Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
One Years Supply? Healthy Babies Coalition Launches Text4Baby Contest
National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Launches Text4Baby Contest
In
honor of Infant Mortality Awareness Month in September, Healthy Mothers, Healthy
Babies Coalition is announcing the text4baby
2012 Fall Sign-up Contest . Text4baby
is a
FREE, nationwide texting service delivering critical health and safety tips and
resources to pregnant women and moms with babies under age one. During the
contest period of September 1 through September 30, anyone who enrolls in
text4baby will be entered to win a year's supply of Johnson's Baby products,
courtesy of Johnson & Johnson, text4baby's Founding Sponsor. Moms can
register online , via Facebook , or by
texting BABY (or BEBE in Spanish) to 511-411. The Office of Minority Health is a
partner of the text4Baby campaign.
Whole Community: CERT Newsletter
Dear CERTers,
There’s a lot information in this GovDelivery. We hope you’ll find
all of it helpful and interesting.
Latest Issue of National CERT Newsletter
The CERT National Program Office is pleased to announce that Volume
4, Issue 3 of the CERT National Newsletter is now posted. Please click
on the following link to access the new issue:
https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6215. We hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter which
focuses on CERT program activities in the central States. The previous issue
covered local program activities in the eastern States, and we hope that the
next issue will focus on the western States and territories (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Pacific territories, South Dakota, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming). If you have a newsletter story, please send
it now to cert@dhs.gov.
Thank you, and please keep
those stories coming wherever you live!
Please Update Your Registration Profile
Today!
Local CERT Program
coordinators/managers, if you haven’t refreshed your profile in the national
CERT registry in the past six months, please do it now! You’ve probably
conducted at least one more round of the CERT Basic Training, so please update
those numbers and other information on your program activities. Please be sure
to note if your program is working with teens/high school students or with
colleges/universities. To update your profile, please go to https://www.citizencorps.gov/cc/secure/index.do. If
you are new local CERT program, please register! You’ll find information and
assistance at the CERT Program Registration
Support Page at http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/registry.shtm.
Supplemental Training Modules Support the Expanding CERT
Mission
The CERT National
Program Office is also very pleased to announce publication of six new
supplemental training modules, now available for download. The supplemental
modules will train CERT members in new skills and increase CERTs’ capacity to
support local emergency services and public safety. Local CERT program
managers/coordinators should determine which of the modules will address local
training needs. We hope that all of the modules will be helpful. The materials for
each module are in Word format and PowerPoint, and can be tailored to fit local
training needs. Review the
supplemental training modules on the Training Materials page of the National
CERT website or at the links below and start planning for your next supplemental
training today.
CERT Emergency
Communications
In this four-hour module, CERT members will learn: 1) the role of
CERT in communications during an activation; 2) how to use a communications
plan; 3) the use of different communication modes and strategies; and, 4) how to
use communication devices. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6223
CERT Exercise Swaps
This module includes two four-hour units to train CERT teams to
design and conduct exercises for each other. CERT members will learn: 1) FEMA
exercise guidance and HSEEP concepts; 2) criteria for well-designed CERT
exercises; 3) steps and documents used in designing and conducting an exercise;
and, 4) challenges and smart practices for conducting a CERT exercise.
Participants will begin the exercise swap design process as part of the course
work. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6361
CERT Firefighter Rehab
This four-hour module trains CERT members to safely set up and
perform the non-medical functions of firefighter rehabilitation. CERT members
will learn: 1) the definition of and need for firefighter rehab; 2) the
physiological threats to firefighters; 3) an overview of what happens at the
scene of a fire; and, 4) how CERT members set up and what they do in the rehab
area. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6360
Flood Response for CERTs
This four-hour module will train CERT members to: 1) relate CERT
Basic Training skills to flood response; 2) identify a flood and the dangers of
working around floodwaters; 3) work safely and efficiently with sandbags; and,
4) construct a sandbag barrier correctly. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6359
CERT Tools for Leadership Success
In this four-hour module, CERT members will learn: 1) how CERT
Basic Training concepts relate to leadership; 2) the characteristics, skills and
responsibilities of team leaders, and how leaders and team members interact; 3)
different styles of leadership and how they apply to CERT situations; and, 4)
examples of how CERT leaders run successful team operations. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6225
CERT Traffic and Crowd Management
In this four-hour module, CERT members will learn: 1) how CERT
Basic Training skills relate to crowd and traffic management; 2) effective
communication strategies to direct traffic and crowds; 3) crowd management
skills and how to put together a basic crowd management plan; and, 4) using
traffic control devices to safely manage traffic in various situations and how
to put together a basic traffic management plan. https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6358
Please keep in touch!
-
If you have a topic for another CERT supplemental training module, please let us know at cert@dhs.gov. Please put “Training Topic” in the subject line.
-
Please let CERT practitioners and advocates around the country know your ideas about any aspect of CERT at the CERT Online Forum. Share your suggestions and comments at http://community.fema.gov.
-
And if you know of others who would be interested in receiving CERT news and updates, please have them subscribe at the following website: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/subscribe.shtm.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
National CERT Program Office
Federal Emergency Management Agency
September is National Preparedness Month. Pledge to Prepare by joining the National Preparedness Coalition now! Empower yourself and help coordinate preparedness activities for your family, neighbors and co-workers and those with whom you may study or worship. |
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Monday, August 27, 2012
THE RIGHT TO VOTE: PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE!
Please
distribute far and wide info below on voters with mental disabilities have the
Right to Vote. Thanks.
VOTE Tuesday,
November 6, 2012
People
with Mental Disabilities
have
the right
to vote!
