In April, hundreds of tornadoes ripped through the Southern states leaving an estimated 20,428 homes destroyed or sustaining major damage (source: American Red Cross). Many Participating Agencies are beginning to deploy CAN to facilitate their recovery efforts in those impacted communities. In particular, CAN has been identified as the recovery tool for case management in the state of Alabama.

Red Cross Client Data in CAN

To date, more than 12,500 client records have been made available to those recovery communities by American Red Cross—including any initial damage assessment data.

As part of its partnership with CAN, American Red Cross makes client data collected in its response efforts available to the recovery communities using CAN via nightly data feeds. Whenever there is a Red Cross Level-3 or higher disaster (typically, significant populations requiring assistance), a data feed from its Client Assistance System (CAS) is initiated to support recovery communities working in CAN.

This data exchange requires that the client agrees to share their information with non-governmental third parties and the casework manager has additionally secured a signed Release of Information. If either condition is not met, the data will not be available in CAN.

The recent ability to import client data collected in the field by community-based agencies enables agencies to more seamlessly support a community's recovery efforts. With the introduction of the Client Data Helper Tool, communities may now rapidly import any client data which adheres to the Disaster Client Data Standard (DCDS) into the Client Registry via a spreadsheet or XML file.

Leveraging this new capacity, and the ongoing partnership with Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and its Disaster Needs Database, several of CAN's Participating Agencies are coordinating data imports from North Carolina to Alabama. One of CAN's newest partners, Wake Interfaith Disaster Team is working to import client data for the April 16 tornadoes in Wake County, NC.

To support the recovery efforts in Alabama, FEMA, