FEMA Region 10 Individual and Community Preparedness (ICP) Program
Introduction
FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness (ICP) program works to strengthen our Nation’s resilience by informing and empowering individuals, organizations, and communities to prepare for any disaster or emergency. The Region 10 ICP team works with state, local, tribal, territorial and non-profit organizations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska to build a culture of preparedness. The programs documented below are separated into focus areas: Citizen Responder, Youth Preparedness, Capacity Building, Financial Resilience, and Preparedness Actions. Each course, training, and material can be adapted to meet the diverse needs of the audience.
Citizen Responder Programs
CERT/Citizen Responder
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The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.
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Details: Find your closest CERT program. Given the current pandemic, CERT may have a hybrid/online option available through the University of Utah Health. Traditional in-person training is 25+ hours.
You Are the Help Until Help Arrives
- You Are the Help Until Help Arrives program educates people on why you should help, how to help, and reactions you may have during an emergency situation.
- Details: This is available as both a 30 minute online course and in person training. Given the current pandemic, an online course is available to receive a certificate. This course has a transcript available to follow along to the online video.
First Aid for Severe Trauma (FAST) – (American Red Cross Course)
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A Red Cross education program that provides training in life saving measures during a severe trauma incident for high school students. This includes taking control of severe bleeding, safety positions, and communication during a response.
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Details: Sign up for more information about the FAST program. This course is around 135 minutes and is currently in-person. An online version of the program is in development.
Be Red Cross Ready - (American Red Cross Course)
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Steps to make sure you are “Red Cross Ready” should a crisis occur – get a kit, (2) make a plan and (3) be informed.
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Details: Be Red Cross Ready is an hour long in person presentation that has materials available for download. The Red Cross website also has preparedness materials available that can be accessed at your own pace. These courses are held free of charge to the general public during non-COVID times.
Hands Only CPR - (American Red Cross Course)
- Learn how to perform Hands-Only CPR – so that you can help deliver life-saving care until professional responders arrive. While it does teach how to properly do compressions and proper use of an AED, it does not teach rescue breaths and will not award a CPR certification upon completion.
- Details: Hands Only CPR is available as an online video or an in-person course that can be taught in one hour. Trainers supply worksheets for the class that can come in both English and Spanish. If you’re interested in learning more, watch the online video that is available in the title link.
Youth Preparedness Programs
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The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is a national program of volunteers trained in disaster preparedness and emergency response.
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Details: Teen CERT can be taken as a hybrid online/in-person course or solely in person. This course takes approximately 20 hours to complete. Due to COVID restrictions, only the online portion of the hybrid program is available on the Utah valley website.
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Classroom-based emergency preparedness curriculum for 4th- and 5th-graders in an easy, ready-to-teach format.
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Details: This course is currently being translated to Spanish and is available to order through the FEMA publications Warehouse free of cost. Information for ordering is provided in link above. The base course takes one hour but there are supplemental lessons available. STEP is being updated with new materials in February 2021.
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Prepare with Pedro is a joint product of FEMA and the American Red Cross. The Prepare with Pedro: Disaster Preparedness Activity Book is designed to teach young children and their families about how to stay safe during disasters and emergencies. The book follows Pedro around the United States and offers safety advice through crosswords, coloring pages, matching games, and more.
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Details: Prepare with Pedro is a coloring booklet provided in six different languages (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese) with materials available online to order from the FEMA publications Warehouse free of cost.
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Kids may experience the same emergency situations as adults. Ready 2 Help teaches kids five simple steps to stay safe and make a difference until help arrives.
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Details: This game can be downloaded and printed or ordered free of cost from the FEMA Publications Warehouse. Can be customized based on age, audience type, and number of participants.
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The Youth Preparedness Council (YPC) was created in 2012 to bring together youth leaders interested in supporting disaster preparedness and making a difference in their communities with national and local preparedness projects.
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Details: This council is available to students in grades eight through eleventh and runs as a two-year program. Members not selected for the national level YPC will be considered for Region 10’s YPC, which has around 15 members each year.
