Disaster/Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Plan
Note: This policy was recommended by the Operations Committee
and adopted on June 17, 2011 by the Legal Aid of North Carolina Board of Directors.
Introduction
Over the years, LANC offices, staff and clients have experienced
the effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes and
flooding. When faced with these events, staff and others have
coordinated efforts to maintain operations and to provide legal
services to existing and new clients. In addition to natural
disasters, an office or offices may experience an emergency, defined
as a sudden, usually unexpected event that does or could do harm to
persons, resources, property and/or the environment.
Emergencies can range from localized events affecting a single
office to human, natural or technological events that damage or
threaten to damage operations.
This Plan will address the safety of personnel, clients and property
and the continuation of LANC operations during an
emergency/disaster. The executive director is responsible for
implementing the Plan, including the approval of any necessary
expenditures. Realistically, this Plan cannot address all
contingencies, but will serve as a guideline to be supplemented by
further instructions dictated by circumstance.
Purpose
This Plan is designed to:
1. Minimize the loss of life and/or injury to any member of the
staff and any clients who may be present in the offices should an
emergency occur;
2. Be available to clients and to avoid disruption of program
operations to the extent possible; and
3. Protect and preserve the assets and facilities of LANC.
Preparedness
The assistant director of finance and administration (ADFA) will
ensure that LANC financial documents are safe and secure so that
LANC may continue its financial activities, including payroll,
accounts payable and accounts receivable, and address any financial
obligations or issues for the smooth operation of the organization
in the event of an emergency or disaster. Also, the ADFA will
maintain appropriate insurance coverage on LANC property and assets
at all times as well as maintain the requisite information about
such policies along with contact information for the insurance agent
and for filing claims. This information will be stored to
ensure access if the Administrative Office is damaged or otherwise
inaccessible.
The human resources director will develop and maintain a current
list of all contact information (personal telephone numbers and
personal email addresses) for each employee as well as contact
information for an individual to contact in case an employee suffers
an emergency or other disaster. The human resources director
will update this information annually by sending out an email
request to staff to revise the contact information.
Staff should routinely and consistently preserve/save/scan important
case related documents in client electronic files so that records
are not lost even if hard copies may be damaged or destroyed.
This will include any pleadings and correspondence from persons
other than the client. Further, staff will be expected to
secure all client files in appropriate filing cabinets at the close
of business daily. Attorneys will be expected to maintain
accessible calendars showing upcoming client appointments and
hearing dates to ensure that client services are not interrupted or
unduly impacted.
The technology staff will ensure that all computer/network software
and operating systems are secure and properly backed up on a regular
schedule.
As part of an office's annual work plan, the local managing attorney
and the executive director will develop and/or update a
plan/checklist to address specific office needs that will supplement
this Plan. This supplemental plan will include current contact
information for all employees in the local field or administrative
office as well as essential contact information for LANC management,
the Recovery Team members identified below as well as building
managers, fire department, emergency medical personnel and police.
The manager will provide current contact information to each staff
member. Further, the managing attorney/executive director will
indicate how the office, equipment and client files and other
documents will be secured prior to, and during an emergency or
disaster.
Post Disaster/Emergency
As soon as practical after the event has occurred, the local
managing attorney will assess the impact of the disaster/emergency
on office operations, staff and clients. Specifically, the
managing attorney will determine what damage, if any, has been
sustained by the office, take pictures as may be needed for filing
insurance claims and will determine if the office is operational.
Appropriate signage about the hours of operation will be posted on
the office entrance or other visible locations as well as on
websites and answering machines. Also, the manager will
contact local staff to determine if any personal losses will affect
their ability to return to work as well as the impact on the local
communities. After this initial assessment, the manager will
contact the executive director to report on the impact of the
disaster/emergency on the office, its staff and local communities.
The executive director will determine whether to convene the
Recovery Team to assist with reopening the office and providing any
additional assistance to the affected office, staff and communities.
The members of the Recovery Team are the executive director, the
assistant director of finance and administration, the assistant
director of advocacy and compliance, the local managing attorney(s)
of the affected office(s) and the appropriate regional manager.
The executive director may convene the Recovery Team as soon as
possible prior to or directly after a disaster/emergency has
occurred to assess damage and notify the staff of what steps are to
be taken and when. The executive director shall have the
authority to implement the Plan without convening or prior to
convening the Recovery Team.
The additional assistance provided by the executive
director/Recovery Team may include use of the office as shelter for
staff who are unable to stay in their residences. At a
minimum, the local managing attorney will be directed to gather
information about local resources and to communicate with staff and
existing clients. This communication will determine the safety
of staff and their ability to return to work as well as ensuring
advocates contact clients about any pending deadlines and/or
litigation. Attorneys are expected to fulfill their
professional responsibilities to their assigned clients or to take
steps to ensure that those responsibilities are satisfied.
In the event that a disaster/emergency should occur with little or
no warning, the operational activities undertaken by the executive
director/Recovery Team will be directed toward protecting life and
property, containing or limiting the effects of the
disaster/emergency and estimating the requirements for restoration
and recovery from the effects of the disaster/emergency. The
executive director/Recovery Team will implement these activities so
as to minimize any disruption to the provision of services to
clients.
Services to New, Disaster-Related Applicants/Clients
The executive director/Recovery Team will coordinate program
efforts to serve victims of a disaster/emergency affecting an
office's designated service area. These efforts may include
information about services being provided, such as FEMA Disaster
Relief and other charities, outreach efforts to the affected
communities, such as identifying sites for in-person intakes and
assigning staff to those sites; expanded hotline telephone intakes
through volunteers and staff attorneys; and development of pro bono
volunteers to accept referrals.
_____
LAST UPDATED: June 17, 2011
_____
Disaster/Emergency Preparedness and Recovery Plan
(LANC)
June 17, 2011
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website are for information and
educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.
Also please note that Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide
legal assistance by E-mail. Contact your Legal Aid of North Carolina
office or a private attorney if you need to speak to an attorney
regarding your particular situation.
See our complete disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm
that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income
people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove
legal barriers to economic opportunity.