Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters: Progress despite practical impediments

Abstract

This article identifies the key elements of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s November 2010 Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters. It addresses the impact that such guidance will have within the emergency management and sheltering community, specifically what integration means from a policy perspective as well as from a practical standpoint. This article addresses the impetus behind the guidance and demonstrates that although budget constraints might not allow for all changes to be made immediately and completely, the guidance itself, as a standard to which state and local governments can aspire, is a critical development for the improvement of sheltering community members with functional needs.