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Disaster Recovery Navigator Program

In early October 2013, Suzanne Bassinger, Disaster Recovery Manager for Larimer County
gathered key stakeholders from the High Park Fire LTRG to discuss lessons learned before we
started the Flood LTRG. There were several learning experiences discussed but one of the
primary focuses was that the previous Case Management model was not the best fit for the
mountain survivors. The difficulty is that a Case Management center is established inside
Loveland (or Fort Collins) but the majority of the cases will be in the canyon areas of the Big
Thompson and Poudre Rivers. Estes Park will be served by a satellite location but there are no
firm plans on how folks will be seen there. There are over 3,700 FEMA cases open and there will
be 3 paid case managers as well as a handful of volunteers. The only way survivors can access
case management services is to make the trip to Loveland and to be available for appointments
within the hours of the centers schedule. This creates two barriers to service.

Additionally, the Mountain Outreach team exists with at least 18 employees and they are
charged with looking after the mental health needs and the mental recovery of the survivors.
They are considered an outreach team but they are not tasked with helping people understand
all the services they can access or having someone advocate for them as they navigate those
services.

The Disaster Recovery Navigator Program is designed to complement, not replace, existing
disaster case management services. This program operates under the theory that cultural guides
are necessary for taking case management into diverse areas, especially those disaster areas
that span a large geographic area and multiple cultures. Many disaster survivors may be able to
access services either of their own volition or through meeting with a disaster case manager.
The disaster case management model is based on a system of brokering in which case
managers meet with clients, help them identify needs and services, and then make referrals for
the clients to access services. The services are primarily offered from a (fairly) centrally located
office and clients are encouraged to make appointments to review their situations with a case
manager. Occasional follow-up calls may be made by case managers, much as brokers of any
other service will do. However, this proposed program goes beyond just connecting clients with
services.

The disaster recovery navigator program is more closely aligned to the Program of Assertive
Community Treatment (PACT) that has been used successfully for many years within the mental
health and substance abuse service delivery systems. PACT provides comprehensive, locally
based treatment but, unlike most other community-based programs, PACT is not a linkage or
brokerage case-management program that simply connects individuals to other services or
agencies. PACT members provide comprehensive services within individuals own homes, are
available outside of regular office hours and are not designed to be brief interventions. Rather,
a commitment is made to each qualifying individual to assist and empower them to develop and
reach their goals, regardless of the time required to do so.

Based in part upon this model, disaster recovery navigators (navigators) will provide outreach
services, meeting with clients in their own homes, temporary housing, or other locations within
their own communities. Clients may be physically, financially, and/or psychologically unable to
travel to the disaster case management office to meet with a case manager. Any client who has
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expressed an inability or unwillingness to meet a case manager in the office would be eligible to
be seen by a navigator in his/her home. Referrals may be made to the Disaster Recovery
Navigator Program by Colorado Spirit team members who become aware of individuals who are
unable and/or unwilling to meet a case manager in the office.

The Disaster Recovery Navigator Program will be comprised of multidisciplinary team members
all trained in disaster preparedness, response and recovery concepts. They will have access to
updated disaster assistance services and resources including housing, employment, food, and
financial programs for self-sufficiency. A disaster behavioral health consultant will be available
to the navigators to assist with referrals for stress-related problems.

A primary goal of navigators is to assist clients in the development and accomplishment of short
and long-term disaster recovery goals. Navigators will promote stabilization, self-
empowerment, and resilience through regular, ongoing meetings with clients. During these
meetings, navigators may assist with comprehension and completion of required
documentation; model self-regulation and stability; provide information about self-care and
family well-being; and, overall, help create a sense of safety that allows clients to access and
utilize more effective problem-solving and communication skills. Navigators may accompany
clients to meetings with disaster resource agencies/officials to advocate for and support them
during potentially emotionally volatile times. These services are much more intensive, client-
centered and comprehensive than existing disaster case management services.

What specific need is unmet regarding case management?

