The VMC Homeland Security Programs (VMC) at West Virginia University (WVU) and the Center for Disability and Special Needs Preparedness (DPC) have been awarded a one year grant, with two option years, to study the evacuation methodology and behavior of individuals with disabilities during a disaster. The cooperative proposal was accepted by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

One of the key problems related to evacuating persons with special needs is that we have such fragmentary information about what actually occurs during an evacuation and why individuals make the decisions they do. We do not really know what factors have the greatest impact when it comes to the successful evacuation of persons with various kinds of special needs and in various kinds of disasters. To address these gaps, VMC and DPC will conduct a nationwide study of evacuation practices which will result in the development and dissemination of guidelines for best practices related to evacuating persons with disabilities and other special needs.

VMC and DPC will conduct interviews with a large national sample of individuals with first-hand knowledge of special needs disaster and evacuation from areas across the country where evacuations have most recently occurred. VMC will conduct interviews with individuals with special needs, their family members and representatives from special needs service providers, emergency management, and response organizations. This assessment will provide valuable information to key decision-makers, emergency management and special needs service providers to improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities and other special needs during future evacuations.