July 6, 2011 Dear Colleague: Please join the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Getting Real II - Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community. The Getting Real II Conference will take place from September 12-14, 2011 in Washington, DC. Applications are due on August 1, 2011. In September 2010, FEMA was pleased to host the first annual Getting Real Conference. Delegates from the disability and emergency management communities and many other public and private stakeholders came from across the nation to discuss priorities for improving emergency management issues for people with access and functional needs. Participants who were unable to come to Baltimore were also able to participate in the conference through a live webcast, which can be viewed at: http://www.fema.gov/about/odic/conference.shtm. By the conclusion of the conference, delegates were equipped with new tools to further educate communities on how to effectively collaborate on emergency preparedness and disaster response and recovery with the disability community. It was undoubtedly a major success! This year, we are committed to building partnerships and sharing promising practices. A promising practice can be identified as a practice, approach or method that’s proven to have gained a positive outcome. Promising practices in emergency management include methods that have shown favorable results as they’ve been tested or applied in emergency situations. The objective of the conference is to identify promising practices that strengthen the whole community’s capacity to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate the impact of disasters. These practices must also emphasize inclusion, integration, dignity, independence, accessibility and self-determination for individuals with disabilities before, during and after an emergency. Proposals for highlighting promising practices for inclusive emergency management are being solicited from individuals from across the country for presentation during the conference. (see pages 3-10) If your proposal is selected as a promising practice, you may be eligible for payment of qualified travel expenses. Please be prepared to provide any additional information necessary to pay for your qualified travel expenses if you are selected as a presenter. FEMA is also seeking participation by existing or newly forming local and state teams committed to working together to implement promising practices for inclusive emergency management. (see pages 3-4;11-12) Teams MUST include a local or state emergency manager and a disability community leader, as well as 1-3 additional partners. Team members selected may be eligible for reimbursement of qualified travel expenses. Eligibility is determined on an individual basis Please be prepared to provide any additional information necessary to determine your eligibility for reimbursement of qualified travel expenses. Selection to attend does not guarantee eligibility for reimbursement. Presenter and team invitations will be distributed starting on 08/15/2011. Not all applicants are guaranteed acceptance. If you are not selected to participate as a presenter or team member, you may still be selected to participate as an individual registrant in Getting Real II. You will be responsible for your own lodging and travel expenses. *Eligible travel expenses for selected participants include: Promising Practices Presenters * Airfare arranged via FEMA’s travel agency (personal vehicle or train, if lower cost than airfare) * Lodging at the conference hotel for 9/12-9/14/11 (3 nights maximum) * Ground transportation from the Washington area airport to the conference hotel and back to the Washington area airport * Disability related accommodations approved in advance Teams * Travel reimbursement for 21-day non-refundable economy coach class airfare not to exceed established state caps or Personal Occupancy Vehicle (POV); mileage not to exceed established state caps * Lodging at the conference hotel for 9/12-9/14/11 (3 nights maximum) * Ground transportation from the Washington area airport to the conference hotel and back to the Washington area airport * Disability related accommodations approved in advance If you are interested in attending the conference or have questions, please submit your application (attached) either by fax (202) 212-2151 or by email to FEMA-Disability-Integration-Coordination@dhs.gov. Be a part of the Team! Together we can achieve preparedness for the whole community! Sincerely, Marcie Roth Director Office of Disability Integration and Coordination Please complete and submit pages 3-10 of this application for consideration as a presenter at Getting Real II- Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community Conference by August 1, 2011. Please complete and submit pages 3-4 and 11-12 of this application for consideration as a team member to attend Getting Real II- Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community Conference by August 1, 2011. Promising practice proposals are not required for team applicants. Applications submitted after this date may still be considered depending on availability. If you are an individual that would like to solely participate in this conference, you are only required to complete pages 3-4 of this application. There is no cost to attend. Please note, you will not be considered for reimbursement of qualified travel expenses. Please submit your registration by August 1, 2011. Applications may be submitted by fax to (202) 212-2151 or by email to FEMA-Disability-Integration-Coordination@dhs.gov . Please submit all questions to FEMA-Disability-Integration-Coordination@dhs.gov APPLICATION FOR ALL ATTENDEES _Promising Practice Proposal Applicant (Presenter) _Team Applicant _Individual registration for the conference First Name: _______________________________ Last Name:_________________________________________ Title: ________________________________________________________________________________________ Department: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Organization/Agency Name: ______________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Address 2: ___________________________________________________________________________________ City: ___________________________________ State: __________________ Zip: ________________________ Telephone: ____________________________________ Cell: _________________________________________ Fax: __________________________________________ TTY: ________________________________________ E-Mail: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Check the boxes that best describe your affiliation _Community Leader _Disability Advocate _Disability Advocacy Organization _Disability Services Organization _Emergency Manager _Emergency Planner _First Responder _Government _ City/Town/Village/Special District/Township _ County Government _ Military _ State Government _ Tribal _ FEMA _ FEMA HQ ? FEMA Region _ Other Federal Agency __________________________ _ Interagency Coordinating Council Member _ International _Non-Governmental Organization/Community Organization _Private Sector/Business/Industry -Voluntary Organization Active in Disasters (VOAD) -Other Affiliation __________________________________ _I will be requesting reimbursement for qualified travel expenses _I will be requesting lodging at the conference hotel _I will be requesting disability related accommodations _I will not be requesting any assistance with travel, lodging or disability related accommodation For planning purposes, to ensure the availability of accommodations for all participants, please identify all reasonable accommodations you will require as a participant: To assist you in completing this application we have provided you with a brief description of what your application should consist of along with the criteria FEMA will use to select proposals: FEMA seeks to highlight inclusive emergency management practices that show promise of replicability, and that can demonstrate effective, positive outcomes.  