Public Health Law News. September 20, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012 September 2012 issue of the Public Health Law News! Each issue features legal news relating to public health, and includes announcements; top national, state, and local stories; state and federal court opinions; and interviews.
September's Feature: National Preparedness Month
Profiles in Public Health Law
Interview with Sharon Sharpe, Associate Director of Grants Management and Compliance, and Todd Talbert, Associate Director of Planning and Development, Division of State and Local Readiness, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR).
Legal Tools
1.     Public Health Emergency Preparedness Clearinghouse 2.     Series of Toolkits addressing preparedness for public health emergencies 3.     ‘Public Health and the Law: An Emergency Preparedness Training Kit’ 4.     CDC emergency preparedness resources
Disclaimers From the Public Health Law Program (PHLP), Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Leading Disability Rights Group Says People with Disabilities Could Decide Election

For Immediate Release                            

09/20/2012                                                                      press@ndrn.org

Leading Disability Rights Group Says People with Disabilities Could Decide Election

WASHINGTON – The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) reported today on its multi-year, nationwide effort to increase the number of people with disabilities who vote on Election Day.

NDRN’s member agencies have been registering voters, educating people with disabilities about their voting rights, and working with election officials to improve the accessibility of polling places and equipment.

“It is our goal to ensure that every individual with a disability who can vote, is registered, knows their rights, and is able to cast a private and independent vote when they go to their polling place,” said Curt Decker, executive director of NDRN.

According to a recent study conducted at Rutgers University, 14.7 million Americans with a disability voted in the 2008 election, up from 10.9 million in 2000.  It is estimated there are approximately 35 million eligible voters with disabilities.

“People with disabilities and their families make up a huge block of voters,” said Decker. “Candidates should not underestimate the intense interest people with disabilities have in the outcome of this election.

“The economy, the government’s budget crisis, and looming cuts to programs critical to people with disabilities like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, could translate into record turnout.”  

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA), enacted October 26, 2002, gave individuals with disabilities the right to participate in elections as other voters do and to cast a private and independent ballot.  NDRN’s member agencies were authorized by HAVA to “ensure the full participation in the electoral process for individuals with disabilities, including registering to vote, casting a vote and accessing polling places" through a program called Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA).

“Since HAVA was enacted, we have seen dramatic increases in the number of voters with disabilities,” said Decker.  “We expect this work will lead to an even greater impact in 2012.”
The following are some of the activities in which the network is engaged:

• ·         Surveying polling places to ensure accessible facilities are in place and filing complaints with state election boards when violations are identified.
• ·         Producing voting rights videos and Public Service Announcements.
• ·         Hosting voter forums for people with disabilities to discuss the election and hear from election officials.
• ·         Conducting voter education trainings during which individuals with disabilities are registered to vote and can test voting machines
• ·         Launching election hotlines that voters can use to report problems and seek assistance.
• ·         Distributing flyers about state voter identification laws.
• ·         Visiting facilities such as group homes, nursing homes, institutions, and schools to register and educate voters.
• ·         Partnering with other organizations to conduct polling place accessibility checks and distribute information about voter rights.
• ·         Creating downloadable polling place checklist for voters to bring with them to the polls. The checklist allows voters to determine whether barriers exist at their polling place and how to report them.
• ·         Providing information on accessibility to county election commissioners

# # #

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.

