1 the fema region iii operational response plan and responder training plan enhancing regional...

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The FEMA Region III Operational Response Plan and

Responder Training PlanEnhancing Regional Disaster

Behavioral Mental Health Preparedness

This document was prepared under a grant from FEMA's Grants Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of FEMA's Grants Programs Directorate or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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Background

In 2009, a Behavioral Health Capability Needs Assessment was conducted in the National Capital Region (NCR)

– This assessment showed that we do not have nearly enough responders and/or volunteers trained in disaster behavior mental health nor enough staff provide counseling over a long period of time. More training across the region, across disciplines, and in our community was needed to increase capacity to respond to disaster situations.

– This assessment also showed that some agencies did not have response plans or their plans were outdated.

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Fill the gap in DBMH standards recognized by the NCR Health and Medical Regional Programmatic Working Group

Enhance Operational Response Planning within and across States, Counties and Cities

Create a strategy to align disaster behavioral mental health employee training resources with regional priorities

Improve regional states’ capacity to share behavioral mental health personnel across state boundaries

Project Rationale

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RCPGP Project Overview

District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency asked the All Hazards Consortium to support a procurement to:• Develop an Operational Disaster Behavioral Mental Health Response Plan (Operational Response Plan) and • Disaster Behavioral Mental Health Training Plan

…for the six states in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III: Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

West Virginia RCPGP Educational Workshop

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Operational DBMH Response Plans

This Plan (in the form of an Operational Response Plan Template) addresses the mental health agency’s role and responsibilities as a support agency in accordance with each state’s response plan and:

• Utilizes the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and an operational Incident Command System (ICS).

• Addresses the use of Disaster Behavioral Mental Health Response Teams as part of the response including activation, community outreach strategies, and demobilization.

• Identifies the personnel, supplies, and training necessary to establish the Teams.

• Addresses the use of volunteers and paraprofessionals in conjunction with the Teams and all necessary training.


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Operational Response Plan

• The Operational Response Plan (ORP) Template provides the disaster response framework for any public entity (state, county or city) as well as components useful to individual behavioral health providers

• The ORP captures resources and DBMH assistance in support of applicable Emergency Support Functions (ESFs).

• The ORP provides an operational and strategic plan to meet response requirements and to maintain continuity of operations to meet the needs of consumers during a public emergency.

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Examples of Team Responses

Emergency Response (No Disaster Declared) • This type of response is the most common for DMH. In this discussion the

major parts of the response will be covered (staff deployment, administration, financing, etc.)

Disaster Declared • Practical elements involved with a disaster response (the types of interventions

provided such as PFA, triage, record keeping, etc.) Overview of the regional training plan and the core competencies all responders must possess.

Catastrophe • A catastrophe is an incident that permanently interrupts or alters the continuity

of the status quo in terms of impacts upon human physical and mental health, culture language, economy and environment creating irrecoverable losses.


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Response Teams

• Coordinate mental health activities through needs assessment and the provisioning of appropriate crisis support services and counseling for first responders, victims, families, and special vulnerable populations.

• Mental Health Response Teams (MHRTs)– Surge Response Teams– Emergency Response Teams

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Mental Health Response Teams

• Provide emergency and crisis behavioral mental health support to first responders, victims, families, and visitors.

• Coordinate all mental health activities and monitor mental health needs/compile assessments.


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Disaster Behavioral Mental Health Training Plan

This FEMA Region III DBMH Training Plan, developed through a process informed by best practices research and ultimately adopted through regional consensus, addresses the process for implementing a sustainable training program for emergency response teams, volunteers, and private providers of behavioral mental health services and:

• Includes input from lead agencies of the Emergency Support Functions (ESF) that the mental health agencies support, specifically, ESF 6 (Mass Care) and ESF 8 (Public Health)

• Addresses the core content of the training curriculum and shall include the development of a cadre of local, qualified trainers with a train the trainer component.

• Includes the process of training trainers in the implementation of the Training Plan through a detailed report on training resources available to the region.

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Rationale for a Regional Plan

Fill the gap in DBMH standards recognized by the NCR Health and Medical Regional Programmatic Working Group

Create a strategy to align disaster behavioral mental health employee training resources with regional priorities

Improve regional states’ capacity to share behavioral mental health personnel across state boundaries


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Basis for the Regional Plan

This regional training plan was based upon:

Competencies established by a stakeholder experts working collaboratively through the association of public health schools and the CDC

Identification of available regional and national training resources

Best practices research, including a survey of disaster behavioral mental health stakeholders nationwide

Incorporation of ICS / NIMS training Collaborative input from the disaster behavioral mental

health state agency leads in FEMA region III

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Methodology to Engage Stakeholders

Collaborative input from regional stakeholders was accomplished through meetings, conference calls (at least two in VA) as well as two region-specific surveys:

Survey #1 – shared information from best practices research and nationwide stakeholder survey and asked preliminary questions

Survey #2 – shared results from Survey # 1 and reexamined more closely what state leads wanted to see in a regional plan


Virginia RCPGP Educational Workshop - UVA

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Target Audiences for DBMH Training

87% of state leads agreed the plan should target different responder training groups.

