National Commission on Children and Disasters visits Iowa

Amanda and Chad Smestad told their daughters to pack a week's worth of clothes as the Cedar River began to overrun their neighborhood 19 months ago.

“We have not been back since then,” Amanda Smestad said. “It changed our lives forever.”

Amanda and daughters Kaileigh, 12, and Rhaelynne, 9, attended Wednesday's Cedar Rapids field visit of the National Commission on Children and Disasters, formed in December 2007 to address the needs of children and their families during and after disasters such as Iowa's June 2008 floods. Commission members are gathering information they'll use to write a final report to President Obama and Congress in October.

“There are more requirements to include dogs and cats in disaster planning than there are requirements for children,” said Mark Shriver, a commission member and vice president and managing director for the Save the Children organization.

Addressing that situation, which Shriver called “appalling,” means the application of what he termed “common sense principles” to consider pediatric and medical needs, education, case management, child care, and family housing.

That needn't mean a new federal program, Shriver and other commissioners said. Rather, it's a matter of planning and applying lessons learned from previous disasters to create uniform standards for state and local governments relief and recovery efforts.

Commission members spent the day meeting with officials from Iowa and local government and school districts, including Cedar Rapids, Parkersburg, and Waverly, all hit by tornadoes or flooding in 2008. David Miller, administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, noted some communities emphasized counseling efforts, while others built playgrounds to memorialize their disaster.

“One response is not better than the other, but it does shown how varied the response can be,” said Miller.

Shriver noted the commission has already had an effect: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now requires shelters to stock diapers, cribs, and infant formula. The final report will likely recommend federal agencies supporting day care and after-school programs require evacuation, reunification, and recovery plans.

“Those dollars ought to be tied requirement that those facilities have a relocation plan,” Shriver said.

Dardis noted Cedar Rapids area schools already have evacuation and reunification plans because of the nearby Duane Arnold Energy Center's nuclear power plant. But the area and the state are still learning, well into the second year of flood recovery.

The Smestads are renting a house in northeast Cedar Rapids - their fifth address since the flood. Their effort to rebuild their home on Fourth Street SW, halted when they learned they're eligible for a buyout. Despite the delays and setbacks, “we have been each other's strength,” Amanda Smestad said.

“Communication is key” was Smestad's advice to the commission. “(Children) are able understand. Sure, they were scared, but they were ready.”

For the National Commission on Children and Disasters, including its interim report: www.childrenanddisasters.acf.hhs.gov/home.html.