LLIS Dispatch Updates. September 20, 2012

Below you'll find a list of new documents posted on LLIS.gov between 09/13/2012 and 09/20/2012 in your particular areas of interest. We continually add information that is relevant and interesting to you, so please login often to LLIS.gov and explore, share, and connect. EMERGENCY DISCIPLINES: Community Preparedness DomPrep Journal, Volume VIII, Issue 8 Building Communities of Trust: A Guidance for Community Leaders Emergency Management Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism 2011 DomPrep Journal, Volume VIII, Issue 8 Building Communities of Trust: A Guidance for Community Leaders Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) Command Staff Assembly After Action Report and Improvement Plan Workshop on Improving Civil Protection through Lessons Learnt. Copenhagen, 16-18 January 2012 Workshop Summary. The Copenhagen Framework on Lessons Learnt. Federal Homeland Security Official Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling, Report to the President Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism 2011 Public Safety Communications Evolution Cybersecurity: Threats Impacting the Nation, Statement of Gregory C. Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues, before the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management, Committee on Homeland Security, U. S. House of Representatives Recommendations for Establishing an Identity Ecosystem Governance Structure for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace Mass Care and Human Services June 1, 2011 Tornado Response: After Action Report and Improvement Plan, Massachusetts Maryland State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) Functional Exercise (FE) After Action Report (AAR)/Improvement Plan (IP) Operation Back Pack Full Scale Exercise After-Action Report and Improvement Plan Private Sector DomPrep Journal, Volume VIII, Issue 8 Maryland State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) Functional Exercise (FE) After Action Report (AAR)/Improvement Plan (IP) Public Health Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism 2011 Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) Command Staff Assembly After Action Report and Improvement Plan Maryland State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) Functional Exercise (FE) After Action Report (AAR)/Improvement Plan (IP) School Safety Operation Back Pack Full Scale Exercise After-Action Report and Improvement Plan University of Houston Final After Action Report, Severe Weather and Tornado Warning Incident Volunteer and Donations Management June 1, 2011 Tornado Response: After Action Report and Improvement Plan, Massachusetts FEATURED TOPICS: Lessons Learned Information Sharing Help@llis.dhs.gov   866-476-4827

Dynamic Partnerships. Webinar/Conference Call on Wednesday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST

Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) Community Members;

The Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) team is scheduling a Webinar/Conference Call on Wednesday, September 26, 1:00 – 2:00 pm EST to discuss and explore the strategic needs classified as “Dynamic Partnerships”:

1.       Empower individuals, neighborhoods and communities to play a greater role throughout all phases of disasters.

2.       Proactively engage business in all emergency management phases and solicit its contribution to policy development in light of the critical nature of private sector capabilities.

3.       Intensify disaster response collaboration and planning with Canada and Mexico, recognizing scope for both national and local actions.

4.       Foster increased collaboration to ensure appropriate use of the military to provide specialized capabilities or to augment capacity in complex, overwhelming disaster incidents.  

Jacqueline Yannacci, Community Resilience Program Manager at the American Red Cross National Headquarters will present on the Community Resilience Strategy, highlighting the organization’s work with developing dynamic partnerships.

 

Daniel Hahn, MA, CEM, FPEM, Santa Rosa County Plans Chief will introduce the Escarosa Business Continuity Initiative that is focusing on developing active partnerships within the Escambia and Santa Rosa County business community in Florida for enhancing disaster resiliency and continuity. 

As part of the conference call, the SFI team will provide a brief overview of the strategic needs highlighted above and invite participants to share anecdotal information about how their programs/initiatives are meeting these needs, along with any challenges and solutions identified when implementing actions to meet the strategic needs.

To access the Webinar, please follow the following guidelines:

·         To access the training, please go to: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/dynamicpartnerships_1/.

·         Please test the software on your computer before the training date at: https://demo.connectsolutions.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm. 

      You do not need any special adobe connect software, but you will need to make sure you have flash and ActiveX installed on your computer. You should be prompted to install ActiveX as soon as you pull up the adobe connect site. The installation process should only take a few minutes. 

·         When you are on the Adobe Connect homepage, please select "Sign in as Guest" and enter your first and last name.  

·         We will be using a conference call to communicate with participants during the webinar.  

Please call: 1-800-320-4330 and enter PIN 857311.  Please note that your phone must be muted during the webinar. 

 

·         You can post questions to the presenters using the chat functionality of Adobe Connect.  We will moderate the Q&A portion of the webinar by calling on particular participants to elaborate on their questions/ideas posted under the chat window.

For more information on the SFI, you can contact the SFI Project Team via email at FEMA-OPPA-SFI.