News
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the toll on humans wasn't the only story. Gutwrenching stories of animals left to fend for themselves led to new federal legislation mandating disaster-response plans for domestic critters.
Now, some say, the same should be done to ensure proper disaster response for children. Children aren't just pint-sized adults, advocates point out, and have vastly different needs during and after a disaster.
At first blush, adults might assume existing systems are adequate to meet children's needs during and after a disaster. Unfortunately, that's not so.
"It's second nature to say, 'Women and children first,' but sadly, most plans do not have special ways of addressing children's needs in disasters," said Diane Pratt-Heavner, an official with Save the Children, a national advocacy group pushing Senate Bill 1970, the Kids in Disasters Well-being, Safety and Health Act of 2007.
Numerous reports point up the need to develop disaster plans for children. A 2006 Institute of Medicine report found that the "needs of children in disaster planning have traditionally been overlooked."
Questions raised through various studies remain unaddressed: Will shelters have necessary supplies for children, and will they be safe for children? Will counselors trained in childhood trauma be available? How can delivery of benefits be assured if children end up in another state? Will adequate day care services be available? How can the reopening of schools be expedited? What about expedited reunification procedures? Do all states know where their foster children are housed?
Because children often are in settings other than their homes -- schools, camps and day care, for example -- disaster preparedness planning becomes even more critical.
The frequency of major U.S. disasters -- from storms to wildfires to manmade calamities -- also dictates taking a hard look at protecting children in such events. What's more, disasters are on the increase. According to Save the Children, the number of disasters resulting in presidential disaster declarations has grown from an average of 38 a year in the 1980s, to 46 in the 1990s, to 52 in the early 2000s.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were not typical disasters, thank goodness, but they illustrate how extreme this problem can be.
A total of 5,192 children were reported missing or displaced after Katrina and Rita, and it was more than six months before all children were reunited with their families.
About a fourth of those affected by Katrina were under age 18. More than a thousand schools were closed after Katrina, and 372,000 children were without schools because of the storm.
Last year, advocates and policy experts from a wide range of disciplines attempted to draft comprehensive recommendations on how to improve disaster response for children. But after several months, they concluded the private and nonprofit sectors couldn't tackle this complex mission alone and called for a national commission, created by Congress, that could examine all the relevant relationships, protocols, programs, resources and gaps.
That is what SB 1970 aims to do. The measure has passed the House and a Senate committee, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain because of a hold placed on it by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. A spokesman said the senator believes creating such a commission wouldn't be necessary if "we could get Congress to do its job" and directly address such issues. A commission is in effect a middleman that could be avoided, in the senator's view.
Supporters contend the measure would not usurp congressional legislative authority, and in fact could help Congress develop a preparedness plan.
SB 1970 would establish a commission that would thoroughly study the needs of children during and after disasters and recommend new actions, policies, regulations and legislation it deems appropriate.
A recent report co-authored by Kelly Deal, director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Medical Response System, prepared for the Tulsa Emergency Medical Services Authority, explains in detail the need.
"Children have unique physiologies (size, weight, age, respiratory system, organ capacity and strength, etc.) and psychologies that create unique needs in capabilities and protocols for the use of medical procedures, equipment, drugs, decontamination, mortuary affairs, psychological treatment and legal authorities," the report concludes.
The list of gaps and issues identified in this report is dizzying: school and day-care response issues; hospital treatment demands; transportation and access issues involving child congregate-care settings; equipment issues; identification and tracking challenges; difficulties in performing triage; crisis communication difficulties; language and cultural barriers; quarantine and isolation questions; urgent and long-term mental health care, among many others.
Locally, the Tulsa Partners organization, a public-private partnership that promotes disaster preparedness, is attempting to answer some of these questions, thanks to a $70,000 grant from Save the Children.
Lessons learned in this pilot effort could be useful to a national commission studying the problems.
The organization will work with area children and their families, teachers, child-care providers, emergency response organizations and community leaders to develop a prototype local preparedness program addressing children's needs at every stage of an emergency -- before, during and after.
Sadly, the aftermath of a disaster can go on for years, and for children, the recovery can be especially difficult. Sometimes life-long changes occur.
"Children do not experience a disaster in the same way adults do. They don't understand what's happening. They lose trust in grownups' ability to protect them," noted Pratt-Heavner.
