The resources below are among a number of new tools developed by the CDC Public Health Law Program for professionals and policy makers to use in strengthening their agencies’ and jurisdictions’ legal preparedness for all-hazards public health emergencies.

Public Health Emergency Law v. 3.0 Forensic Epidemiology v. 3.0 Coordinated Implementation of Community Response Measures (Including Social Distancing) to Control the Spread of Pandemic Respiratory Disease: A Guide for Developing an MOU for Public Health, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and the Judiciary A Framework for Improving Cross-Sector Coordination for Emergency Preparedness and Response: Action Steps for Public Health, Law Enforcement, the Judiciary, and Corrections Menu of Suggested Provisions for Public Health Mutual Aid Agreements Inventory of Mutual Aid Agreements and Related Resources National Action Agenda for Public Health Legal Preparedness Social Distancing Law Assessment Template Community Pan_Flu Preparedness: A Checklist of Key Legal Issues for Healthcare Providers Portfolio of Public Health Law Bench Books

Dismissal of School Children in the Context of Pandemic Influenza
In response to national pandemic preparedness priorities, CDC commissioned the independent Centers for Law and the Public's Health: A Collaborative at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities to review the state-level legal framework for reducing the density of school classrooms, with specific focus on closure of schools, as a social distancing or social mitigation measure to slow the spread of an H5N1 influenza pandemic or similar highly contagious infectious disease. The Centers’ researchers restricted their scope of inquiry to laws adopted at the state level and to laws that expressly address school closure. (The study did not address any relevant laws adopted at the local level, nor did it address any relevant general laws.) The Centers’ report Legal Preparedness for School Closures in Response to Pandemic Influenza and Other Emergencies presents a summary description of the express state laws reviewed by the researchers as of late 2006, together with the authors' observations about those laws (click here to view the report). The report is also accessible on the federal government's comprehensive pandemic influenza website (http://www.pandemicinfluenza.gov) and on the Centers' website (http://www.publichealthlaw.net).

In the News

Getting ahead of the next big storm
Christian Science Monitor     (09/08/08)     Patrik Jonsson
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0908/p01s02-usgn.html

In the face of destruction wreaked by three devastating storm systems -- Gustav, Hanna, and Ike -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had the opportunity to test its new proactive response philosophy. "Dynamic regrouping" uses clearly demarked lines of communication to move resources along the storm paths so they will be ready when they are most needed. Under the new response structure, FEMA's planning team consists of one team concentrating on recovery operations, and another working to anticipate needs ahead of a storm's landfall. The response effort entails collaboration between the military, civilian emergency professionals, and volunteers. The new philosophy places increased emphasis on volunteer capabilities, giving emergency officials a better sense than during previous disasters of who the volunteers are and what they are trained to do.
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	Mutual Aid A comprehensive "checklist" of provisions and resources for Mutual Aid agreements. Mutual Aid		The CDC Public Health Law News A free monthly digest of news on public health law and policy, mailed to your email account. The News
	Portfolio of Public Health Law Bench Books A collection of public health law bench books. Portfolio.		National Action Agenda for Public Health Legal Preparedness Improving public health jurisdictions’ legal preparedness for public health emergencies National Action Agenda.