that you prepare your technology prior to the start of the session. You may need the assistance of your IT Staff if firewalls prevent you from downloading files. To view all of the sessions for the coming year, or to see previous sessions, go to http://www.adapresentations.org/schedule.php The information presented in this webinar is intended solely as informal guidance, and is neither a determination of legal rights or responsibilities by NIDILRR or FEMA. Copyright © 2015 Pacific ADA Center, All rights reserved. Pacific ADA Center 555 12th Street Suite 1030 Oakland, CA 94607