Homeland Security GSRCPI

Critical Employee Emergency Planning (CEEP)

Focus Group Survey Questionnaire

FAMILY MEMBER VERSION
   
Instructions: 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sponsoring the development and delivery of a training program by the Gulf States Regional Center for Public Safety Innovations (GSRCPI) entitled Critical Employee Emergency Planning (CEEP), that seeks to address the needs of critical employees and their family members. Below are question prompts that attempt to highlight important subject areas that have been identified for CEEP.  You are asked to review and provide personal and professional comments and recommendations for the purpose of developing this DHS-sponsored training curriculum.  The questions are not definitive and should be considered only starting points for discussion; suggestions for other questions/prompts are welcomed. This survey contains 12 questions that should take, on average, approximately 30-45 minutes to complete

Critical Infrastructure, Key Resource employees and Emergency Response Providers are referred to as “critical employees” or “CEs” throughout regardless of whether they are employed by government or private sector.  All persons intimately involved with or dependent upon employees during emergencies are referred to as “Family” regardless of legal status.

Your help in filling out this form accurately is CRITICAL; we want to ensure the usability of every single piece of information you offer us. For that reason, we ask that you read instructions and questions carefully. At the end of this survey you will be asked to respond to a 5-point Likert-scale rating of each subject matter area. The 5-point rating scale goes from “Not Important” to “Very Important.”
   

1. Operational Policies and Procedures
GENERAL:

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies or training or information on emergency/disaster planning (e.g. evacuation) for you (as a family member)?
  Yes
No

b) Are you aware of any other employers in your area (public or private) that do have such policies or procedures in place?

  Yes
No

c) If “yes”: how did they work during an emergency/disaster?

 

d) In general terms, if the employer of your CE family member had resources, what kinds of policies or procedures or information would have made your emergency/disaster experience better or less traumatic?
 
   
PRACTICE DRILLS & EXERCISES (not including NIMS):

e) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies, procedures, information or training resources to facilitate emergency drills and exercises, so that employees may sharpen emergency response skills and planning?
  Yes
No
f) If “yes”: Please explain in detail.
 
g) If “yes”: do they allow for the identification of existing gaps in planning and implementation?
 
h) If “no”: What sort of drills and exercises would be helpful?
 
PANDEMICS:

i) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies, procedures or training regarding preparation for potential pandemic outbreaks?
  Yes
No
If “yes”: Please explain in detail.
 
If “no”: would you recommend such?
 
   
QUARANTINE:

j) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies regarding quarantine? 
  Yes
No

k) If “yes”: What conditions/events/criteria trigger quarantine? Duration? Are individuals transported/remain in home, hospital, (pandemic or chemical exposure)?
 
   

2. Emergency Communications
GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS:

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies or procedures to assist with establishing contact with family when the local communication infrastructure fails?
  Yes
No
b) If “yes”: Please explain in detail.
 
   
WEBSITE MIRRORING:

c) Does the employer of your CE family member have “website-mirroring” or other technology in place to ensure your website will remain operational during an emergency/disaster crisis?

 

Yes
No

d) Would you consider it critical, during an emergency/disaster, that CE employees and family members are able to access online information about

 

your agency/company
community
employees
family members
   

3. Evacuation  and  Re-Entry
EVACUATION

a) If your family needs to evacuate, does the employer of your CE family member have policies or procedures that allow the CE employee time off/resources to help family prepare or leave the affected area? 
  Yes
No
b) If “yes”: Please explain
 
c) If “no”: What types of planning/preparation policies or procedures would you recommend?
 
   
RE-ENTRY

d) When the issue of re-entry arises, does the employer of your CE family member have policies or procedures that allow the CE employee time off/resources to help family prepare or appropriately time their return to the affected area?

  Yes
No
e) If “yes”: Please explain
 

f) If “no”: What types of planning/preparation policies or procedures would you recommend?

 
   

4. Mutual Aid Compacts
AGENCY/COMPANY:

a) Do you know if the employer of your CE family member has Mutual Aid Compacts (or agreements between partner agencies to help each other) that allow for professional resources to come to the area (e.g., personnel and equipment) in case of emergencies?

  Yes
No
b) If “yes”: Please explain
 
c) If “no”: What would have been helpful?
 
   
PERSONNEL & FAMILY:

d) Does the employer of your CE family member have Mutual Aid Compacts with sister agencies or companies/branches to assist employees and family members personally?

  Yes
No

e) If “yes”: Will that sister agency/partner take in and/or care for you and your dependents during an emergency evacuation?

 

f) If “no”: Would this type of relationship or mutual aid agreement be valuable and/or critical?

 
g) What type of services or assistance would you want?
 
h) Overall, what type of mutual aid compacts would be good?
 
   

5. Accessing Financial Resources

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies or training on emergency related resources such as (check all that apply):

 

Allowable expenses for CE employees and/or family during emergencies

Insurance policy coverage

FEMA resources

Accessing financial resources when banks/credit unions are offline/down

Other (Please explain.)  .
b) What information/training would have been helpful in this regard?
 
   

6. Mental Health Issues

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies, procedures or training to prepare CE employees and families for the mental health effects of emergency/disasters scenarios?
(Check all that apply)

 

Stress / CISD

Maintaining medication regimes

Seeking professional help

Problem symptoms in children

Depression / PTSD

Stress & Substance abuse

Stress & Family violence

Fear/Lawlessness/Community violence

Other (Please explain.) 

b) Would this type of information or training be helpful?
 
c) What specific area?
 
