Sarasota County Emergency Management would like to share an upcoming webinar with our Family Reunification Task Force members, as well as other stakeholders and regional partners who may find it relevant to their own reunification and family assistance efforts.
The IAEM Family Assistance Consortium is hosting “Victim Services in Family Assistance: From Partnerships to Practice” on October 13 at 3:00 PM ET. The webinar is part of an ongoing series focused on the family assistance framework used to support victims, survivors, families, and communities following critical incidents.
This topic is particularly relevant as Sarasota County continues looking at how agencies and disciplines come together following a mass-casualty or mass-fatality incident, and we recognize many of our regional partners are engaged in similar planning and coordination efforts. Family reunification is only one part of that process. Families may require coordinated information, victim services, behavioral health support, assistance navigating investigative processes, and other resources that can continue well beyond the initial response.
The webinar will address the role of victim services during criminal mass-casualty and mass-fatality incidents, why those capabilities are important to effective family assistance operations, and lessons from local, state, and federal practitioners supporting victims, survivors, and families from their immediate needs through long-term recovery. It will also discuss considerations for integrating victim services into preparedness, response, and recovery coordination.
Presenters will provide both federal and state perspectives:
Dr. Staci A. Beers – FBI Victim Services Division
Benjamin Bradshaw – Oregon Department of Justice, Crime Victim and Survivor Services Division
This is a good opportunity for those involved in reunification, family assistance, victim services, emergency management, public safety, behavioral health, communications, and related disciplines to hear how these concepts are being implemented elsewhere and consider how they may apply to our respective planning and coordination efforts.
The webinar is open to both IAEM members and non-members, so please feel free to share this opportunity with others in your organization, county, or partner agencies who may benefit from attending.