National Commission on Children and Disasters. 2010 Report to the ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Recommendation 7.2: Congress and ED should enhance the ability of school personnel to support children who are traumatized, grieving, or otherwise recovering from a disaster. - Congress and ED should award funds to States to implement and evaluate training and professional development programs in basic skills in providing support to grieving students and students in crisis and establish statewide requirements related to teacher certification and recertification. Teachers, school administrators, and other school personnel should be trained to understand the impact of trauma and loss on learning, and to provide basic supportive services that will help students adjust to a disaster and its aftermath and will promote academic achievement. Children can experience post-traumatic stress disorder, bereavement, and other behavioral problems, such as increased aggression or delinquency, after disasters. 279 Common effects of crises on students include: school absenteeism; school behavior problems, such as aggressive or unlawful behavior; academic failure; and exacerbation of preexisting educational problems. 280 On average, displaced students in Louisiana public schools in the year following Hurricane Katrina performed worse in all subjects and grades compared to other students, and experienced a variety of problems related to attendance, mental health, behavior, and academic performance. 281 Without sufficient training, educators may not be aware that a student is having difficulty adjusting or coping, and as a result, the student’s behaviors, learning patterns, or social interactions may be misinterpreted or mislabeled. 282 As noted in the <strong>Commission</strong>’s Interim Report, teachers and school administrators receive little if any training around how to support children in the aftermath of a disaster to promote adjustment and academic achievement. 283 During the <strong>Commission</strong>’s January 2010 field visit to Iowa, school officials reported that they were unprepared to recognize the warning signs of depression, bereavement, or other behavioral and emotional issues in students following a disaster. 284 Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, school personnel revealed that the greatest barriers to helping students following the storms were not being aware of the mental health programs they should use and the shortage of trained staff to implement these programs. 285 279 John F. Pane, Daniel F. McCaffrey, Nidhi Kalra, and Annie J. Zhou, “Effects of Student Displacement in Louisiana During the First Academic Year After the Hurricanes of 2005,” Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) 13(2), (2008):168-211, http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/2008/RAND_RP1379.pdf. 280 <strong>National</strong> Child Traumatic Stress Network, “The Effects of Trauma on Schools and Learning,” http://www.nctsnet.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=ctr_aud_schl_effects. 281 John F. Pane, Daniel F. McCaffrey, Nidhi Kalra, and Annie J. Zhou, “Effects of Student Displacement in Louisiana During the First Academic Year After the Hurricanes of 2005,” 168-211. 282 Jenny Curtin, Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools: Reducing the Impact of Trauma as a Barrier to Student Learning, ed. International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (Deerfield, IL: ISTSS, 2008), 1, http://www.istss.org/source/stresspoints/index.cfm?fuseaction=Newsletter.showThisIssue&Issue_ID=80&Article_ID= 1353. 283 <strong>National</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> on Children and Disasters, Interim Report, 11. 284 <strong>National</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> on Children and Disasters, “Minutes: Field Visit, Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” 5. 285 Lisa H. Jaycox, Lindsey K. Morse, Terri Tanielian, and Bradley D. Stein, How Schools Can Help Students Recover from Traumatic Experiences: A Tool Kit for Supporting Long-Term Recovery, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2006), 9-10, http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR413.pdf. 94 NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND DISASTERS: 2010 REPORT
The <strong>Commission</strong> recommends that funds be awarded to States to implement training and professional development programs for teachers and school personnel that impart basic skills in providing support to affected students, and to establish statewide training requirements tied to professional certification and recertification. The <strong>Commission</strong> believes that the most effective way to ensure that teachers and other school personnel receive the basic training necessary to effectively teach and support children in crisis is to include such training at the pre-service level as a condition of certification/licensure and at the in-service level as a condition of recertification/license renewal. However, requirements for new teacher certification and professional development fall predominately within the purview of the States and ED lacks the authority to require disaster mental health training. The <strong>Commission</strong> recommends that ED support a competitive grant program to incentivize the implementation of State disaster mental health training programs, including requirements for teacher certification and professional development. Grantees would be expected to pilot and evaluate training materials and methods to develop an evidence base and best practices that could serve as models for other States to adopt. Model training tools should be developed at the national level and made available free to all States, whether or not the State is awarded funds, for the use of schools of education and professional organizations. Training for teachers and school personnel on how to support children following a disaster should impart basic skills and knowledge in the following areas: the impact of trauma and bereavement on children and their learning; likely reactions; strategies for providing psychological first aid, brief supportive services, and bereavement support; and indications for referral for additional mental health services. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND DISASTERS: 2010 REPORT 95
Page 1 and 2:
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND
Page 3 and 4:
ii The 2010 Report to the President
Page 5 and 6:
Each new disaster presents distinct
Page 8 and 9:
Contents Abbreviations.............
