This assignment asks you to analyze the response of an agency to the needs of residents of a target community (New Orleans) rather than to an individual. The ongoing impact of the current pandemic rightly has our nation’s attention, it will be some time before the we understand the full impact of the federal response, and of how state, and local governments, and other public and private agencies met the challenges of covid 19. Instead, we turn our attention back in time to Hurricane Katrina and the American Red Cross (ARC) response. Like any agency providing services that meet human needs, the ARC has a formal mission statement and uses the same core tasks of case management, linking to the external environment and systems thinking that we have discussed in reference to your focal agencies. For this assignment, your task is to analyze the Red Cross, not to describe what they did.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the city of New Orleans on the morning of August 29, 2005. When the levees broke and almost 80 percent of the city flooded, at least 400,000 residents were displaced. Of those evacuated, many relocated to states near family or friends, while others only learned of their destination once their evacuation and relocation was underway.
- Using the following links provided and any other sources you find, provide a brief overview of the events before, during and after Hurricane Katrina:
– The White House
, 2015 article
, June, 2011 SEHSD Working Paper Number 201117, by Kimberly A. Geaghan ()
, 2006, by John R. Logan at Brown University ()
2. Specific to shelter, housing, and relocation, in what ways did the Red Cross use the 6 Core Tasks of Case Management with clients during the Katrina Emergency? In what ways if any did they fail to follow those guidelines? LINK TO 6 CORE TASKS OF CASE MANAGEMENT-
3.In what ways did the American Red Cross use a “systems thinking” perspective both in its efforts to provide immediate shelter and in its evacuation and relocation efforts? In what ways was “systems thinking” neglected?
4.In what ways did the target agency link effectively to external systems? In what ways was their linkage ineffective?
5.What changes would you suggest to improve the response of the American Red Cross in order to more effectively serve the needs of displaced residents?
Be sure to provide a definition of each concept and then provide examples of how the Red Cross successfully or unsuccessfully completed each of the core case management tasks, systems thinking and linkages to the external environment in regard to shelter, housing and relocation. The paper should be at least 7 pages in length. You are expected to use the links provided above to successfully complete the assignment. You are encouraged to conduct additional research (in addition to the sources provided NOT instead of) and to cite all sources from your research, the texts and the mini-lecture. Use APA style.
