Emergency Response and Crisis Management

This program is funded through the U.S Department of Education Emergency Response and Crisis Management grant to improve and strengthen school emergency response and crisis management plans in selected school districts through a collaborative among Washington States’ nine Educational Service Districts.

A total of 123 districts in the state of Washington will be served through the ESD collaborative at the end of ERCM III project March 2008. The overarching goal of the 9 ESD’s ERCM project consortium is to build capacity and expertise within participating local schools and their communities to effectively coordinate and integrate ERCM plans with other school and community processes, thereby giving local schools and communities the capacity needed to develop necessary responses. The consortium project for 2005-08 will support the implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to provide a consistent approach for federal, state and local governments in responding to school and community crises. The project’s activities will heighten cohesiveness among schools and organizations/agencies charged with safety and security. Improved processes, practice drills, and simulated crises will increase the ability of all participating schools and community partners to effectively respond to a greater number of hazards and improve overall response time.

• Objective 1 – Increase local district capacity to effectively respond to potential emergencies and manage crises;
  
• Objective 2 – Coordinate the plans for these responses with other district and community plans and procedures, including alignment with homeland security and the NIMS, and provide training to support their implementation;
  
• Objective 3 – Develop a system of ERCM planning and response in each district that will be self-sustaining with continued ESD support.

BENEFITS FROM ERCM I EVALUATION REPORT:

Active participation from key community partners – relationships established
County-wide response plans
Opportunity to network with other districts
Training occurred for every district and school in the project
Implementation of a planning model/structure was established
Work groups established – committed to sustainability

Diane Shepherd
Prevention Services Director
dshepherd@esd123.org
509.544.5761