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This online course covers the steps to help childcare providers prepare for incidents to ensure the safety of the children at their site. Childcare providers must have plans and procedures to keep children safe from everyday hazards and to respond and recover when an emergency happens
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Details: This is a two-hour online course and requires the participant to pass a final exam to receive credit for the course.
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The purpose of this online course is to provide guidance for Emergency Managers and implementers of children’s programs about meeting the unique needs that arise among children as a result of a disaster or emergency.
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Details: This is a six-hour online course and requires the participant to pass a final exam to receive credit for the course.
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The Pillowcase Project is a preparedness education program for grades 3-5 that teaches students about personal and family preparedness and safety skills, local hazards, and basic coping skills.
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Details: The Pillowcase Project is currently on hold due to COVID restrictions but during non-COVID environment it is an instructor led course that can be done in either a 40 or 60 minute presentation, depending on time constraints. During this time children will receive a booklet and a cartoon character pillowcase to color and fill with go-bag materials. To sign up for more information contact your local Red Cross.
Capacity Building Programs
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When Community-Based Organizations, such as food pantries, daycares, and non-profits, are unable to sustain operations during an emergency incident, individuals who rely on them are exponentially impacted. Because of their importance in keeping the community going, OPEN is designed to empower these organizations to better prepare for incidents.
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Details: OPEN includes both a web-based, self-guided training, and a downloadable instructor kit that will guide participants on how to identify risks, locate resources, and take preparedness actions. The web-based training is 40 minutes long. Materials can be accessed at the link provided. FEMA Region 10 will be hosting virtual OPEN training in 2021.
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A whole community example model program for community preparedness. In addition, resources are available to help organizations conduct simple preparedness activities for everyone.
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Details: Web based one-hour long course that requires the participant to pass a final exam to receive credit for the course.
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The Ready Business program helps business leaders make a preparedness plan to get ready for these hazards. This toolkit is self-led for business leaders and contains the following sections:
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Identify Your Risk
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Develop A Plan
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Take Action
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Be Recognized and Inspire Others
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Details: Course toolkit is available at the link provided, this page contains several disaster toolkits to consider when identifying risk and developing a plan for businesses.
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Colleges and universities serve as key emergency management partners to federal, state, local, tribal, territory and private sector organizations. Institutions are encouraged to regularly review, update and exercise their emergency plans several times a year. This program has created several guides for how to develop emergency operation plans as well as preparing individuals in a higher education setting.
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Details: ReadyCampus prepares individuals, faculty, and staff to create emergency plans. The link provided will lead to toolkits and virtual resources to better plan for disasters through self-led instruction.
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This guide will give you all the tools you need to host a successful preparedness event.
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Details: This toolkit is a self-led resource guide that allows you to customize your preparedness event step by step. The link above will lead you directly to the PDF document.
Financial Resilience Programs
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Emergency Financial first aid kit, provides a template that can be followed to financially prepare for a disaster (provided in many languages and large print).
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Details: The Emergency Financial First Aid is a self-led resource provided in several languages: Simplified and traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish, and English. This kit has fillable forms and can be done at your own pace.
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This site provides financial education resources that can be applied at different stages of life.
Preparedness Actions
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The National Household Survey (NHS) tracks progress in personal disaster preparedness through investigation of the American public's preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations. The link provided will lead you to where the raw data is held.
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This site provides information and action steps that should be taken before, during and after a hazard. The site helps to provide the most up to date guidance and provides a database of research studies and articles by subject-matter experts covering natural and human-induced hazards.
General Preparedness Information
Visit www.ready.gov for a wide range of disaster preparedness resources. You can find information on ordering free publications at https://www.ready.gov/publications.
Link to FEMA Section 508 Resource Center:
https://intranet.fema.net/help/section508/Pages/Welcome-To-Section-508.aspx
For questions about this resource page, please contact FEMA Region 10’s ICP Team at FEMA-R10-Communityprep@fema.dhs.gov or call 425-487-4943.