|
Disaster
Assistance
Disaster Preparedness Manual for the Aging Network
VII. Disaster Social Services
The first priority for the use of funds available from the Administration
on Aging, whether they are Title IV or Supplemental Funds, is
the provision of Disaster Advocacy and Outreach Services. These
services, as described in the previous chapter, help to assure
that older persons receive disaster services established for
the general population. If special efforts are not made to assure
that older persons receive these services, experience has demonstrated
that they will receive fewer of the services they need as compared
to the general population. Once this priority is addressed, the
AAA should address the need for additional services that older
persons require which are not otherwise available. As a group,
these services are gap-filling disaster services.
I. Gap-Filling Disaster Services
Gap-filling services are those services that are necessary after
a disaster because: (1) they are not available and are necessary
for older persons; (2) they are not in sufficient quantity to
provide services to the older disaster victims who need those
services; or (3) will not be available for a long enough period
of time to meet the need. Gap-filling disaster services are those
provided immediately following the disaster which often continue
to be necessary during long term recovery. These services may
be provided for as long as one year, or even longer in catastrophic
level disasters. These services are those which are necessary
to maintain older disaster victims until they have recovered
to the point where they do not need further assistance, to help
provide the capacity to address problems that develop as a result
of the disaster, and finally, to provide services that will be
on-going in nature and that will transition to existing programs.
These services may be as individually designed as individual
disasters are different in their impact. Most commonly identified
services include:
A. Chore Services are those which provide assistance in initial
clean-up and on-going assistance with the process of restoring
the home to order. This service includes the physical assistance
needed in helping older persons to move from one residence to
another.
B. Legal Services are those which are provided to assist older
persons in problems with insurance settlements, bureaucratic
decisions, appeals, service quality and others that develop
as a consequence of the disaster.
C. Transportation services are those which may enable an older
disaster victim to go to a DAC, to go shopping, to obtain prescription
drugs, and attend a nutrition site or receive other services.
D. Handyman Services include the repairing of windows, furnaces,
steps or other minor repairs which are not available through
other sources. This may be a major expenditure or a surprisingly
small expenditure depending upon other resources that become
available. For example, in some areas, the Mennonites provide
tremendous support in this area.
E. Meals Programs may include the provision of food in bulk,
meals through a nutrition site, or through other avenues as available.
These meals are immediate as necessary and for the period of
recovery. If the general public is to be served, immediate contact
with the Red Cross concerning reimbursement of the costs of the
service should be initiated.
F. Miscellaneous Programs may be developed separately, such
as a house sitting service for older persons who cannot leave
their homes because of a fear of looters, to moving assistance
programs which will be included under the umbrella of a broader
service such as chore services. The key aspect to this service
is flexibility and the ability to respond to the unique individual
needs of the older persons. Another example might be the provision
of a generator in an isolated area so that a basement can be
drained.
A common problem developing after disasters
is a reluctance on the part of administrators to proceed with
the provision of
needed assistance because they want to be absolutely sure that
they are not providing services which might be available from
other sources. Sometimes, lengthy periods of time have passed
while determinations are made about individual situations.
While this is the intent of the strategy to provide such services
within this context, it is not intended that the strategy become
a barrier to the provision of needed services on a timely basis.
The best approach in such situations to assure that timely
decisions can be made is the use of a defendable process. Administrators
should review the service within the context of the criteria
provided. A second step includes the establishment and use
of a review panel which can assure that reasonable efforts
have been made to explore other options. This panel should
include representatives of other disaster service organizations
who assure that they do not have the resources readily available
to provide the service and that their information indicates
the provision of services is warranted.
In many disasters, unmet needs committees are established where
disaster service organizations meet to determine how needs can
be met with the resources available overall to the individual
organizations. The unmet needs committee is an excellent choice
among potential approaches in conducting the service review.
A cautionary note is appropriate at this point. There are unscrupulous
persons who will try to take advantage of the confusion that
follows a disaster and will misrepresent their situation and
their resources. There should not only be intensive efforts to
verify the representation, especially when more substantial resources
are involved for an individual, but networking with other organizations
to verify the situation is important. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency is an important resource, among others, to assure that
the overall situation as described is accurate and that the response
is appropriate.
II. Service Provision Mechanisms
The role of the AAA is to assure that needed services are identified,
that funding for the services is obtained, and that the service
is provided. This means that the range of activities will range
from an advocacy position to the direct provision of services.
For example, mental health services are often critical after
a disaster. AAAs are not normally involved in the direct provision
of mental health services as there are other community organization
that provide this service. Before the disaster, the role of the
AAA may have been to advocate for increased mental health services
for older persons, to advocate for increased funding for these
services or to fund an organization for these services. The AAAs
most direct role may have been in referral of individuals. Following
a disaster, the same role is assumed by the AAA within the context
of the needs and the resources available.
At the other extreme of possibilities, the AAA may be funding
transportation or nutrition services through a provider,
or in some instances, directly. Another service may not be provided
at all. In the case of pre-existing services, the AAA would
need to identify the expansion necessary, seek funding, and
assure implementation of the expanded services. The AAA should
have clauses included in contracts and grants with service
providers assuring their response when natural disasters
occur.
There have been instances when service providers, or more
often, the staff of the service providers have refused to respond.
If this happens, the only recourse is to find immediate substitutes.
The situation then is the same as if the service did not
previously
exist and must be immediately established.
| Last Modified: 7/16/2009 9:05:49 AM |
|