About CEPIN:

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) nearly $1.5 million for a two-year project, called the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) project, for the purposes of developing a model community education course for emergency responders, managers, planners and deaf and hard of hearing consumers. 

As a result the “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” course was developed. CEPIN has since offered the first pilot courses in the cities of San Francisco, Tulsa, Boston and Philadelphia and has delivered the course nationwide.

With the redefinition of “disabilities” by FEMA, TDI received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop a disaster-ready training for all special needs populations and emergencies managers. CEPIN is now designing this free, Web based training that will be launched late Fall 2009. In support of this unique training,  CEPIN has formed partnerships with  the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) (http://www.aapd-dc.org/) and the National Terrorism Preparedness Institute (NTPI) (http://terrorism.spcollege.edu) to ensure that training is relevant and fully accessible.  AAPD and NTPI have been active participants in every phase of the training development.

The ideal outcome for all CEPIN trainings is the development and maintenance of  relationships among emergency responders and all people with special needs.