June 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm ET

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Live Response: Planning for the Whole Community

In this edition of Live Response, we will look at the FEMA/DHS initiative, Planning for the Whole Community. A new division, referred to as the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC), has been working diligently since 2010 to redesign how emergency management defines and serves people with access and functional needs in our communities in the event of disasters. The new paradigm works toward the notion that all segments of American society will be integrated and served through a single and inclusive emergency management approach. Our panelists will discuss important elements of the planning process; public communications needs for non-English-speaking people, visual- and hearing-impaired citizens, and others; evacuation challenges; sheltering needs; and some of the work being done to aid in disaster recovery. The program also looks at legislation passed to aid in this cause and highlights the "Getting Real" conference held in 2010, designed to bring disability and emergency management communities together. In the words of FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate, "if we wait and plan for people with disabilities after we write the basic plan, we fail." Join us for this very important program!

Marcie Roth , Director
Office of Disability Integration and Coordination
Marcie Roth was appointed by President Obama in June 2009 to be the Senior Advisor on Disability Issues for FEMA. Once at FEMA, she developed the new Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, where she now serves as Director. In this role, she leads the Agency's commitment to meet the access and functional needs of children and adults with disabilities in emergency and disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. She served as a senior member of the Obama for America Disability Policy Committee and served on President Obama's Justice and Civil Rights Transition Team. Over the past 20 years, Marcie has held leadership positions with the National Coalition for Disability Rights, National Spinal Cord Injury Association, National Council on Independent Living and TASH, the national disability rights organization. She led private sector response to the additional needs of survivors with disabilities during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and she was commended by the White House for her efforts on behalf of New Yorkers with disabilities in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In addition to her own personal experience with disability, Marcie is the parent of two children with disabilities, both on their way to achieving independence.

Richard Devylder , Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation
Richard Devylder was appointed by President Obama in July 2010 as the U.S. Department of Transportation's first Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation. Richard advises the department's efforts to develop and execute effective policy strategies to ensure all modes of transportation are accessible and integrated to meet the diverse functional needs of the public. Richard served as Special Advisor to the Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency from January 2008 through June 2010, focusing on the access and functional needs of people with disabilities in disasters. Richard provided guidance in reviewing and reshaping emergency management systems, policies and practices in communicating, evacuating and sheltering Californian's with disabilities. As Deputy Director for the California Department of Rehabilitation from August 2003 through January 2008, Richard was responsible for the oversight of four departmental divisions. From 2001 to 2003, Richard served as Chairman of the State Independent Living Council. He served as the Executive Director of the Dayle McIntosh Center from September 2000 through August 2003.

June Isaacson Kailes , Associate Director of the Center for Disability and Health Policy
Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA
June Isaacson Kailes operates a Disability Policy Consulting practice and is the Associate Director of the Center for Disability and Health Policy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. June is well known for her pioneering work in conceiving, promoting, and moving the emergency management world from the vague "special needs" focus to operationalizing an access and functional needs approach to planning and response. This includes conceiving, adopting and implementing the use of Functional Assessment Service Teams (FAST). These teams strategically link government, nonprofits and business sectors to work with "at risk individuals" through screening and supporting independence needs that prevent deterioration. She has also worked on the Federal level with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services on policy, planning and training issues. She co-chaired the United States Department of Homeland Security's working group that developed a Functional and Medical Support Sheltering Target Capabilities List, worked on FEMA's Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters, and is a member of the FEMA National Advisory Council. Her breadth and depth of experience in access and functional needs, and her work as a writer, trainer, researcher, policy analyst and advocate is widely known and respected.