Federal Agencies Issue Joint Guidance to Help Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Providers
Comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
On August 16, 2016, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security and Transportation issued joint guidance to help ensure that recipients of federal financial assistance do not discriminate against individuals and communities on the basis of race, color or nation origin when providing emergency preparedness, response and recovery services.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in federally funded programs or activities. Discrimination in a recipient's emergency planning, response and recovery activities violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The guidance suggests a series of steps recipients can adopt now to ensure compliance:
- Share information about housing, health services or other emergency-related services and nondiscrimination rights to diverse racial, ethnic and Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations;
- Engage with and seek input from diverse racial, ethnic and LEP populations to determine how best to tailor emergency planning, response and recovery efforts;
- Widely disseminate evacuation and disaster preparedness plans, including to LEP populations;
- Ensure that all entities know that most public services for protection of life and safety provided by recipients of federal financial assistance do not have immigration status restrictions; and
- Routinely collect and analyze information about the potentially affected populations to help ensure effective, nondiscriminatory allocation of resources and services.
"Discriminatory practices in health care can be life-threatening and this is especially true in emergencies and disaster situations," said Director Jocelyn Samuels of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights. "This guidance will help leaders in the emergency management community understand their obligations under Title VI and the critical steps they can take to best serve the whole community, including individuals with access and functional needs."
