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Functional Assessment Service Team (FAST)

When Wisconsin residents are displaced from their homes during a disaster and find it necessary to stay in a community emergency shelter, it is essential that community officials, responders, and shelter managers be prepared to provide service and reasonable accommodations to all shelter residents, including those with disabilities, access and functional needs.

Supporting shelter residents with access and functional needs requires proper planning pre-incident and proper coordination during the incident. Functional Assessment Service Teams identify and support people with access and functional needs when they enter the reception center or shelter to help meet their needs to safely stay there.

If interested in future training, technical assistance, or have other questions, please contact John Longo, State FAST Coordinator.

FAST in Action

In 2012, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and its partners worked together to promote FAST development as a statewide initiative. Since then, the core team of partners have:

  • Helped human services departments and related agencies join American Red Cross (ARC), emergency management, and public health at the emergency response and planning table.
  • Successfully spread the word about FAST, training more than 450 individuals representing most Wisconsin counties and many tribal nations.

 

Wisconsin FAST

DHS is leading a statewide initiative to identify, recruit, and train state, regional, and local FAST in support of local and tribal government in sheltering people who have been displaced from their homes during a disaster.

State FAST Team

The state FAST team consists of select members of the regional teams with varied expertise in different areas of human services skill sets.

Regional FAST Team

Regional FAST teams exist in all seven public health emergency response regions with 30 total members, team size range from two to eight members. 

Local FAST Teams

Local FAST teams are being developed or exist in the following counties: Brown, Calumet, Dodge, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Portage, and Waukesha.

A FAST is a team of two to eight trained members that:

  • May be requested by response staff when it becomes evident that people displaced from their homes may have access or functional needs.
  • Evaluates the needs that people may have and determines whether they can be supported within the reception center or shelter.
  • Helps response staff distinguish people who have access and functional needs from those who have medical needs.
  • Understands behavioral health; physical disabilities; chronic health conditions; and has local community knowledge of languages, culture, and of available resources.

 

Training and resources

FAST Training

For upcoming training announcements, see Preparedness Training Resources.

If interested in future training, technical assistance or have other questions, please contact your local FAST team, or John Longo, State FAST Coordinator.

Last revised October 18, 2022