Formerly titled: Older Adults, Disasters and the Service Providing Agency. Disaster preparedness is essential for every agency, especially those serving individuals with disabilities, older adults, and communities facing psychosocial and economic challenges. This workshop is designed to enhance your understanding of why comprehensive disaster planning is critical for service-oriented organizations. Key topics include: Fundamentals of emergency management and disaster response, the impact of disasters on agencies, clients, and the broader community, strategies for organizing the agency’s effective preparedness and response efforts. The session also delves into continuity of operations planning (COOP), offering guidance on: when and why COOP plans should be activated, steps to develop and implement a robust COOP strategy, ensuring organizational survival and service continuity during and after a disaster. By the end of the workshop, you'll be equipped with practical tools and insights to strengthen your agency’s resilience and safeguard the populations you serve. [Elective for Gerontology Certificate Program]
To earn CE credit, social workers must log in at the scheduled time, attend the entire course and complete an online course evaluation. Certificates of completion will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion.
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate between large-scale emergencies and disasters and how these are dealt with in the State of New Jersey.
- Describe the impact of disasters on clients and at-risk populations.
- List the potential impacts of large-scale emergencies and disasters on service- providing agencies.
- Discuss what is meant by continuity of operations planning and identify when it is needed.
- List the tasks necessary to complete a continuity of operations plan.
- Assess the status of their agency regarding continuity of operations planning and identify the next steps toward completing a continuity of operations plan.
9:30 am Introductions and a review of the course agenda.
9:45 am Small Group Activity - the instructor will provide course participants with a disaster scenario. Participants will review the scenario in small groups and identify how the situation described would impact service delivery to clients served by the agency. Participants will discuss whether or not their agency is prepared for these types of situations and/or if they have ever faced an event that resulted in delays or interruptions of service delivery. Instructor will debrief and summarize the differences between large-scale emergencies and disasters, and how the onset of adverse conditions impacts service-providing agencies, staff, and clients.
10:00 am Impact of Disasters on Clients, At-Risk Populations, and The Agency
11:00 am Review of key terms and concepts related to disasters, federal/state/local emergency management and disaster relief systems, and disaster business continuity. Recent updates to the U.S. Emergency Management System will be discussed.
11:30 am How to Prepare for and Manage an Emergency – Using a disaster scenario, the instructor will present the basics of the Incident Command System, which provides the structure for managing personnel during emergencies. Tips for successfully preparing for a disaster, and interfacing with emergency responders during an event will also be covered.
11:45 am Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Planning – Interactive discussion regarding the steps need to complete a COOP Plan, the content of the plan and resources needed to support it. Participant will reflect on material presented and list 3 action steps the agency needs to take in order to launch the COOP process.
12:25 pm Course Summary/Wrap-up