Alexandra Enders

Using Geographic Information System Technology to Improve Emergency Management and Disaster Response for People With Disabilities

Disability, as a product of person—environment interaction, is particularly sensitive to catastrophic events and disasters. Disasters are specific to a physical location, as are the resources needed to handle the aftermath of the event. Geographic information systems (GIS) technology provides the ability to spatially coordinate resources from separate systems, which is vital for emergency management. GIS provides the capacity to go beyond surveillance and identification of at-risk people with disabilities to actively address the spatial nature of the person—environment interaction. GIS may provide the basis for further investigation and development of the science of environmental factors in the person—environment interaction. Mapping resources, and not just people, in the environment can change the perception and portrayal of people with disabilities in disaster incidents from people with “special needs” to people and organizations that are community contributors. Disability policy advocates, working at the state level, need to get disability-relevant geospatial data into the critical infrastructure used for emergency planning and response. A map showing the proximity of available resources demonstrates the importance of GIS to people with disabilities by identifying available resources in disaster response and recovery.

Allocation and Use of Section 5310 Funds in Urban and Rural America

Public transportation is a critical part of a community’s infrastructure for people with disabilities. Section 5310 of the Transportation Equity Act is a Federal program of capital assistance to address mobility needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities. The authors identified 4,835 Section 5310 recipients in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and randomly selected 750 for a mail survey. Most were organizations serving senior citizens or individuals with developmental disabilities. Only 1 was a tribal entity. Overall, Sec. 5310 vehicles made up 32% of the respondents’ fleets and 75% were lift equipped. More Section 5310 resources went to those organizations serving a mix of urbanized and rural areas than went to organizations serving rural-only areas. 10% of respondents reported being faith-based organizations; more of these were in urban than rural areas. Almost half the respondents participated in some form of cooperative system but less than 5% participated in a consolidated system. This study provides a baseline against which to measure changes following the implementation of the Transportation Act of 2005.

Assessing the Geographic Distribution of Centers for Independent Living Across Urban and Rural Areas Toward a Policy of Universal Access

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) have emerged as a significant source of services, supports, and advocacy for people with disabilities in the United States. Since 1978, the federal government has funded an increasing number of CILs around the nation to provide services to and advocate for people with disabilities. Others have been created with state and local funding. No data have been collected to assess the extent of CIL expansion, however. We identified 336 CILs and estimated that these centers operate 253 subordinate sites. We conducted a survey of a random sample of 62 CILs to assess the geographic areas they served and the extent of their service. Results suggested that CIL services are provided to more than 212,000 individuals living in 60% of the nations 3,141 counties. Data show, however, that residents of nonmetropolitan (rural) counties are far less likely to receive direct services from a CIL than their urban counterparts. CILs reported a median annual budget of

Current state of child health in rural America: how context shapes children's health

327,691; they allocated 54% of their resources to direct services and 27% to community advocacy. We estimate that an additional

Section 5310 Transportation State Management Plans: A Baseline Review

71.5 million will be needed to achieve universal access to CIL services. Results are discussed in terms of the rural population of people with disabilities as representing a traditionally underserved group, and the need to expand CIL services to provide more equitable access for currently unserved and underserved U.S. populations.

Centers for Independent Living: Rural & Urban Distribution

PURPOSE Childrens health is influenced by the context in which they live. We provide a descriptive essay on the status of children in rural America to highlight features of the rural environment that may affect health. DESCRIPTION We compiled information concerning components of the rural environment that may contribute to health outcomes. Areas addressed include the economic characteristics, provider availability, uniquely rural health risks, health services use, and health outcomes among rural children. ASSESSMENT Nearly 12 million children live in the rural United States. Rural counties are economically disadvantaged, leading to higher rates of poverty among rural versus urban children. Rural and urban children are approximately equally likely to be insured, but Medicaid insures a higher proportion of children in rural areas. While generally similar in health, rural children are more likely to be overweight or obese than urban children. Rural parents are less likely to report that their children received preventive medical or oral health visits than urban parents. Rural children are more likely to die than their urban peers, largely due to unintentional injury. CONCLUSION Improving rural childrens health will require both increased public health surveillance and research that creates solutions appropriate for rural environments, where health care professionals may be in short supply. Most importantly, solutions must be multisectoral, engaging education, economic development, and other community perspectives as well as health care.

A Review of FTA Section 5310 Program's State Management Plans: A Legacy Program in Transition

The Federal Transit Administrations Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program (§5310), in place since 1975, has been particularly important for states trying to fill gaps in accessible transportation services where existing transportation is “unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate.” This article provides a baseline review and analysis of §5310 State Management Plans. It shows the similarities and differences in the approaches states have taken in the kinds of policies they enact, what they emphasize, and how transportation services are organized, planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of elderly individuals and people with disabilities.