Abt Associates, under a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, worked with the National Commission on Children and Disasters to prepare a report advising President Obama and Congress on the unique needs of children in natural or manmade disasters. The report included recommendations that address preparation for, response to, and recovery from all hazards, including disasters.
 
Children’s needs in a disaster often are overlooked or misunderstood. One of Abt Associates’ primary tasks on this project was to help the commission ensure that the voices of the many advocates for children are identified and heard as information was gathered and synthesized for the commission’s final report. Under the commission’s direction, Abt gathered lessons learned from prior disasters.
 
Such lessons include work by other U.S. agencies that have coordinated response efforts to the tsunami in American Samoa, the earthquake in Haiti, hurricanes that have impacted the U.S. Gulf Coast region, and the floods that devastated parts of Iowa in 2008. These agencies shared their experiences in a series of field hearings and public meetings that the commission conducted, which were synthesized and addressed in the report.
 
Read the final report.