Program Integrity DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN June 2011 FAMILY INTEGRITY PROGRAM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN Table of Contents Introduction Page 3 Chain of Command Page 3 Priorities Page 4 Personnel Policies Page 4 General Considerations Page 5 Hurricane Page 6 Disaster Preparedness Checklist Page 8 If A Hurricane Does Strike Page 9 Evacuation Routes Page 9 Post-Hurricane Page 9 If A Hurricane Doesn’t Strike Page 10 Flood Page 10 Tornado Page 11 Other Extreme Weather Conditions Page 11 Fire Page 11 Chemical Spills Page 11 Hazardous Materials Page 12 Bomb Threat Page 12 Domestic Violence Page 12 Appendix – A. Death/Incident Notification Report Format Page A-1 CBC After Action Report Page A-2 CBC Pre Event Survey Page A-3 2 INTRODUCTION The following document contains the written disaster preparedness/emergency management plan and procedures for The Family Integrity Program (FIP). This document is intended to address provisions for dealing with fires, natural disasters, workplace threats, violence and hazardous materials. Some emergencies, such as fire or chemical spills come without warning. With others, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, there may be several hours or several days notice. Although hurricanes are the primary emergency for which we can plan ahead, the basic principles contained in this plan apply to other emergencies as well. This plan addresses the needs of staff, volunteers, interns/trainees and persons served. This plan is to be used in conjunction with the St. Johns County Comprehensive Emergency Plan. CHAIN OF COMMAND The FIP Office located at 1955 U.S. Highway #1, South, St. Augustine, FL will be the identified Command Center during a disaster. This Command Center location will remain open until a disaster/emergency is determined to be at the level, which would preclude staff, being located there. Should this site not be usable due to damage, FIP will work with the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center to secure another location. FIP telephone numbers at this site are: (904) 209-6081 (fax use only) (904) 209-6080 Important Emergency numbers are: St. Johns County Emergency Management (904) 824-5550 St. Johns County Sheriff (904) 824-8304 St. Augustine City Police Department (904) 825-1070 Official notices regarding a disaster/emergency situation will emanate from the Command Center. Reports from the field may be referred to the numbers listed above. These notices include orders to evacuate or close a FIP site and the all clear signal for return to work. The Command Center is not a location for staff or clients to congregate. Do not come to the Center, but maintain communication through that location when the County Emergency Operations Center is opened. Notification to evacuate will come from the FIP Command Center. Each FIP Team will designate a Unit Coordinator to interface with the Disaster Coordinator during an emergency. 3 FAMILY INTEGRITY PROGRAM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN In an emergency the following people, in order, are those who would become responsible for serving as "Disaster Coordinators" and are responsible for making decisions affecting the overall agency and its services and for delegating duties and responsibilities to the other staff members: FIP Command Center Coordinator Ven Thomas, HHS Director (904) 209-6099 Disaster Coordinator #1 Alison McMorrow, Program Manager (904) 209-6118 Disaster Coordinator #2 Elizabeth Fillingane, APM (904)209-6111 Unit ‘A’ Coordinator Jeanne Heaton, (904) 209-6100 Unit ‘B’ Coordinator Shantale Anderson (904) 209-6105 Administrative Asst. Schquana Lewis, (904) 209-6116 The FIP Command Center Coordinator will be in charge of overseeing the entire agency and evacuation if necessary. Disaster Coordinator #1 will be in charge of ensuring coordination with St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center, Northeast Region, Circuit 7, and out of county Lead Agencies. Disaster Coordinator #2 will be in charge of ensuring relative, non-relative, adoption, and foster care families and Independent Living children are following the Disaster Protocols. The Administrative Assistant will be in charge of the Emergency Notification Roster. An Emergency Notification Roster is vital to the success of communications during a disaster. A roster consists of the employee name, all office and home numbers for telephone, fax, pagers, cellular telephones, e-mail addresses, and both office and home addresses. As we learned during hurricane Andrew, all forms of electronic communications are subject to failure and physical locations are needed during a major disaster. When electronic communication fails, having an employee's home address (not a Post Office Box or Rural Route) is of paramount importance in contacting them for assistance. Accessing staff is vital when you need them back to work to care for client needs. Each case management agency and/or service center is responsible for providing FIP with a copy of their calling tree, which should be update on a regular basis. PRIORITIES 1. Assure the safety and well being of children in FIP Foster Homes, Shelters, Group Care Facilities and any other contracted providers responsible for the care and custody of children in the FIP program. 