Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters

[James Shaw]

One of the classes I teach is EMG4001 Interagency Disaster Management for Waldorf University. One of the assignments is specific to Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs). If you had the chance to ask one question for discussion what would the topic be and why? Does not have to be CAP specific.

I know this is very broad and is intended to be.

[jhighman]

I would guess that by the time your students have reached a 400 level course that they are well past the remember-understand-apply phases of Blooms taxonomy and are ready for the deeper analyze-evaluate-create stages.

I would task my students with using their previous knowledge and experiences to justify their own personal choices for participating with a specific organization, including describing what that organization does, how it differs from others, and why it is important. This engages the analyze-evaluate stages nicely.

[xyzzy]

Will all the organizations you might call  to your disaster be able to send a liaison to the EOC or command post, and what challenges will you face with the liaison (if any) being able to communicate with the other members of his/her organization?

I suggest this because many the geographical structure of VOAD organizations  varies greatly, and getting a representative to any particular point may involve a long drive under disaster conditions. The communications of such organizations also varies greatly.

[THRAWN]

You might want to address the training deltas between VOADs. What are the pros/cons of having a recognized and certified national standard/minimum training requirement before the organization will be considered for an activation?