Emergency Response

The Office of Community Services (OCS) issued $474.5 million in Social Services Block Grant funding to Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island in support of the states’ recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy.

ACF's Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response director reflects on her recent trip to sites devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

The Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response urges communities to take infant feeding — including breastfeeding — into consideration when preparing for a disaster.

From bringing back Head Start and child care centers online, to providing immediate disaster case management, to ensuring the timely delivery of human services, Region 2 staff are on the frontline of a disaster whose recovery has just begun.

Head Start centers in New York and New Jersey are opening their doors to their communities and helping put lives back together.

ACF leadership visits New York and New Jersey to survey affected programs and meets with local officials who are ready to rebuild.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration Disaster Technical Assistance Center has put together a resource list for the disaster behavioral health needs of children and youth, related organizations, and tips for parents, caregivers, and teachers as they help their children recover from a disaster or childhood trauma.

Addressing human services is one of the critical improvements to the federal emergency response system since Hurricane Katrina dealt such a devastating blow to New Orleans in 2005. ACF's Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response coordinates efforts that reflect the understanding that emergency response calls for not only immediate shelter, food and medical care, but also that essential human services remain available.

Weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that this year’s Halloween most definitely will not be a treat for folks on the East Coast. What many are dubbing “Frankenstorm” — a winter storm mixed in with late season Hurricane Sandy —poses hazards including gale-force winds, heavy rains and snow, flooding, and electrical power outages along the mid-Atlantic and in New England.

September is National Preparedness Month. ACF’s Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response has a special message for families.