2. Provide assistance as needed to families and clients served by the FIP's in-home services. 3. Assure the safety and well being of staff and families. 4. Safeguard agency records, equipment, and building (note: agency records should always be stored in a way that protects them from theft, fire and flood.) 5. Cooperate with other agencies, as feasible, to provide assistance to the community at large. PERSONNEL POLICIES The FIP Command Center Coordinator will determine all personnel policies during an emergency. This pertains to closings, evacuation decisions, employee pay, etc. Each contracted agency will submit an emergency plan to the Family Integrity Program that addresses personnel issues for their agency during a disaster. Identification badges must be worn at all times. 4 FAMILY INTEGRITY PROGRAM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN In the event of any emergency, holiday observances and vacation will be cancelled. The FIP Command Center Coordinator and other key personnel are expected to return to the area if they are on vacation. If an emergency occurs on the weekend, designated staff members are expected to come to the site to adequately assess and handle the situation. FIP is committed to providing time in an emergency so that employees may secure their property and families. After services to clients, community tasks, and the service center being secured, the Command Center will provide direction to staff to return to their private lives to prepare their own property and families. Staff is expected to report to work as soon as possible after the emergency has abated to provide services to our clients and families. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS The FIP Command Center Coordinator will assure the Division's emergency plan is reviewed and updated. All members of the Command Center Team should have portable radios and extra batteries available to monitor storm activity and emergency broadcasts. The Administrative Assistant will distribute a copy of FIP's emergency plan to each staff member. The FIP Command Center Coordinator will select individuals to interface with media on the emergency's impact upon FIP. The designated Directors will assure the safety of children in foster homes, along with the case management agencies and/or the foster care provider agency. Case Management Staff under the direction of the Program Director for the appropriate Contracted Agencies and FIP will assure the safety of vulnerable families served by home- based programs. It is absolutely essential that these coordinators are contacted during plan preparation to insure those proper procedures are followed in getting our "special needs" clients registered for inclusion in the County's special needs program/evacuation planning All staff, in the event of weather emergencies, will monitor the appropriate radio/TV channels to determine when the "All clear" signal is given. The following radio/TV stations recommended for monitoring storm activity: Radio: WAOC 1420 AM WFOY 1240 AM WSOS 1170 AM WAYL 91.9 FM WQIK 99.1 FM WSOS 94.1 FM WROO 107.3 FM Television: Channel 3 Government TV (Local Cable) Channel 4 WJXT Channel 12 WTLV Channel 30 WAWS Channel 47 WTEV Website: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) www.fema.gov State of Florida Department of Emergency Management www.floridadisaster.org St. Johns County Emergency Management www.sjcemergencymanagement.org National Weather Service (NWS) www.srh.noaa.gov 5 FAMILY INTEGRITY PROGRAM DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN HURRICANE Hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th. There are two (2) types of official warnings: 1. A hurricane watch means a hurricane MAY strike an area within 24-48 hours. 2. A hurricane warning means it is expected to strike within 24 hours or less. All employees are all expected to come to work during a hurricane watch. During a hurricane warning, the FIP Command Center Coordinator will provide direction on work schedules. The following plan defines activities to be carried out during a hurricane watch or warning period, during a hurricane itself, and after the storm has passed. This plan will be reviewed and distributed to the FIP staff annually. Hurricane Watch/Warning When a Hurricane "Watch" affecting St. Johns County is declared the Command Center will open and will be the central point for information exchange. The following tasks should be taken into account. Facilities Assure that client and agency records are stored in such a way to protect them from theft, fire, and flood. These records should be stored in the file room with the door secured in a room with no windows. All computers and phones should be unplugged and placed on top of the desks on ground floors, under the desks on upper floors, then covered in plastic. Telephones should be unplugged last.