On July 26, 2004, President Bush signed Executive Order 13347 which established the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities. In the July edition of the Executive Order 13347’s annual report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant used to create the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) project is listed as one of the results achieved from the signing of this order.
On Sept. 29, 2004, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) published a press release stating that they had acquired that particular grant from the DHS, Office of Grants and Training to implement the two-year CEPIN project. The focus is creating a model community awareness project on emergency preparedness and individuals with hearing losses.
A course and its train-the trainer component were developed and became known as “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness.” Pilot courses took place in the cities of San Francisco, Tulsa, Okla., Boston and Philadelphia. With each course offered, the developers of the course were able to modify the training to meet the needs of their audience. Supplemented with letters of support, the course manual was submitted to the DHS course review board in July. Approval was obtained at the beginning of August.
More information can be found by clicking on the links below:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- Office of Grants and Training
- Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
|
|