Help for schools - Do you have the supplies and services you need to respond to a disaster?

The General Services Administration (GSA) is the Federal government's acquisition agency.  GSA has recently announced plans to extend their Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program to include state and local governments, such as public school districts.   The goal of the program is to make sure that state and local governments are prepared to react quickly in the event of a natural disaster or act of terrorism. To this end, GSA is processing a contract modification that will permit state and local agencies to order supplies and services from federal contractors participating in the program. This will make a wide selection of products and services available through federally approved contractors.

Opening the federal supply schedules means state and local agencies across the country will have access to the products and services they need to respond quickly to a major disaster, terrorism, or nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack.

GSA has been working with Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to implement this new program. GSA has created two new web pages to answer questions and assist state and local agencies with purchasing disaster recovery supplies.

• Disaster Recovery Purchasing
• Frequently Asked Questions on Disaster Recovery Purchasing

You may want to make yourself familiar with the different types of services and supplies available through GSA.  Since all of the GSA Supply Schedules are pre-negotiated, the ability to access these services and supplies may result in significant time savings when it comes to making procurements following a disaster.

U.S. Department of Education Web Cast - Reviewing and Updating School Emergency Plans Available for Viewing

The November 15th live web cast on "Reviewing and Updating School Emergency Plans" hosted by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools is available for viewing at http://www.ConnectLive.com/events/edschoolsafety   The archived version of the webcast and accompanying PowerPoint presentation will be available through November, 2007.  

For more information on the programs and resources mentioned in the web cast, please visit http://www.ed.gov/emergencyplan.

Resources for School Violence Prevention and Traumatic Event Recovery

In addition to the resources available through this web site, visit the Center for Safe Schools site for a list of web-based resources that address response and recovery in the wake of traumatic events. Center for Safe Schools Resources page

CSC Participated in National Incident Management System (NIMS) Focus Group

The Center for Schools and Communities participated in a National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) focus group July 12-13, 2006 at the National Emergency Management Institute (EMI) training center in Emmitsburg, MD. Tom Moriarty, Coordinator of Emergency Response and Crisis Management, was one of 10 representatives who attended this discussion on how to design a training course and standardize emergency preparedness and communications for schools across the country using the ICS model. For more information, please contact Tom Moriarty at the Center for Schools and Communities/Center for Safe Schools.