Webcast Outline: April 30, 2008

Community Strategy

• Isolation and treatment of ill persons
• Voluntary home quarantine of household contacts
• Dismissal of students from school and child care and social distancing
• Workplace/community social distancing

• Different communities will be at different intervals during the pandemic
• State or community level planning needs a locally-defined trigger
• National curve is a reflection of state/local curves

Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

Community Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

• Student dismissal/school closure has major ramifications and presents huge obstacles for planning.
• Secretary Spellings encourages State Education Chiefs to join state planning efforts.

Community Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

• The Department of Education has:
  • Published a planning brochure;
  • Held outreach meetings and a focus group;
  • Developed Departmental guidance to assist state and local educational agencies in pandemic planning.

Community Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

• States may only have limited authority for school closure/student dismissal
• The guidance to states provides minimum elements for consideration in planning. If the state has limited authority or if items are not applicable, note this.

Community Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

General comments about the Question and Answers

1. This document will be continually updated.
2. The term student dismissal was chosen to highlight the goal of keeping as many teachers and staff working as possible.
3. The guidance provides as much state and local flexibility as current law allows.
4. Some decisions will be based on individual waivers during the event.
5. Q and As can be found at: www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/index.html

Community Mitigation Guidance and Student Dismissal

• We hope to gather more examples of planning so please send examples that we can post to www.ed.gov.
• We will provide additional technical assistance via VTC on May 19.
• Department of Education contacts:
  Dana Carr – dana.carr@ed.gov
  Camille Welborn – camille.welborn@ed.gov

Community Mitigation Interventions

• Sick people stay home
• Household members of a sick person stay home
• Children dismissed from school, child-care closed, and children do not re-congregate in the community
• Adult social distancing at work and in the community

Secondary Effects on Individuals and Communities

• Individuals and Families
  • Income/job security due to absenteeism, especially as related to school closure and child minding
  • Protecting children from exposure
  • Continuity of education
  • Fear, worry, stigma
  • Access to essential goods and services
  • Home-based healthcare

Secondary Effects on Individuals and Communities

• Communities/Businesses/Governments
  • Maintaining business continuity
  • Sustaining critical infrastructure
  • Availability of essential goods and services (supply chain)
  • Supporting vulnerable populations

Potential Impact on Workforce of School Dismissals

• Data on households with children under 15 years of age and all adults working show 11% of the workforce will be impacted
• For households with children under 13 years of age, 9% of the workforce will be impacted

Poll Results: Financial Problems in a Severe Pandemic

• Fall 2006 survey*
• Percent of respondents who said they would have serious financial problems if they had to miss work for one month ranges from
  • 37% of those who make $75K or more
  • to 84% of those who make less than $25K

* Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security

Coping with Dismissal from School

• Employer/workplace flexibilities that would allow for child care by working parent
  • Telework
  • Paid leave; leave of absence
  • Flexible schedules (parents on alternate shifts)

Coping with Dismissal from School

• Use of alternate caregivers
  • Older children in household (college/high school)
  • SMALL neighborhood child care group
  • Extended family

Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

• 15 Federal nutrition assistance programs (Food Stamp, WIC, school breakfast and lunch, child care, & commodity distribution programs)
• 2007 - Over 5 billion school lunches and 1.2 billion child care meals served

USDA Child Nutrition Programs

• Authority to operate school and childcare meal programs only when children are in attendance

The Challenge

• Providing food to vulnerable children that receive free and reduced price meals requires alternative strategies during a pandemic

FNS Pandemic Strategy

• Disaster Food Stamp Benefits
  • Authority for flexible response
  • Provides food for home use by families
  • Maximum benefits can compensate for loss of school meals
  • Rapid assistance for newly eligible families

What Should Communities Do?

• Be familiar with allowable USDA procedures and programs that provide nutrition assistance
• Include nutrition programs in interagency pandemic planning
• Educate residents to “Be Prepared”

For More Information…

• Visit FNS Website
  www.fns.usda.gov/disasters/pandemic/default.htm
  www.fns.usda.gov/cga/Contacts/RegionContacts.htm