Everyone needs to vote this
year, on November 6; including voters with mental disabilities. Voters with
mental disabilities should know their rights. Knowing one’s rights will help
make sure her/his can vote. Information below tells lawyers and poll workers
where to find the laws that protect the voting rights of individuals with mental
disabilities.
You do have the
right to vote!
§
If you are a
person with a mental disability and understand what it means to vote, Federal
law guarantees your right to vote.
The law that gives you
that right:
The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132;
Doe v. Rowe, 156 F.Supp.2d 35 (D.Me.2001).
You have the
right to get help from a person YOU choose
§
If you can’t read
or need help voting because of your disability, you can have someone help you
vote.
§
You can bring a
friend, family member or someone else you trust.
§
You can also ask
the poll worker to help you if you didn’t bring anyone with you.
The law that gives you
that right:
The Voting Rights Act, 42
U.S.C. §§1973aa-6;
The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132
The law says
EVERYONE gets to cast a ballot, so don’t leave without voting!
§
Even if someone
says you cannot vote, the law says the poll worker must allow you to vote a
Provisional Ballot.
§
Later, an
election worker will determine whether you are qualified to vote. If you are,
your vote will be counted.
The law that gives you
that right:
The Help America Vote Act, 42 U.S.C. § 15482
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Addressing the issue of drugs, guns and child porn at Homeland Security
Aug26
By Aaron Mehta — Center for Public Integrity
The Department of Homeland Security is the first line of defense against threats to Americans, entrusted with guarding the borders, protecting the skies and cracking down on potential terrorist attacks.
But instead of protecting America’s citizens, hundreds of DHS agents have been busy smuggling drugs, guns and illegal immigrants, obtaining child porn, and raking in thousands in bribes and theft.
Those are just a sampling of the crimes DHS agents committed, according to the “Summary of Significant Investigations” released by Homeland Security’s Inspector General this month.
It was a busy 2011 for the IG’s office, which investigated 1,389 allegations that resulted in 318 arrests and 260 convictions. Fines and recovered funds saved more than $45 million in taxpayer funds, according to agency estimates.
DHS is a massive government agency, with “over 225,000” employees, so it may not be surprising that there would be some individuals breaking the rules. But the seriousness of the crimes — including cases where American security was directly compromised by the very agents who are supposed to secure the borders and airports — is eye opening.
“A corrupt DHS employee may accept a bribe for allowing what appear to be simply undocumented aliens into the U.S. while unwittingly helping terrorists enter the country,” warned Charles Edwards, the acting inspector general (IG) at DHS, inCongressional testimony August 1. “Likewise, what seems to be drug contraband could be weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical or biological weapons or bomb-making materials.”
Among the more incendiary crimes profiled in the report:
- Two TSA agents plead guilty in unrelated cases of having child pornography in their possession. One was sentenced to 20 months in prison; the other received 132 months in jail.
- One border agent in Arizona physically assaulted another agent before he “pulled his service weapon and pointed it at the victim’s head.” The agent served an unspecified amount of time in jail.
- While on duty and driving his government issued vehicle, a uniformed Immigration Enforcement officer was viewed buying crack cocaine in Arkansas. The agent received 60 days in prison and 60 months of probation
- A detention officer at an immigration holding facility was sentenced to 10 months in prison after forcing “nonconsensual sexual contact” on an adult being detained at his facility.
- One TSA agent was arrested after he “he was observed chasing and threatening to kill a young Somali male.” At the time, the agent was carrying a pair of handguns. The agent, who had also assaulted an 82 year old Somali in 2010, became the second-ever conviction under the 2009 Matthew Shepard hate crimes act.
In all the above cases, the agents were relieved of duty.
While the largest percentage of cases came from FEMA agents — including a consultant who had to pay a nearly $3 million fine for settle a false claims suit and a contractor that billed the government almost $40,000 for a fake employee — many of the most dangerous cases involved agents from Customs and Border Protection.
“We take all allegations of corruption very seriously,” David V. Aguilar, the acting commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said during an early August hearing. “While the number of corrupt individuals within our ranks who have betrayed the trust of the American public and their peers is a fraction of one percent of our workforce, we continue to focus our efforts on rooting out this unacceptable and deplorable behavior.”
Cases involving border security agents were spread throughout the nation. In New York, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was discovered to be working with a drug cartel to rob other drug traffickers and sell their product. In Texas, a border agent allowed vehicles carrying “approximately 1,700 pounds of marijuana through his inspection lane in exchange for approximately $10,000 in bribes.” And in Georgia, a border agent working at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport used his position to bypass security and carry drugs and weapons for the cartel.
One notable case involved a border protection officer who “provided drug traffickers with his work schedule and lane assignments, which they used to coordinate their smuggling efforts through his inspection lane.” The agent received more than nine years in prison for his actions; his estranged wife, who also pleaded guilty to assisting the scheme, is on the run after not showing at a Texas courthouse.
Not all crimes are created equal, of course. A customs agent in Boston apparently let his inner fanboy get the better of him when he stole an immigration card filled out by astronaut Neil Armstrong at Logan airport before attempting to sell it through an auction warehouse. The agent was sentenced to 24 months of probation.
Edwards, the acting IG, testified that 2,527 DHS employees have been convicted of crimes since 2004. During this period, the grand majority (65 percent) of those crimes have come from FEMA employees, many of whom were involved in kickbacks with contractors or schemes to steal taxpayer funds. 15 percent of the crimes came from border protection agents, 6.5 percent came from immigration officials, and over 5 percent was from TSA agents.
Unfortunately, DHS doesn’t seem to have licked the corruption problem. As of July 15, fiscal year 2012 has seen 146 convictions of agents. That number is guaranteed to increase; last week, two border protection agents were convicted of smuggling hundreds of people into the U.S. aboard Border Patrol vehicles.