Purpose, Objectives and Goals

Purpose and Goals

PURPOSE-

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services

’ objective is to increase awareness of the legal needs the 2019 Arkansas Flood created and to be a resource for low-income Arkansans empowering them to improve their situation due to legal issues from the Flood. As the Center for Arkansas Legal Services begins to execute its strategy to improve access to quality legal services for flood survivors, we will expand the capacity of our staff to serve those affected by the Arkansas Flood of 2019 to meet that need, We will need to follow a series of strategic, operational, grants management, and communications steps to set the foundation to achieve our objectives and goals. These steps include the hiring of staff to address the needs of low-income Arkansans, the creation of a network of communication professionals that have dealt with disasters historically, obtaining the proper equipment and supplies to meet the needs of the flood victims, creating communication pieces to inform the target population, and by connecting with appropriate groups to help reach those in need. Through facilitated discussions, the Center for Arkansas Legal Services has agreed to a strategy with four primary goals and four objectives. As described in the 2020 Project Plan and demonstrated in the information in this piece, the four objectives all contribute to the primary goals and help reinforce each.

GOAL 1 – DISASTER AND LEADERSHIP: Enhance decision-making, coordination, and planning for emergency communications through strong communication tactics, preparation, and leadership.

Recommendations/Objectives:

Update Statewide Communications Interoperability to maintain a consistent public/partner message, to increase branch office access to information, and to make legal accessibility for disaster survivor clientele easier. Enable one (1) communications specialist to lead the implementation of a Communication plan for emergency communications. Ensure statewide outreach planning is coordinated throughout each county (with office locations being the central hub) and focuses on clients' current and future needs especially in remote areas of the flood zone. Establish points of contact to coordinate outreach disaster planning and deployment of activities (clinics, events, partnerships). Evaluate, update, and distribute standard disaster publication pieces to address new technologies, availability procedures, clinics, and align them to the Center for Arkansas Legal Services foundational protocol. Ensure standard operating procedures reflect current use of priority materials and their distribution, which includes the use of digital and social platforms. Coordinate with entities from across the state to ensure the most recent information is on hand to aid in communicating, educating, and benefitting low-income Arkansans.

Update communication operations and processes to address the evolving operating environment including the use of social platforms. Increase intra-State collaboration of communications, broadband use/extension, and information technology activities. Increase regional structures or processes to foster multi-State coordination and information sharing. Increase coordination of disaster team requirements and policies. Promote opportunities to share emergency communications and resources. Promote consistent messaging and identity through measurable sources. Improve the ability to assess the impact of the communications grant funding.

GOAL 2 – PLANNING AND PROCEDURES: Update plans and procedures to improve emergency communication and readiness in a dynamic operating environment.

Recommendations/Objectives:

GOAL 3 – OPERATIONAL COORDINATION AND IMPROVEMENT: Ensure operational effectiveness through the coordination of emergency communications capabilities, resources, and personnel from across the whole community.

Recommendations/Objectives:

Coordinate research and development priorities and user needs and requirements through communication and outreach arenas for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. Increase collaboration between research, development, and technology programs across the VOAD, COAD, disaster aid programs, and other such entities across Arkansas. Foster collaborative mission critical voice, tone, and consistent messaging through research, development, and evaluation for digital and social platforms. Cultivate an innovative marketplace for technologies through the use of public and private partnerships. Support the evolution of an alert and warning systems that deliver timely, relevant, and accessible emergency information to the public. Increase use and awareness of disaster assistance available in Arkansas to lowincome Arkansans. Continue to support the standards of development for statewide operations.

Ensure inventories of emergency communication resources are updated and comprehensive to the flood survivors needs. Enhance ability to readily request communications resources or assets during operations. Implement Disaster Grant communication-related roles, responsibilities, and planning. Ensure operational planning incorporates new technologies and communication partners. Ensure the Center for Arkansas Legal Services has a continuity of operations plan, which addresses systems and staffing to support intake communications. Update procedures for implementing backup communications solutions. Increase VOAD and COAD partnerships through the support of local emergency communication channels and partnership connections.

GOAL 4 – OUTREACH AND EDUCATION: Coordinate research, development, and evaluation of activities to develop innovative emergency communications capabilities that support the needs of low- income Arkansans.

Recommendations/Objectives:

Grant Overall Objectives:

Objective 1: Provide direct legal services to low-income flood survivors. Objective 2: Improve technology and infrastructure. Objective 3: Increase organizational capacity to handle disaster cases Objective 4: Provide community legal education and outreach.

Distribution

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services Disaster Plan is published to their main website (www.ArkansasLegal.org). The plan is written and maintained by the communications department with the Center for Arkansas Legal Services to maintain grant guidelines and public transparency. Readers are encouraged to recommend improvement or appropriate changes to this plan. Suggestions can be made through the Center for Arkansas Legal Services by emailing info@arkansaslegalservices.org.