John Hager, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education, is no stranger to the worlds of emergency preparedness and disability advocacy. Having served four years as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor and then as Virginia’s Director of Homeland Security, Mr. Hager was responsible for coordinating safety and security in Virginia’s fight against terrorism. Additionally, Mr. Hager’s service career includes many leadership roles with a number of disability organizations. Mr. Hager received national recognition as chairman of Virginia’s Disability Commission where he led numerous initiatives to advance services for Americans with disabilities and to improve their quality of life.

Mr. Hager oversees the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Services (NIDRR) with OSERS. NIDRR provides leadership on disability and rehabilitation research and co-chairs the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC) Research Subcommittee with the U.S. Department of Labor. Mr. Hager’s background with emergency preparedness and disability advocacy makes him an ideal member of the ICC. Mr. Hager serves as a senior representative and works closely with fellow Council members to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are integrated into all phases of emergency and disaster planning efforts.

How has your previous experience as the Lt. Governor and as Virginia’s Homeland Security Advisor benefited you as you work on issues with the Interagency Coordinating Council?

The Office of Commonwealth Preparedness, which is Virginia’s equivalent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was created as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. We brought together a high-level commission of representatives from appropriate communities within the Commonwealth to discuss and deal with the challenges of the post Sept. 11, 2001 world. Soon thereafter, the newly-elected Governor Mark Warner asked me to remain to coordinate those efforts and to establish a new office—the Office of Commonwealth Preparedness. This office, which was the first of its kind in the nation, was established as a coordinating office, a communications office, and an office to work with the federal government on accessing resources to ensure the safety and security of Virginians. Our work ran the gamut of regional coordinating activities associated with homeland security, but particularly the upfront activities—prevention, planning, and preparedness efforts—as opposed to response and recovery activities, which were already being well handled by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Overall, we took a step back to evaluate the “new” part of the picture that Sept. 11, 2001 exposed within the larger scheme of homeland security.

Now, with my role in the Council, I draw upon my experience of working collaboratively with my regional counterparts to factor in the needs of all of our constituents. In addition, because my position as Virginia’s Homeland Security Advisor was the first of its kind, my experience serves me well, considering that the ICC is the first official interagency coordination effort that focuses entirely on disability preparedness.

How did the Office of Commonwealth Preparedness factor in the needs of people with disabilities?

In the beginning, no special population was specifically factored into our efforts because we had to take a very high-level, general approach. Then, as we gained more experience and understanding of the issues we were facing, as well as receiving more resources, we charted a course to focus on special populations, one being people with disabilities. As this natural evolution took place, we began to concentrate on cross-jurisdictional coordination groups and developed the National Capital Region Senior Policy Group, comprised of representatives from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. We began to work together as one region and in the process of working together we were able to do things that made sense. Not only could we coordinate and communicate across boundaries, we thought regionally in the allocation of resources to best overcome our challenges. One of these challenges was how to meet the needs of people with disabilities during an emergency or disaster. I believe this was one of the first times people with disabilities were really being considered within the framework of emergency planning. A bright light was shining in this particular area and while we may not have done everything right, we were ahead of the curve.

Now that you lead the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, how does the work you oversee augment the efforts of the ICC?

Now that I have been here at the Department of Education, I am responsible for NIDRR, which chairs the Council’s Research Subcommittee. NIDRR concentrates on the evaluation and accumulation of empirical data and research to support the Council in advocating best practices and assisting with good decision making. One example of such data gathering deals with assistive technologies. In fact, one specific action NIDRR undertook involved information gathering and research of the audio and warning devices for people who are deaf. NIDRR shared this information at a conference hosted by Gallaudet University.

Overall, NIDRR is guiding the Research Subcommittee to support activities of the Council. The purpose of this research is to validate information that will ultimately lead to best practices with regard to emergency preparedness, planning, and response for people with disabilities.

Shortly after the hurricanes you visited the Gulf Coast region. Can you share what you experienced during that trip?

The primary role of the Department of Education was to ensure the educational needs of children in the affected areas were being met. In my role as head of OSERS, I worked closely with independent living centers, parent training centers, and the overall vocational rehabilitation efforts of the states impacted by Hurricane Katrina, particularly in Mississippi. We were involved in a broad spectrum of activities and issues, including local rehabilitation and special education operations. Further, we focused on training efforts geared toward helping people get back to work.

I was able to join efforts with Butch McMillan, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, who is a former state senator. We worked closely with the Mississippi Governor to take a very comprehensive view of all of the impacts of Hurricane Katrina. In part as a result of our work, Congress passed legislation allowing the federal government to waive its matching requirements on rehabilitation funds and to reallocate additional funds to the states that were directly impacted by Katrina.

When considering the dramatic impact Hurricane Katrina had on people with disabilities, do you think this natural disaster will lead to a heightened awareness of the needs of people with disabilities in future emergency preparedness planning?

So much of emergency preparedness for people with disabilities depends upon changing the way people think about preparing for an emergency or disaster. It is about underlying attitudes, and getting the mainstream public to take into account the considerations of people with disabilities. I think the farther we get from Sept. 11, 2001, the harder it is to keep people engaged with regard to the unique needs of people with disabilities. While Katrina was terrible for those impacted, this disaster provided us one more benchmark along the way of directing attention to the dire circumstances and the sheer urgency of preparing and planning for the disability community at large.

We have convened many conferences, and prepared several studies and reports on this important issue. However, I hope that we shift gears and place our future emphasis on the actual implementation of some of these recommendations and take the steps necessary to plan and prepare for those with disabilities in the face of an emergency or disaster.

We need to be upfront about all of our roles and responsibilities with regard to disability preparedness and we need to engage our leaders and policy makers. Since the members of this Council are also leaders at the federal level, the ICC stands well positioned to help ensure that people with disabilities will be factored into all emergency and disaster planning and preparedness efforts.

For more information about Assistant Secretary Hager and the Office for Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) visit the OSERS website.

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