   

7. Survival Supplies & Checklists
a) What supplies do you wish your family would have stocked, before locking in or leaving? E.g. (Check all that apply)
 

Clean water/Canned goods

Batteries

Cell phone supplies

Pet food

Flashlights

Diapers/children’s needs

Other (Please explain.) 

b) What personal items would you recommend or wish you had taken when you/your family was/is forced to evacuate? E.g. (Check all that apply)
 

Family pictures

Laptop computers

Jewelry; heirlooms

Other (Please explain.) 

c) What critical documents should be included in evacuation checklists? E.g. (Check all that apply)
 

Employment Records

Birth Certificates; SSN

Insurance

DRL; Checkbook; Passport

Listing of important numbers

Medical Records

Mortgage/Deed docs

Other (Please explain.) 

d) Who do you consider responsible for providing you with the basics of food/clothing/shelter after an incident?

 

My CE’s Agency

My Family

My Self

e) Level of preparedness to provide food/clothing/shelter to you and your family after an incident (rank level of preparedness 1 – 5):
Not Prepared 1 2 3 4 5 Very Prepared

My CE family member’s agency

  

My Family

My Self
   

8. Transportation

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies, information, or procedures for employees and/or family members who may need transportation assistance (e.g., those without vehicles or public transit options, children, elderly, disabled, ill)?
 

Yes
No
b) What would you recommend?
 
   

9. Special Family Issues

a) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies, information or training resources to help employees plan for protecting elderly family members in nursing homes, hospitals, those with medical conditions, or no communication devices.

  Yes
No

b) Does the employer of your CE family member have policies or procedures to plan for and implement routines addressing the needs of children such as: emotional/mental health, school attendance, and travel, amongst others? 

  Yes
No

c) When both parents/caregivers are CEs and must remain on the job, are there resources provided to help care for children and/or elderly who may be dependent upon the CE employee?

  Yes
No

d) What options or technology devices would you recommend be implemented that would make CE separation from family easier?

 
e)  Is there other technology you would recommend for centralized information sharing during times of crisis (for CE employees and family members to communicate)?
 

f) Are you BOTH a CE employee and “family member”?
  Yes
No

g) Size of your family:

  1-3
4-6
7+

h) Do you have any family members with special needs?   
  Yes
No

i) Household Headed by:

  Two Parents
Single Parent
Other
   

10. Other: ____________?
a) What other policy/procedure recommendations can you offer to improve the lives of CE employees and their families during times of crisis?
 
b) What other training/information recommendations can you offer to improve the lives of CE employees and their families during times of crisis?
 
c) General observations about your own personal emergency/disaster experience and what would have helped (completely open-ended; any area/subject)
 
   

11. Protecting Critical Data

a) Do you know if the employer of your CE family member has policies or procedures protecting critical or sensitive personnel and agency information and documents?
  Yes
No

b) Do you know if they employ standard backup/preservation procedures using fire safes and digitally-protected computer information, including confidential information about family members?
  Yes
No
c) If “yes”: Please explain in detail.
 
d) If “no”: Do you consider this to be a critical need?
 
   

12.  Ranking of Importance of Issues

Please indicate how important you consider each category/issue to be on a scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important).  Remember to select one circle for each category.

Not Important 1 2 3 4 5 Very Important

a) Operational Policies and Procedures

  

b) Emergency Communications

c) Evacuation and Re-entry

d) Mutual Aid Compacts

e) Accessing Financial Resources

f) Mental Health Issues

g) Survival Supplies & Checklists

h) Transportation

i) Special Family Issues

j) Protecting Critical Data
   
DEMOGRAPHICS:
   

a) What size is your CE family member’s agency/company?
  Small (1 to 20 employees)
Medium (21 to 50 employees)
Large (51+ employees)

b) How long has your family member been working as a CE?

  1 to 3 years
4 to 10 years
10+ years
c) Have you been through a disaster?
  Yes
No
d) How many disasters has your family member worked as a CE:
 

e) What types of disasters has your family member worked as a CE? (Click all that apply)
 

Hurricane

Flood

Tornado

Earthquake 

Terrorist Attack

Fire

Pandemic

Other (Please explain.) 

   
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION:
Your personal information (name, agency, department, comments) will not be identifiably associated in any way with developed course materials or presentations; we would however like to thank you for your participation by listing your name in the “Thank You” section of the curriculum. For curricular research and development purposes we would like to have your contact information. This information also will allow us to inform you when the training is coming to your area in case you would like to take advantage of the priority status granted to focus group members.
   
Last Name First Name
Address
City
(that you wish materials to
be mailed to & published)		 State         Zip    
Phone E-mail
Fax    

What is your relationship to CE?
What is the profession of your CE family member?
   
Please check all that apply:
 

  I understand no comments or statements will be directly attributed to me, but do give my permission for my name to be printed in the “Thank you” portion of the curriculum.
  I do not wish to have my name printed in any way, on any materials.
  I would like to be contacted when this course comes to my region. 
  I do not wish to be contacted when the class is taught in this region.
  It is acceptable for TRCPI/GSRCPI staff to contact me further for questions or surveys.
  I do not wish to have TRCPI/GSRCPI staff contact me for future questions or surveys.
  It is acceptable for my contact info to be listed in a CEEP Focus Group Directory for colleagues to share.
  I do not wish my contact info listed in a CEEP Focus Group Directory for colleagues to share. 

Thank you very much for your CEEP Survey participation.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other thoughts, ideas, concerns or recommendations!