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Primary Core DBMH Training

Per feedback from state stakeholders and national DBMH experts, all responder groups should take 3 courses (minimal threshold for deployment):

NIMS –ICS-100 and ICS-700

All Hazards DBMH Training

Psychological First Aid (4 hr ARC version)

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Core Training: First Responders

CORE TRAINING FOR FIRST RESPONDERSSTATE LEAD

RATINGS

* National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS-700 / Incident Command System (ICS) IS-100

93.3%

* Self-care 93.3%

* Psychological First Aid (America Red Cross version - 4 hrs)

80.0%

* Mental Health Triage 57.1%

Red Cross Training 53.8%

* indicates training concepts also supported by the best practices report and the consensus core competencies

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Core Training: Nonprofessional Responders

CORE TRAINING FOR NONPROFESSIONAL RESPONDERS

STATE LEAD

RATINGS

* Self-care 93.3%


86.7%

* All Hazards Disaster Mental Health Training 73.3%

* Psychological First Aid (America Red Cross version - 4 hrs)

71.4%

* Ethics in Crisis Response 71.4%


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Core Training: Professional Responders


CORE TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONAL RESPONDERS

STATE LEAD

RATINGS


100.0%

Crisis Response Training 92.9%

* All Hazards Disaster Mental Health Training 86.7%

* Cultural Diversity in Crisis Response 85.7%

Resilience 85.7%

Virginia RCPGP Educational Workshop - UVA

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A Regional Training Certification?

87% of state agency representatives said yes when asked: “Should the region establish a standard training certification that is recognized across state borders?"

Yes87%

No13%

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Core Requirements for a Regional Training Certification

CORE TRAINING

National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS- 700 / Incident Command System (ICS) IS-100

All Hazards Disaster Mental Health Training Cultural Diversity in Crisis Response Mental Health Triage Crisis Response Training Self-care Psychological First Aid (16 hour version) Basic Principles of the Crisis Counseling Program


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Auxiliary Requirements for a Regional Training Certification

AUXILIARY TRAINING(Select any

three of these courses)

Ethics in Crisis Response Compassion Fatigue Training in dealing with Loss Working with Special Populations (children, seniors, prisoners,

those with disabilities / severe mental illness) Trauma Issues Critical Incident Stress Management Model Training Bereavement & Death Notification / Grief / Loss Issues Crisis Leadership Red Cross Training Substance Abuse Triage / Substance Use & Trauma Resilience Compassion Fatigue Prevention and Resiliency Field Therapy Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Medical Reserve Corps Training Advanced Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

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Challenges Specific to a Regional Certification

Stakeholders were asked about the challenges and barriers to developing a volunteer certification process. They suggested a number of potential "trip hazards." Some respondents have been involved in previous efforts to develop a certification process, so they were able to provide some of the challenges and barriers their groups encountered in such an effort.

• Funding (for training, background checks, database maintenance)• Science-based curriculum or not? Agreement on model to use / what is the

authority for standardization?• Legal liability• Labor intensive process / time required• Ethical issues (worker's comp, volunteer protection, appeals process..)• Getting people to trainings• Politics / who will take charge of it?• Retention / turnover

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Relevant Findings:Regional Input (not only WV)

• States are indicating a need for more intensive TA and support than originally anticipated• A few state DBMH teams have expressed a need for better collaboration and communication with their ESF lead agencies• State cultural differences and personalities within leadership are important drivers for whether DBMH issues are sufficiently addressed in broader emergency preparedness planning• Several emergency/deployment scenarios rely heavily upon DBMH response capacity and awareness of this reality is increasing

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Next Steps

• Currently, we are funded to:– Train and Exercise the Operational Response Plan

and DBMH Training Plan for five states and the District in FEMA Region III. This includes public and private entities operating at the state and local levels (all ESFs invited)


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Additional Thoughts

• Course-based training is great but we need more opportunities to learn through exercises (this also keeps volunteers more engaged)• Funding for training is a major concern – and many states have lost or cut funding recently (20% cut in PA, for example). • Like many states and municipalities, WV is largely dependent on local public and private entities to provide direct behavioral health services. Helping those local entities become better prepared not only for their own emergencies (COOP) but for external deployment on response teams is important

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Getting Back to WV

Where is WV now?

What is next?

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Your Involvement

•How can you be involved as either a participant or a convener of a training and/or table-top exercise?

•Whom would you suggest I contact to participate?

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Wrapping Up

Questions?


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Contact information

Colin NewlinBraintree Solution Consulting, Inc.

Washington, DC [email protected]

Tel: (202)232-8212

www.braintreeconsulting.com

mailto:[email protected]

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