A young girl is wheeled up the ramp to her temporary manufactured home provided by FEMA. The ramp was built to accommodate her wheelchair use.

According to the 2000 census data, the size of the disability population in the region affected by Hurricane Katrina was over 300,000 (Biloxi, Miss. – 25 percent (10,700) – Mobile, Ala. – 24 percent (43,000) – New Orleans – 21.3 percent (250,000)). Therefore, a disproportionate number of the affected individuals were people with disabilities whose needs for basic provision were and remain exacerbated by chronic health conditions and functional limitations.

In response to needs created by Hurricane Katrina, the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC), under the leadership of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), undertook an operational role that had not previously been contemplated. When Hurricane Katrina struck, CRCL and the ICC instantly became the focal point for concerns raised by evacuees with disabilities, their families and representatives. CRCL immediately mobilized a number of its ICC partners and formulated an ICC Incident Management Team (IMT) that functioned as a conduit for resolving complaints and responding to requests for assistance. The IMT met on a daily basis for several weeks via telephone and in person with representatives, advocates and service provides for individuals with disabilities and their families.

The ICC IMT also helped direct private sector offers of disability related services and products to the appropriate entities.

On Sept. 23, 2005, Secretary Chertoff signed a memorandum directing that the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties place a subject matter expert on disability issues at the Joint Field Offices in Baton Rouge, La., and Austin, Texas. Claudia Gordon, Senior Policy Advisor with the DHS CRCL and Cheryl King, Deputy Chief in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Disability Rights Office in the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau were immediately deployed. While serving as ICC representatives at Joint Field Offices, Gordon and King conducted awareness training to staff members working at the JFO, regularly met with disability advocates and service providers to document and respond to issues and concerns, and resolved accessible shelter, as well as transitional housing issues in coordination with the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff, and state officials. Both Gordon and King have since returned to Washington, D.C., but CRCL and its ICC partners remain actively engaged in the ongoing Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery efforts with regard toward the issues affecting evacuees with disabilities.

When President Bush issued Executive Order 13347 and created the Council, its members were acutely aware of the significance of their charge and enthusiastically pledged their commitment. Now in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Council has redoubled its commitment and efforts. The Council particularly recognizes the importance of working together to ensure that the all the lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are translated into specific action steps that will appropriately rectify the many serious shortcomings that were exposed by these hurricanes.

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