Swift and accurate communication with the general public is critical during major disasters and public-health emergencies. As government responds to the H1N1 influenza outbreak and prepares for the fall/winter flu season, agencies in charge of emergency management must develop and implement plans for communicating with and serving Limited English Proficient (LEP) residents before, during, and after an emergency.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 3:30PM EDT for a 90-minute interactive language access webinar on disaster management and emergency public health responses for LEP communities.

Preparing a Diverse Community: Emergency Response Plans for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Communities, our fifth language access webinar, will feature three presentations:

• Development, Implementation, and Use of the State of Hawaii’s Language Identification and Emergency Card (State of Hawaii Civil Defense Agency);
• Ready New York: Pandemic Flu and Outreach Efforts to LEP Communities in New York City (New York City Office of Emergency Management); and
• Including LEP Individuals in Preparations for the H1N1 Virus in Montgomery County, Maryland (Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County, Maryland).

A question-and-answer period will follow each presentation.

Who Should Participate in Our Webinar?

State and local government officials and agency administrators charged with or considering the development of language access services are encouraged to register for this free interactive webinar.

Highlighting practitioners from coast to coast, our series of conference calls/webinars focuses largely on challenges and practices in social services, elementary and secondary education, law enforcement, disaster/emergency and health care service delivery fields. We look forward to your participation in our upcoming webinar. Register for the call here.