Crisis Management

FEMA Fact Sheet: July 2021

July 2021 1

Building Private-Public Partnerships Executive Summary The revision of the National Response Framework in 2019 emphasized government and private sector collaboration to support effective coordination of resources and the stabilization of community lifelines. The National Integration Center released the Building Private-Public Partnerships guide in July 2021 that helps public and private sector emergency managers collaborate to increase resilience.

This guide provides a business case, a four-step process, recommendations and resources for any jurisdictions to establish, maintain or mature a mutually beneficial cooperative private-public partnership (P3) to collaborate, coordinate and implement mitigation, response and recovery planning and preparedness.

The P3 Development Process A P3 for emergency management is any type of informal or formal cooperative arrangement between two or more organizations of private industry and the public sector for their mutual benefit that is designed to ensure the life safety, economic security and resilience of jurisdictions. The guide provides a simple process to create or refine P3s.

Plan: The optimal time to initiate the P3 process is during “blue-sky” periods pre-disaster. Organizers should determine whether a P3 is strategic, responsive or both. A diverse membership maximizes the shared benefits.

Engage: Leverage existing business alliances, affinity groups and organizational structures, as well as issuing a broad and inclusive invitation to participate. The guide provides numerous examples of adapting established structures to advise on and implement resilience building actions.

Building Private-Public Partnerships Guide

Learn more at fema.gov July 2021 2

Integrate: A P3 should develop common resilience and disaster operations objectives based on an assessment of shared disaster risk exposure. Some P3s at higher levels of maturity may establish a virtual or physical BEOC. In May 2020 the BEOC Quick Start Fact Sheet was released.

Assess & Refine: Continuous improvement is essential to P3 development and maturation. Successful P3s have a clarity of purpose, targets and outcomes that can be measured and tracked over time.

Getting Started The guide provides numerous examples, resources and checklists for building or maturing a P3. These include:

 Startup Checklist - Appendix B provides an example of a P3 startup checklist that provides planning, engagement, integration and assessment guidance.

 Charter - Appendix F provides an example charter for formally organizing a P3.  Membership Agreement - Appendix G provides a sample P3 membership agreement.  Job Description - Appendix H provides a sample job description for a P3 coordinator.  Examples - Appendix J provides examples of how a few jurisdictions conduct P3 engagements.

Whole Community Resilience A P3 can help to mitigate stressors on individuals and communities that a disaster causes, such as job loss, damaged housing or the inability to operate small businesses, by strengthening social networks and connections, improving social cohesion and fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion. A P3 provides a mechanism to address resilience challenges, confirm mutual priorities, engage in problem-solving dialogue and identify capabilities that benefit the whole community and are scalable from a local crisis to a national disaster.

What Can A P3 Do?  A P3 connects people, business, organizations, and government to build relationships and collaboration.  A P3 offers an ideal forum to assess risks and vulnerabilities, develop stabilization targets for its jurisdiction and

contribute to efforts that keep community lifelines and supply chains operational.  A P3 can facilitate integrated joint planning, recognize interdependencies among potential impacts; identify and

resolve potential conflicts; and develop or validate planning assumptions.  A P3 provides a consistent integration point for private, non-governmental and public sector coordination for

sustained resilience, response and recovery activities.  A P3 can connect emergency management and economic development interests in a community.

Learn more at the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center website at https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac.

Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) Grantee Strategies and Ideas for Virtual Outreach

Ideas for Delivering Individual Crisis Counseling

• Identify warming locations for individuals who are homeless during the winter months and use those sites to distribute resources and connect with them.

• Coordinate with an in-state emergency rental assistance program to distribute resources and reach out to individuals and families served by the program.

• Partner with human resource departments of area businesses and schools to offer wellness check-in appointments in which teachers and other employees can talk privately with a crisis counselor. Use an online scheduling program that allows employees to schedule appointments without other employees at their organizations knowing they have done so.

• With hard-to-reach target populations, such as nursing home residents or students, target their support staff, teachers, parents, administrators, or relevant coalitions, providing information and resources that they will hopefully filter down to the target population.

• Offer resources, a hotline number, and virtual groups as needed for department of corrections staff in places where COVID-19 cases have spread rapidly within these environments.

• Collaborate with retired educators to establish response teams that can be deployed to schools affected by COVID-19, taking help directly to educators and school support staff.

