Under Secretary for Preparedness at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Confirmed

On Dec. 20, 2005, DHS Secretary Chertoff announced the con. rmation of George W. Foresman as the new Under Secretary for Preparedness. Mr. Foresman began his tenure with DHS in January 2006. Secretary Chertoff stated in a memo to DHS employees, "As part of the Second Stage Review (2SR), I introduced a new structure to revamp and bolster our preparedness efforts, which included a new Directorate for Preparedness. Mr. Foresman’s appointment is a critical step in standing up this new directorate and consolidating the Department’s existing preparedness efforts."

Mr. Foresman brings to his new role more than 20 years of senior management emergency preparedness experience, working on local, state, and federal public safety and national security issues. Most recently, he served as an Assistant to the Governor of Virginia for Commonwealth Preparedness and was responsible for the Commonwealth’s emergency and disaster preparedness activities, including coordination with the private sector. He also was a member of a bi-partisan National Advisory Panel, which was established by Congress to advise the President and Congress on ways to improve preparedness.

Disability Organization Received Hurricane Katrina Case Management Grant

The protection and advocacy membership organization - National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), is among the ten social service and voluntary organizations that will make up Katrina Aid Today. The consortium of ten agencies will share a $66 million federal grant for providing case management services to 100,000 families displaced by Gulf Coast hurricanes.

About the Grant

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), in cooperation with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) received federal funding to develop a National Case Management Consortium (NCMS) to provide case management funding for people impacted by Hurricane Katrina still residing in the affected states and evacuated across the nation. In an effort to foster long-term recovery, the goal of the project is for Consortium members to recruit, hire and deploy case managers in a coordinated pattern across the United States to reach the target of 100,000 cases requiring long-term recovery assistance over a two-year period. Funds are provided through FEMA from international contributions received for the recovery of Hurricane Katrina. The UMCOR\NVOAD proposal, which was approved by FEMA, is posted at www.katrinaaidtoday.org and www.nvoad.org for the interest of any prospective NCMC member organization. For more information, visit the Disaster News Network.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Assigns New URL to Emergency Transportation Web Site

On Jan. 6, 2006, the DOT Departmental Office of Civil Rights established a new and easier way to find its Emergency Transportation Web site for People with Disabilities by assigning it a new Web address, or URL. The site, which can now be found at www.emergencyprep.dot.gov contains information designed to help protect the safety and security of people with disabilities during an emergency. The site was established in July 2005, by the ICC Emergency Transportation Subcommittee.

Emergency Preparedness Included in NIDRR Long- Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005-2009

Steven J. Tingus, Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the Of. ce of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education, announced the release of the NIDRR Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2005-2009. NIDRR supports applied research on all aspects of disability and rehabilitation, and NIDRR’s work is aimed at improving the lives of people of all ages with disabilities.

Published in the Federal Register on Feb. 15, 2006, NIDRR’s Long-Range Plan sets out five domains of research—employment; participation and living in the community; health and function; technology for access and function; and disability demographics—as well as a strategy for achieving short-term and mid-range outcomes related to each domain. NIDRR developed the plan in consultation with many constituent groups and federal partners and will implement the plan through grants priorities, program assessments, training and widespread dissemination of information.

In recognition of NIDRR’s ongoing work in the area of emergency preparedness for individuals with disabilities, the plan now incorporates emergency preparedness in the discussion of the national policy context for NIDRR research.

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