Ford Report Analyzes 9/11 Response

A report commissioned by the Ford Foundation, in New York, calls for greater coordination between

the government and charities to improve preparedness for future emergencies.

The report calls on the U.S. Congress to form a Disaster Relief and Recovery Commission to clarify the responsibilities of government, philanthropy, and corporations in the event of a disaster.

The report also urges metropolitan areas to develop emergency plans that set up “one-stop service centers” for victims, a uniform intake form, and procedures for sharing information and coordinating efforts to help clients.

The report says government needs to be clearer about where its role ends, and where it expects private organizations to step in, especially in providing aid to small businesses and dealing with health and environmental issues.

It says a key issue to be resolved — ideally by the commission it hopes will be created — is how Americans should be compensated for the death of a loved one in a disaster. The report notes that about $800-million in charitable funds went to 3,200 families.

“Much of this occurred because of intense media pressure insisting that this was the intention of donors to various relief funds,” the report says. “To facilitate the distributions, Congress did away with the longstanding criterion of financial need for receipt of charitable donations. This has created an impression that one of the purposes of philanthropy is to compensate for lost life. Congress and the philanthropic sector need to decide if this concept will be a precedent for philanthropic responses to future disasters.”

The report was written by Tom Seessel, a researcher at Thomas Edison State College, in Trenton, N.J.

The report, “Responding to the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: Lessons From Relief and Recovery in New York City,” is from the Ford Foundation, 320 East 43rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10017; (212) 573-5000; http://www.fordfound.org.