3017 Emergency Planning and Management

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Aging Services
Administrative Manual

Chapter:

3000 Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Administration

Effective Date:

09/07/2023

Section Title:

Emergency Planning and Management

Reviewed or Updated in:

MT 2024-01

Section Number:

3017

Previous Update:

MT 2014-02

Policy Statement

Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) are responsible for identifying themselves to and consulting with local (county and regional) emergency management agencies; public utilities; law enforcement authorities; other community service providers; state, county and municipal governments; and any other entities or organizations which have an interest or role in meeting the needs of older adults in planning for, during and after natural, civil defense or other man-made disasters.

Requirements

AAAs are expected to:

  • Designate a staff person to have primary responsibility for emergency management planning and coordination;

  • Participate in state, regional, county and/or municipal planning activities with other human service agencies and entities and organizations charged with the responsibility of meeting the needs of disaster victims;

  • Assist in identifying “at risk” older adults in the planning and service area, including but not limited to current consumers of contracted services;

  • Require by contract provision that service providers develop plans for emergency management that fit the scope of their individual operations;

  • Assure by annual review that service providers' policies, procedures and capabilities are adequate to meet the needs of the elderly in their areas prior to, during and after emergencies;

  • Provide periodic training to providers regarding emergency management resources and activities;

  • Upon request, provide information to the Division of Aging Services (DAS) regarding the impact of emergencies on the older adult population in the planning and service area;

  • Provide authorized services to older adult victims of disasters;

  • Collect data necessary to submit reimbursement requests for services provided during the emergencies, which may be covered by other sources of funding available outside the aging program contract for disaster assistance; and

  • Participate in initial meetings of FEMA and GEMA on-site teams to assist in establishing recovery operations when appropriate.

Scope of Emergency Plans

AAA plans will address four categories of activity: preparation, immediate response and stabilization, recovery, and evaluation.

Preparation

AAA emergency plans will address at a minimum:

  • The types of natural disasters prevalent in the planning and service area (those that reasonably can be anticipated);

  • The AAA’s capabilities and limitations in addressing such incidents;

  • Ongoing maintenance and updating of resource databases;

  • AAA emergency policies and procedures, including:

    • Staff duties and responsibilities, including specific chain of command and alternates, if agency leadership is unavailable;

    • Alert procedures for working and non-working hours;

    • Procedures for providing for alternate communications channels and equipment;

    • Locations of operations centers and alternates when primary offices are affected;

    • Assuring availability of office supplies for alternate locations, staff identification badges, and the like.

    • Roles of various relief organizations operating in and primarily responsible for relief authority in the area;

    • Strategies for maintaining contact with staff, local organizations, and the Division if essential public services, such as communications and transportation, are limited or unavailable;

    • Current disaster response systems and the Area Agency’s linkages to, for example, county law enforcement and public safety agencies, emergency management agencies;

    • Community education to alert first responders/other entities to special needs of the elderly and the Area Agency resources;

    • Dentification and mapping, if feasible, of heavy concentrations of elderly, including those residing in institutions, and households in which seniors reside alone, including apartments, and mobile homes;

    • Demographic profiles of older adults in the area for targeting of specialized recovery assistance.

Response

The initial reaction to ensure safety, hygiene/sanitation, and security, either in advance of an impending emergency or immediately following, will include:

  • Initiation of planned communications strategies and determination of impact of disaster on staff;

  • Assignment of duties;

  • Contact with key providers;

  • Initiation of disaster-specific record-keeping, including, but not limited to, records of:

    • staff time, including overtime

    • supplies used

    • documentation of contacts with older adults

    • type of services provided

    • personal expenses

    • specific telephone logs

  • Preliminary assessment of scope of impact, including, but not limited to:

    • geographic scope and numbers of affected older adult/other target populations and their short and long term needs

    • kinds of services needed, including impact on transportation resources

    • identification of service gaps

    • provision of information to DAS

  • Employment, training, and deployment of field and outreach workers.

  • Follow-up contacts with all older adults/others initially assisted to determine additional needs which have developed, appropriateness of additional available resources, and need to advocate for additional resources.

Recovery

Recovery involves sustained care over a longer period, for the purpose of assisting people in re-establishing as normal a life as possible. Recovery includes:

  • Shifting from emergency response to providing answers to more complex, long-range and long-term problems, including arranging for psychological/mental health services for disaster victims;

  • Providing access to increased resources that have become available;

  • Participation in long range planning and coordination with other agencies;

  • Maintaining contact and providing services, including meeting non-immediate needs identified during the response phase.

Evaluation

Evaluation involves analysis of the effectiveness of an emergency plan once deployed and provision of input and feedback to staff, volunteers and other community organization, following response and recovery phases. Evaluation results will drive improvements in emergency planning.

Emergency Management Services

AAAs and their subcontract service providers are authorized to provide the following services to manage the emergency needs of older adults:

  • Expansion of information and assistance services on a 24-hour basis, including escort assistance;

  • Special outreach activities to encourage older disaster victims to apply for benefits at federal emergency disaster assistance centers (DACs) as soon as they are established;

  • Special transportation for older disaster victims to DACs, doctors, clinics, shopping and such essential travel in the event that vehicles are not readily available. Since FEMA funds may be available to fund this service, the Area Agency will consult with the onsite federal coordinating officer prior to expending Older Americans Act or state funds on this service;

  • Assistance by case managers acting as disaster assistance advocates to older persons in the DACs in the benefits application process, including follow up to assure older victims receive approved grants and services and are protected from unscrupulous contractors for housing and other repairs;

  • Handyman and chore services, including clean-up, in the event that FEMA cannot provide these services in sufficient volume through volunteer efforts;

  • Licensed appraiser services to assist older disaster victims in arriving at realistic estimates of losses incurred;

  • Legal services, only when scope of the primary elderly legal assistance program must be expanded to address insurance and disaster grant assistance settlements;

  • Assistance to move older disaster victims from temporary housing back to their own places of residence;

  • Other Older Americans Act services, including meals, when assessments indicate that disaster related needs are unresolved by federal, state, or voluntary disaster assistance programs.

Reimbursement Procedures for Emergency Services

Reimbursement for the services specified above are authorized by the Older Americans Act, §310, as amended. AAAs shall forward requests for reimbursement to DAS within 30
business days of the date that disaster recovery operations are completed.

AAAs will prepare the reimbursement requests as follows:

  • Sort the expenses for which reimbursement is requested into categories by service, as listed in the preceding section.

  • Provide a narrative for each category, which documents the number of units provided and the number of older adults served. This will be the cover page for each set of reimbursement documentation materials.

  • Enclose the billing documentation, such as paid bills and invoices, with the narrative for each category of service provided.

  • Attach a description of the cause and scope of the disaster.

  • Attach the certificate of non-duplication of services provided by the FEMA office, if it is available.

DAS will review all reimbursement requests, seek any additional information or clarification needed, and forward to the Administration of Community Living for payment.