The State of Texas
Emergency Management Plan consists of functional annexes, such as "Mass
Care" and "Reentry," and also hazard-specific annexes, such as
"Hurricane" and "Wildfire." Previously, all of these
annexes had their own glossaries, none of them were standard, or even easy to
find. The research involved in finding all of the old glossaries, some of which
were in plans a decade old, unifying the list, updating the definitions, and
cross-referencing them, required a high level of diligence.
In the process, I
consulted with authorities all over the state and in the federal government for
proper definitions, and also created a unique system for cross-referencing.
Satellite definitions reference up to a single core definition with a reference
that says "See:" Core definitions, representing key, central concepts,
have a "See also:" reference out to all of the related satellite
definitions.
Here is a short sample of
the document, which runs to over 80 pages.
State of Texas Acronyms
& Terms (STAT)
An Accompaniment to the
Emergency Management Plan March, 2013
This document is part of
the State of Texas Emergency Management Plan. The definitions and explanations
provided in this document are not intended to override local or regional
definitions, but should complement related planning activities.
This document explains
terms and acronyms that are used in the State of Texas Emergency Management
Plan.
This document is part of the State of Texas Emergency Management Plan.
The Plan is designed to integrate vertically with local, regional and federal
plans, and is composed of a Basic Plan, Functional Annexes, Hazard Annexes and
Support Annexes. All sections of
the plan contain links to connect related information. Each section should be
considered as part of one comprehensive document. The Plan is available online
at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.
Overview and Purpose
This section introduces commonly
used terms within the Basic Plan and its annexes.
Goal
Define the terms,
organizations and acronyms commonly used in the Basic Plan and its annexes.
Objectives
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Promote common terminology.
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Outline specific definitions.
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Provide a quick reference for all terms, organizations
and acronyms.
Audience
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Texas Emergency Management Council representatives.
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State Operation Center (SOC) personnel.
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Disaster District Committee (DDC) Chairs.
Planning Assumptions
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Having one centralized location for all common term and
acronym definitions assists the state with establishing common terminology in
support of National Incident Management System (NIMS) objectives.
Glossary
This section defines commonly used terms.
All terms are listed in
alphabetical order.
Glossary
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Term
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Definition
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2-1-1 Texas
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A statewide call center that is available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. Information can be provided in more than 90 different
languages. See also: State of Texas Emergency
Assistance Registry.
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508 Compliance
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A term which refers to applying standards
consistent with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794d), which requires federal agencies to develop, procure, maintain, or use
electronic and information technology that is accessible to federal employees
and members of the public with disabilities. See
also: Effective Communication, Emergency
Public Information.
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Access and Functional Need
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A unified identification term that describes a person
who may require additional assistance before, during, and after an incident
in functional areas, including, but not limited to: maintaining independence,
communication, transportation, supervision, and medical care. Persons in need
of additional response assistance may include those who have disabilities,
live in institutionalized settings, are seniors, are children, are from
diverse cultures, are transportation disadvantaged, or have limited English
proficiency or are non-English speaking.
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Access Control
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The process of applying a broad range of physical,
technological, and cyber measures to control admittance to critical locations
and systems, limiting access to individuals authorized to carry out
legitimate activities. Includes the definition of the area to be controlled;
the development of standards to determine appropriate personnel to be granted
access including credentialing and badging; and law enforcement checkpoint
management. See also: Badging, Credentialing,
Reentry.
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Activation
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An order to full-time duty in the active military
service of the United States. This includes members of the reserve components
serving on active duty or full-time training duty. See also: Federal Active Duty, State Active Duty.
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Activities of Daily Living
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The tasks such as eating, dressing, and bathing without
assistance that are used to measure a person’s need for care.
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Adjutant General (TAG)
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The senior military officer and de facto commander of
the state's military forces. Reports directly to the Governor of Texas. See: Texas Military Forces.
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Adjutant General’s Department
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The staff and resources under the Adjutant General.
Responsibilities include providing military aid to state civil authorities
and furnishing trained military personnel from the state's military forces in
case of national emergency or war. Located at Camp Mabry
in Austin. See: Texas Military Forces.
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