Page 10 and 11:
EMSC Emergency Medical Services for
Page 12 and 13:
Background The National</st
Page 14 and 15:
Recommendation 1.2: The President s
Page 16 and 17:
- Include pediatric expertise on th
Page 18 and 19:
Recommendation 4.3: HHS should deve
Page 20 and 21:
8. Child Welfare and Juvenile Justi
Page 22 and 23:
11. Evacuation Recommendation 11.1:
Page 25 and 26:
1. Disaster Management and Recovery
Page 27 and 28:
A major impediment to the prioritiz
Page 29 and 30:
children are a core consideration i
Page 31 and 32:
Recommendation 1.2: The President s
Page 33 and 34:
Recommendation 1.3: DHS/FEMA should
Page 35 and 36:
The Commission rec
Page 37 and 38:
2. Mental Health Recommendation 2.1
Page 39 and 40:
2. Mental Health Recommendation 2.1
Page 41 and 42:
The Commission rec
Page 43 and 44:
Recommendation 2.4: DHS/FEMA and SA
Page 45 and 46:
urden on affected States and commun
Page 47 and 48:
types of [enhanced] crisis counseli
Page 49: elated adjustment difficulties such
Page 52 and 53: 46 NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN
Page 54 and 55: children are largely unavailable or
Page 56 and 57: children may take several years, th
Page 58 and 59: As highlighted in the Commi
Page 60 and 61: Recommendation 3.3: HHS should ensu
Page 62 and 63: Recommendation 3.4: The Executive B
Page 64 and 65: Notwithstanding the need for greate
Page 66 and 67: Finally, the Commission</st
Page 69 and 70: 4. Emergency Medical Services and P
Page 71 and 72: 4. Emergency Medical Services and P
Page 73 and 74: Recommendation 4.2: Improve the cap
Page 75 and 76: In addition, the Commission
Page 77 and 78: NDMS and DoD are not the only entit
Page 79 and 80: 5. Disaster Case Management Recomme
Page 81 and 82: 5. Disaster Case Management Recomme
Page 83: Not all disasters will involve disa
Page 88 and 89: The Commission rec
Page 90 and 91: In response to the Commissi
Page 92 and 93: Finally, the Commission</st
Page 94 and 95: eport, the chronic shortage of pedi
Page 98 and 99: expertise. 272 While most school di
Page 102 and 103: Recommendation 7.3: Ensure that sch
Page 104 and 105: Another mechanism through which the
Page 106 and 107: sources. 303 Without comprehensive
Page 110 and 111: . Respond to new child welfare case
Page 112 and 113: Recommendation 8.2: Ensure that Sta
Page 114 and 115: The Commission sup
Page 116 and 117: Toward the goal of ensuring that ju
Page 120 and 121: evisions to the standards were need
Page 123 and 124: 10. Housing Recommendation 10.1: Pr
Page 125 and 126: 10. Housing Recommendation 10.1: Pr
Page 127 and 128: corresponding tasks related to the
Page 129: Finally, the Commission</st
Page 134 and 135: evacuees. 382 States also have the
Page 136 and 137: The Commission sup
Page 138 and 139: Recommendation 11.2: Disaster plans
Page 140 and 141: planning for the evacuation of scho
Page 144 and 145: Appendix A. Study Approach The <str
Page 146 and 147: Appendix B: Index to Recommendation
Page 150 and 151:
• Include bereavement support and
Page 152 and 153:
Relevant Federal Agencies President
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
• DHS/FEMA should clarify the tra
Page 158 and 159:
● Relevant Federal Agencies Presi
Page 160 and 161:
Page 162 and 163:
• Congress should authorize DHS/F
Page 164 and 165:
Appendix C: Model Executive Order o
Page 166 and 167:
2. Children and Disasters Advisory
Page 168 and 169:
• Support disaster plans, trainin
Page 170 and 171:
• When children exhibit signs of
Page 172 and 173:
Appendix F. Supplies for Infants an
Page 174 and 175:
Non-Perishable Supplies & Equipment
Page 176 and 177:
Supplemental Information Descriptio
Page 178 and 179:
Appendix G. Subcommittee Members an
Page 180 and 181:
Richard Muth, National</str
Page 182 and 183:
Also, the Commission</stron
Page 184 and 185:
Children’s Research Center^ Churc
Page 186 and 187:
Planning and Learning Technologies,
Page 188 and 189:
Honorable Sheila Leslie Appointed t
Page 190 and 191:
Honorable Mark K. Shriver, MPA Chai
Page 192:
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND
show all

National Commission on Children and Disasters. 2010 Report to the ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?