Ideally, these practices will have been studied and evaluated -- and those that have been are encouraged to apply.  However, since inclusive emergency management is an emerging field, research-based evidence is not required for submission to the Getting Real II conference.  FEMA also encourages applications that demonstrate strong, common sense ideas that have worked in one setting and that can demonstrate promise of working in other settings.  Documenting and sharing information about innovative and promising local strategies is an important step in building the evidence base for effective inclusive, whole community emergency management.  The conference aims to showcase the continuum of knowledge development in inclusive emergency management.  The term “promising practices” may be interpreted broadly to include areas such as (but not limited to):  practices, approaches, methods, interventions, and technologies.  It also may include studies that could serve as the basis for developing promising practices – for example, studies describing what we know about the past experiences of people with disabilities in emergencies.  Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria: 1. The proposal incorporates the values of inclusion, integration, dignity, independence, accessibility and self-determination for individuals with disabilities before, during and after an emergency. 2. The proposal demonstrates that it can help strengthen the whole community’s capacity to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate disasters. 3. The proposal clearly describes its purpose, significance for whole community planning, methodology, design and findings/conclusions. 4. The proposal is (a) based on scientific research or development activities or (b) can demonstrate that it has been effective in at least one setting and shows promise of replicability to other settings. PROMISING PRACTICE APPLICATION (Presenter) NAME: ______________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER: _____________________________________________________________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: __________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ ******Please limit your statements for each of the following questions to 250 words***** Description of promising practice to be presented: Please describe how the proposed promising practice demonstrates the following key concepts: Inclusion- How does the proposed promising practice facilitate the inclusion of individuals with access and functional needs in the emergency management process?  _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Integration- Are services provided to individuals with access and functional needs in the same setting or environment as they are for individuals without access and functional needs? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Equal-Access / Universal Access- How does the proposed promising practice promote equal or universal access to emergency preparedness, response, recovery or mitigation programs for all individuals, with and without access and functional needs ____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Self-Determination- Are individuals with access and functional needs able to choose if and how they would like to receive information and services? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Physical Access- Are services and facilities physically and architecturally accessible? __________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Effective Communication- How does the proposed promising practice ensure effective communication in the format that will be the most effective for each individual who has an access or functional need? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Reasonable modifications- Does the proposed promising practice allow for modifications of policies and procedures?  What is the process for an individual to request reasonable modifications?  Ease of request process will be considered. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Please add any additional information that is useful in considering your application: Promising Practices Presenter Applications will be evaluated by the following criteria: 1. Focus on inclusive emergency preparedness, disaster response, recovery and/or mitigation practices to engage people with and without disabilities in all aspects of emergency management, supports maintaining the health, safety and usual level of independence of people with and without access and functional needs and strengthens the whole community’s capacity to recover from disasters., 2. Produced at least one positive outcome that can be demonstrated with systematically collected quantitative and/or qualitative data, 3. Based to some degree on proven practices from the research literature and/or the experience of community practitioners and leaders in disability inclusive whole community practices, 4. Well suited to its context in terms of language, belief systems and other cultural factors. TEAM APPLICATION **Each team member is required to submit the individual application found on pages 3-4. The following form must also be completed for the entire team.** 1. NAME: _____________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER (MUST BE AN EMERGENCY MANAGER): _____________________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: _________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. NAME: ______________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER (MUST BE A DISABILITY COMMUNITY LEADER): _____________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: __________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. NAME: ______________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER: _____________________________________________________________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: __________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4. NAME: ______________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER: _____________________________________________________________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: __________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ 5. NAME: ______________________________________________________________________________________ TITLE AND EMPLOYER: _____________________________________________________________________ JOB DESCRIPTION: __________________________________________________________________________ CITY, STATE: _______________________________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Application due by 08/01/2011.