The current disaster case management system is largely dependent upon individuals having
reliable transportation, willingness to travel outside of their local communities and the physical,
mental and psychological capacities to meet with a case manager in an office to review their
(painful) situations. This system fails to acknowledge the fact that some individuals are too
overwhelmed to address their losses, actively seek assistance and meet deadlines. Additionally,
the existing disaster case management system utilizes a one size fits all approach to service
delivery. Cultural, language and legal status challenges routinely create barriers to the receipt of
services. Vulnerable, disempowered and fearful individuals are expected to have strength, trust
and assertiveness to seek and receive services. This lack of cultural competence is a huge gap in
the current disaster assistance system, and especially, within the existing disaster recovery
model.

Navigators will reach out to individuals, travel to meet with them, establish supportive
relationships, meet regularly with them, and provide all appropriate services to help these
individuals regain stability and resilience.


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In regard to the concept of nine Disaster Recovery Navigators, please provide further detail about
how SERVE 6.8 sees this as a sustainable network through the nine month funding period?

The CSU School of Social Work (and possibly other departments) will provide student interns
throughout the nine month funding period. Social work students seek placements in the fall,
spring and summer sessions. They require learning experiences that provide opportunities to
practice social work skills with individuals, groups and communities. The Disaster Recovery
Navigator Program will provide opportunities for students to learn and practice multi-system,
cross-cultural skills while providing valuable services for individuals and communities impacted
by disasters.

This nine month funding period will provide the foundation for an ongoing, sustainable program
for comprehensive disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The initial group of trained
navigators will, in addition to working one-on-one with affected individuals, provide educational
sessions in impacted neighborhoods and communities. Community members will be recruited to
become neighborhood navigators who can help their neighbors by becoming knowledgeable
about disaster recovery resources and processes. The neighborhood navigators can broker,
connect, and advocate for individual and community needs. Developing these neighborhood
navigators will create sustainability in the community after the initial disaster navigators are
gone.

Undergraduate social work students must complete a total of 450 hours in field placements
(internships). This is most frequently accomplished by working approximately 30 hours/week
for 16 weeks (one semester) although some students complete their internships over a two-
semester period, working approximately 15 hours/week for up to 32 weeks.
Although students' interests vary, up to ten social work students per semester may be placed
with Serve 6.8 for community-based internships. Some students choose to extend - or begin -
their internships during the summer session. This will provide a more seamless integration of
new students into the program with each new semester.
Forty hours of training will be provided for Navigators prior to their engagement with
individuals in the community. The training will be coordinated by a seasoned social worker with
disaster planning, response and recovery experience and who will be providing ongoing
consultation and training. Guest lecturers will be utilized to address specific training needs such
as FEMA disaster recovery resources, policies and procedures; American Red Cross Disaster
Recovery resources; Long Term Recovery Group resources; and insurance policy guidance.
Navigators will spend the first two weeks in training where classroom training will be
interspersed with orientation visits to affected communities. As part of the plan for
sustainability, selected Navigators will be mentored to become team trainers.
Are there plans to continue the network Navigators beyond the nine month period? How will that
be sustained?

Once the Disaster Navigators are trained, one of the first tasks they have in addition to visiting
survivors, is to identify leading individuals in the neighborhoods who can then be trained as
Neighborhood Navigators. The initial Disaster Navigators will replicate themselves as many as
several times over during this nine month period. Once there are established Neighborhood
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Navigators, there will be no need to keep the original nine Disaster Navigators as there will be a
volunteer system of Neighborhood Navigators working in their communities during the duration
of the recovery process.

As a final component of the funded Disaster Recovery Navigator Program, Disaster Navigators
and Neighborhood Navigators will begin to address disaster preparedness issues and activities
for the coming year. Training will be provided regarding disaster mitigation; individual, family
and community disaster response plans; and sustainable community recovery plans for
potential, future disasters. The navigators will explore networking with other communities to
strengthen the disaster recovery navigator system and to establish opportunities for continued
training and outreach. Should another disaster strike the area, the framework for a readily
established, comprehensive, disaster recovery system will be in place.