• Post resources and hotline numbers in public areas of local hospitals and share with patients. • Hold social check-in calls or establish “chat buddy” relationships between CCP staff and people

living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. • Start or participate in a pen pal program between CCP staff and residents in nursing homes and

assisted living facilities.

Ideas for Delivering Group Crisis Counseling and Public Information Sessions

• Schedule virtual presentations with middle school and high school health classes. • Offer “conversation cafes” to provide an anonymous, supportive environment for people to talk

with each other. Promote these cafes to assisted living facilities, nursing homes, healthcare clinics, unified command staff, etc.

• Offer virtual support groups to overburdened parents trying to support their children through the unpredictable and often changing environment.

• Broadcast short video messages via Facebook Live and Instagram stories. • Provide virtual presentations to Rotary Clubs, the Elks, farmers’ associations, and other

community organizations that include information about the CCP as well as self-care and coping strategies.

• Hold drop-in educational sessions at set times each month to provide background information about the CCP’s services.

• Hold children’s reading hours at local libraries that include information about stress management and coping strategies for children and parents.

• Set up town hall meetings with state staff or other professional groups to share information about the program.

Learn more at the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center website at https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac.

• As part of public information sessions held with schoolchildren, ask the students to join in efforts to support the older adult population of their community. Ask students to write a letter or create some artwork that can be collected and then distributed to residents of eldercare facilities.

• Establish new or connect with existing private support groups on social media channels related to topics such as these:

o Domestic violence o Substance use disorders o Employment for Spanish speakers o Anxiety and stress o Grief

Ideas for Outreach and Program Promotions

• Include website addresses, phone lines, or other program messages through programmable road signs run by the department of transportation.

• Print program information on adhesive floor signs (the 6 ft. distance type of floor signs). • Include program contact information in messaging issued with scheduled COVID testing

appointments and testing results such as emails and flyers. • Partner with professional sports teams to mention the program or promote the program when

airing games. • Have program information printed on signage placed on top of gas pumps located at

participating businesses. • Place a program advertisement in the obituary section of print and electronic media sources. • Drop off, mail, or email materials and tip sheets through the following organizations:

o Places of employment for healthcare practitioners and first responders o Places of worship for clergy o Funeral homes for staff and families o Local businesses, which can email materials to their remote workers o Grocery stores and pharmacies/drugstores o Restaurants and other businesses making deliveries o Police and fire stations for the community and the staff o Nursing homes and other residential centers for residents and staff o Municipal or government buildings and offices that remain open o Food banks and Meals on Wheels for distribution in boxes or bags of food for pickup o School lunches or meal distribution locations o Children’s take-home backpack programs o Subsidized food delivery services o Banks and other financial institutions which they can share with customers

• Collaborate with other state agencies to include a link to the CCP website on web pages for the

following: o Unemployment benefits o Social services o Healthcare services or associations

Learn more at the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center website at https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac.

o Emergency management o COVID testing resources o School district parent and teacher resource pages

• Partner with utility companies to include program information in their customer communications such as billing statements or payment receipts.

• Create public Facebook groups or provide resources to public Facebook groups focused on specific topics, such as meditation and yoga or wellness.

• Develop one informational contact sheet for the program and translate it into multiple languages.

• Engage famous state residents to read a story for children on camera, and post the recording to social media channels.

• Connect with podcasts and news channels that are popular in your state to promote the program and participate in interviews with the broadcasters.

• Partner with eldercare or similar care facilities to add holiday decorations and holiday messages to building windows (e.g., colored markers on outside of windows).

• Partner with state department of transportation (DOT) divisions to include program messaging on DOT electronic billboards.

Ideas for Program Management

• Convene collaborative conference calls with other states in the region to discuss best practices, brainstorm, and share resources.

• Hire staff from underrepresented communities or those populations you are targeting for services. Likewise, recruit staff members who are bilingual and fluent in the languages spoken by communities in your state.

• Break down silos of employees between service providers and encourage all staff to consider themselves part of one CCP team.

• Use Microsoft Teams or Zoom during staff meetings to encourage engagement and provide support to team members.

• Develop a layer or cadre of subject matter experts to assist the team leads and outreach staff in the following areas:

o Agricultural and rural issues o Knowledge of and outreach to groups of individuals and communities, such as children

and families, individuals with developmental disabilities, military families and veterans, and older adults

o Domestic violence, homelessness, and urban issues o Self-care

• Promote a staff member each week on Facebook with a picture and interview on the person to show we are just like survivors.