The least we can do for them is make a genuine, concerted effort to provide them the best available protection during times of crisis.
Now, some say, the same should be done to ensure proper disaster response for children. Children aren't just pint-sized adults, advocates point out, and have vastly different needs during and after a disaster.
At first blush, adults might assume existing systems are adequate to meet children's needs during and after a disaster. Unfortunately, that's not so.
"It's second nature to say, 'Women and children first,' but sadly, most plans do not have special ways of addressing children's needs in disasters," said Diane Pratt-Heavner, an official with Save the Children, a national advocacy group pushing Senate Bill 1970, the Kids in Disasters Well-being, Safety and Health Act of 2007.
Numerous reports point up the need to develop disaster plans for children. A 2006 Institute of Medicine report found that the "needs of children in disaster planning have traditionally been overlooked."
Questions raised through various studies remain unaddressed: Will shelters have necessary supplies for children, and will they be safe for children? Will counselors trained in childhood trauma be available? How can delivery of benefits be assured if children end up in another state? Will adequate day care services be available? How can the reopening of schools be expedited? What about expedited reunification procedures? Do all states know where their foster children are housed?
Because children often are in settings other than their homes -- schools, camps and day care, for example -- disaster preparedness planning becomes even more critical.
The frequency of major U.S. disasters -- from storms to wildfires to manmade calamities -- also dictates taking a hard look at protecting children in such events. What's more, disasters are on the increase. According to Save the Children, the number of disasters resulting in presidential disaster declarations has grown from an average of 38 a year in the 1980s, to 46 in the 1990s, to 52 in the early 2000s.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were not typical disasters, thank goodness, but they illustrate how extreme this problem can be.
A total of 5,192 children were reported missing or displaced after Katrina and Rita, and it was more than six months before all children were reunited with their families.
About a fourth of those affected by Katrina were under age 18. More than a thousand schools were closed after Katrina, and 372,000 children were without schools because of the storm.
Last year, advocates and policy experts from a wide range of disciplines attempted to draft comprehensive recommendations on how to improve disaster response for children. But after several months, they concluded the private and nonprofit sectors couldn't tackle this complex mission alone and called for a national commission, created by Congress, that could examine all the relevant relationships, protocols, programs, resources and gaps.
That is what SB 1970 aims to do. The measure has passed the House and a Senate committee, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain because of a hold placed on it by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. A spokesman said the senator believes creating such a commission wouldn't be necessary if "we could get Congress to do its job" and directly address such issues. A commission is in effect a middleman that could be avoided, in the senator's view.
Supporters contend the measure would not usurp congressional legislative authority, and in fact could help Congress develop a preparedness plan.
SB 1970 would establish a commission that would thoroughly study the needs of children during and after disasters and recommend new actions, policies, regulations and legislation it deems appropriate.
A recent report co-authored by Kelly Deal, director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Medical Response System, prepared for the Tulsa Emergency Medical Services Authority, explains in detail the need.
"Children have unique physiologies (size, weight, age, respiratory system, organ capacity and strength, etc.) and psychologies that create unique needs in capabilities and protocols for the use of medical procedures, equipment, drugs, decontamination, mortuary affairs, psychological treatment and legal authorities," the report concludes.
The list of gaps and issues identified in this report is dizzying: school and day-care response issues; hospital treatment demands; transportation and access issues involving child congregate-care settings; equipment issues; identification and tracking challenges; difficulties in performing triage; crisis communication difficulties; language and cultural barriers; quarantine and isolation questions; urgent and long-term mental health care, among many others.
Locally, the Tulsa Partners organization, a public-private partnership that promotes disaster preparedness, is attempting to answer some of these questions, thanks to a $70,000 grant from Save the Children.
Lessons learned in this pilot effort could be useful to a national commission studying the problems.
The organization will work with area children and their families, teachers, child-care providers, emergency response organizations and community leaders to develop a prototype local preparedness program addressing children's needs at every stage of an emergency -- before, during and after.
Sadly, the aftermath of a disaster can go on for years, and for children, the recovery can be especially difficult. Sometimes life-long changes occur.
"Children do not experience a disaster in the same way adults do. They don't understand what's happening. They lose trust in grownups' ability to protect them," noted Pratt-Heavner.
The least we can do for them is make a genuine, concerted effort to provide them the best available protection during times of crisis.
