OCR issues communications tool for emergency responders in disaster

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights yesterday issued recommendations and resources to help first responders provide language assistance to people with limited English proficiency and disabilities during disaster response and recovery. “Recent natural disasters have demonstrated the importance of ensuring accessibility to health and human services for everyone living in the United States, including people who are limited English proficient or with disabilities in need of interpretation and translation services,” said OCR Director Roger Severino. “I commend our first responders for keeping Americans safe, and hope that this tool will assist them and the diverse communities they serve in emergency situations.”