In 2008, California established the Office of Access and
Functional Needs (OAFN) within the Governor’s Office of Emergency
Services.
The purpose of OAFN is to identify the needs of individuals with
disabilities and others with access or functional needs before,
during, and after disasters and to integrate them into the
State’s emergency management systems.
OAFN utilizes a whole community approach by offering training and
guidance to emergency managers and planners, disability advocates
and other service providers responsible for planning for,
responding to and helping communities recover from disasters. In
short, OAFN plans for the realities of disasters by integrating
access and functional needs into everything Cal OES does
including partnership development, outreach, training, guidance
and providing technical assistance.
