HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9227 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9227
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 13, 2010
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y SUBJECT: UPDATE ON SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)
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The purpose of this report is to brief the City Council on the Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP).
In 2007 the City of Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management re-launched a program designed to
provide the City of Fort Worth with vital information on residents with disabilities. The implementation of
an interactive Internet application for SNAP, designed and coded in-house, has enabled individuals and
social service organizations to easily enter and modify information online about residents who may require
special attention during times of emergency. The information collected through the SNAP website will be
utilized to improve disaster planning for residents with special needs, provide additional information to first
responders and assist residents in developing personal safety plans in the event of an emergency or disaster.
SNAP registration consists of filling out a simple form, broken into multiple pages for ease of use.
Residents can register at www.snapforvou.org or by calling the Office of Emergency Management at (817)
392-6144. Currently, there are 504 residents registered on SNAP.
The Special Needs screen asks if the registrant has any medical equipment that requires electricity, and if
so, whether the electricity required is continuous or intermittent. The registrant is also instructed to "check
all that apply" from a list of nine impairments, with a tenth impairment free-format input field provided that
dek IFthe registrant can fill in, if the nine listed impairments do not suffice. The registrant can also add a
comment of up to five hundred characters to elaborate on his/her disability. Information received by the
Office of Emergency Management through the SNAP program is stored on a secure database and kept
confidential for use by emergency response agencies only.
The Information Technology Solutions (ITS) Department additionally designed and implemented a process
to transfer the pertinent SNAP information over to the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. This
allows emergency responders to be provided timely information about a possibly infirm or disabled person
residing at a particular address. In March 2010, ITS received an award from the Public Technology
Institute for the SNAP/CAD Interface under the Public Safety Technology category.
Additionally, the City of Fort Worth received a Homeland Security Grant to enhance the web-site and
expand the program throughout North Central Texas. The regional website will be launched in April and a
marketing campaign will begin in May 2010.
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ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9227
ILATE To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 13, 2010
Page 2 of 2
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SUBJECT: UPDATE ON SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)
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The SNAP information can be mapped to improve response efforts during emergency or disaster situations.
A sample of a SNAP map is below.
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Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Juan Ortiz at (817) 392-6173.
Dale A. Fis eler, P.E.
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS