CENTER FOR Y2K & SOCIETY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 1999

Contact: Norman Dean (202) 775-3157

ORGANIZATIONS IN 37 U.S. COMMUNITIES DELIVER AN
AVERAGE GRADE OF "C" ON Y2K COMMUNITY REPORT CARD

http://www.y2kcenter.org/news/0920pr.html

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Gaps Include Backup Plans for Health Benefits, Food Supply, Nursing Homes

"Graders" Include Red Cross Chapters, Emergency Managers, City Y2K Coordinators, Hospitals, Nonprofits and Community Groups

Washington, D.C. -- A "report card" on community preparedness for Y2K developed and circulated by the nonprofit Center for Y2K & Society shows that communities around the country still face significant gaps in local readiness with just over 100 days remaining before the Year 2000.

The Center has distributed some 10,000 copies of the six-category, 30-question report card nationwide over the past month and expects to distribute an additional 20,000 in the coming weeks. Baseline results were received from cities such as Austin, San Diego, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Tampa, Providence, R.I., San Francisco, Seattle and New York.

Responses have also been received from a range of smaller communities, such as Concord, MA, Gallatin County, MT, Boulder, CO., and Grand Forks, N.D. The first wave of respondents has included Red Cross Chapters, emergency managers, city Y2K coordinators, hospitals, nonprofits and community groups.

"The report card was designed as a tool to help communities assess their state of readiness on critical Y2K concerns, from healthcare to public safety to the possible impact on the most vulnerable people in our society," said Norman L. Dean, executive director of the Washington-based Center.

"The preliminary response from these report cards makes it clear there is a great deal that remains to be done, and there's not much time in which to do it."

Based on the responses received to date, among the areas where communities are least prepared for Y2K are:

 Assuring the availability of key food stocks and supplies;
 Assuring there are backup plans for keeping funds flowing to healthcare institutions if Medicaid,
 Medicare or private insurance systems have Y2K problems;
 Distributing preparedness information to individual households; and
 Ensuring that nursing homes can care for their clients.

The Center for Y2K & Society Report Card was developed to provide a self-grading opportunity to determine the readiness of cities, towns and counties and to identify community preparedness priorities with only 100 days remaining in 1999.

It is intended to promote discussion and provoke thinking about possible Y2K problems, and offer an early indicator of how American communities believe they are doing on preparedness. A grade of "C" means that only about half the goals for community readiness outlined in the report card have been met.

"[The Y2K Community Report Card] is a great test for our emergency managers to use," said Phyllis Mann, president of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). "They need to be prepared to answer these questions. If they have the information in one place, the public can be referred directly to it. I'll be using the Report Card with my community and will put it on my Web site right away."

The Center's Norman Dean noted that among the first set of responses, assessments from community groups and nonprofits tended to grade lower than official governmental respondents. He explains that while official respondents may have more first-hand information, the fact that community groups grade lower underscores the need for more two-way communication between local governments and community members about the specifics of preparedness efforts.

"Time is running short, but it's not too late for communities to take steps to solve their Y2K problems and to develop backup plans where problems cannot be fixed," said Dean.

Individual report cards and a comprehensive summary of the findings in the Y2K Community Report Card are available by visiting the Center's Web site at http://www.y2kcenter.org.

The Center for Y2K & Society -- a project of the Tides Center -- is a Washington-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce the possible societal impacts of the Y2K problem.

Contact: Norman Dean, 202 775-3157
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-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 20, 1999

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Koskinen And *More* Media Y2K Perception Management...

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-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 20, 1999.