109 HCON 406 IH: Expressing the sense of Congress that the U.S. House of Representatives 2006-05-17 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 406 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 17, 2006 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the needs of children affected by major disasters are unique and should be given special consideration in conducting disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities, and for other purposes.

Whereas the average annual number of major disasters declared by President was 38 in the 1980s, 46 in the 1990s, and 52 during the first half of this decade; Whereas the annual number of major disasters in the United States is expected to continue to increase; Whereas major disasters in the United States affect 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 people each year (as measured by the Federal Emergency Management Agency), even excluding the truly catastrophic events that occurred on the Gulf Coast in 2005; Whereas 5,192 children were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as missing or displaced as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and it took 6 ½ months to reunite one of these children with her family; Whereas among these children were 45 children who arrived at shelters separated from parents or guardians and without any adult supervision, and it took just over a month to resolve these cases; Whereas 1,100 schools were closed immediately following Hurricane Katrina and 372,000 schoolchildren were initially unable to attend school in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast due to the hurricane; Whereas 7 percent of these schools remain closed in Mississippi and 21 percent of these schools remain closed in Louisiana; Whereas more than 400,000 children under age 5 live in or have evacuated from counties or parishes that have been declared major disaster areas; Whereas the number of licensed child care facilities in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita declined by 54 (4 percent) in Mississippi and 356 (25 percent) in Louisiana after the hurricanes; Whereas children are known to benefit from rapid mental health programming following disasters to mitigate longer term impacts; Whereas disaster management in the United States is carried out by local, State, and Federal government emergency management organizations, and the disaster management programs and activities of these organizations do not fully respond to the unique needs of children; Whereas local, State, and Federal government emergency management professionals lack the technical knowledge, support, and contacts to incorporate the unique needs of children into their disaster management programs and activities; and Whereas legislative constraints on Federal disaster response and recovery aid programs restrict disaster officials from responding to the specific needs of children in a disaster, and the Federal Government does not have a liaison or program concerning children’s issues in disasters: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)the needs of children affected by major disasters are unique and should be given special consideration in conducting disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities; (2)the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with appropriate child-focused nongovernmental organizations, should conduct activities to address the needs of children in major disasters, such as— (A)incorporating suggestions from such organizations on children’s issues into the National Response Plan; (B)addressing the needs of children in emergency shelters, trailer parks, and transitional housing sites; (C)jointly developing disaster preparedness materials for children, families, and schools to support their understanding of the impact of disasters on children and strategies to mitigate them; and (D)jointly developing risk assessment tools for communities to use in determining children’s specific disaster risks.