Health, Education, and Human Services

Coordinating Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

Mission

Assist locally led recovery efforts to restore public health, health care, human services, education, and behavioral health networks to promote the resilience, health, and well-being of affected individuals and communities.

Before a Disaster

Building Capacity

• Develop tools and materials and promote resources to increase the capacity of health, education, and human services providers and agencies.
  
  Example: Providing Train the Trainer engagements related to clinical and subclinical topics

Partnership Development

• Identify, connect, and coordinate with Health, Education, and Human Services partners at federal, state, local, Tribal Nation, and territorial governments (SLTTs), as well as non-governmental organizations, including state education agencies and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Planning and Preparedness

• Promote continued learning and expansion of scientific knowledge to inform recovery from disasters and public health emergencies.
  
  Example: Offering training at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Disaster Technical Assistance Centers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Institute of Health Academies

Technical Assistance, Tools, and Training

• Provide comprehensive emergency management training to community leaders, local officials, state education agencies, and institutions of higher education on both pre- and post-disaster interventions to equip them for effective disaster recovery.
  
  Example: Training on promoting behavioral health outcomes through techniques like Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery.

• Develop and distribute materials to build resilience and support preparedness planning at Technical Assistance Centers.

Example: Distributing Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Technical Resources Assistance Center and Information Exchange, and SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center.

After a Disaster

Building Capacity

• Support the development of strategies to restore community healthcare capacity and help affected healthcare facilities strengthen emergency preparedness and readiness plans.

• Assist SLTTs with identifying specific federal resources, navigating the complexities of available funding, and identifying appropriate pathways to help address key health, education, or human services challenges.
  
  Example: Providing REMS Technical Assistance and the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response.

• Advise on relevant human services programs waivers and flexibilities such as children, families, older adults, and individuals with access and functional needs, enabling those programs to support community recovery more directly (including childcare, domestic violence services, and aging and disability networks).
  
  Example: Advising partners on childcare licensure and subsidy grants as well as means-tested social services programs (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and workforce participation programs.

• Advise affected K-12 schools and institutions of higher education on how to restore a safe environment conducive to learning, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Project School Emergency Response to Violence grant and other applicable grants and regulatory flexibilities.

Example: Directing partners to resources and guidance found at the U.S. Department of Education Natural Disaster Resources website.

Partnership Development

• Address cross cutting recovery issues for health, education, and human services related to the needs of children, youth, and families; integrate older adults and people with access and functional needs; plan for future disaster risks; and focus on rural and financially constrained communities.
  
  Example: Conducting community level behavioral health, environmental health assessments that include specific attention to youth and older adults, involvement of people with disabilities, and holistic restoration of health, education, and human services systems.

Planning and Preparedness

• Assist SLTTs in developing and incorporating plans for the transition from post-disaster recovery operations back to steady-state operations.

Technical Assistance, Tools, and Training

• Perform needs assessments, including rapid community needs assessments such as the CDC’s Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, and develop courses of action to support SLTT recovery strategies, focusing on specialized technical assistance, scientific subject matter expertise, peer-to-peer support, and programmatic technical assistance.

• Facilitate discussions between state educational youth and State Coordinators for the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness on best practices and lessons learned to support homeless and displaced students.

• Conduct after action reviews for state education agencies about their disaster recovery efforts to capture best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for future disasters.

• Deliver training and assistance to assess and mitigate post-disaster environmental health hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos, industrial chemicals, or airborne particulate matter.
  
  Example: Deploying mold experts to train and assist SLTT partners with mold related disaster environments

Participating Agencies and Organizations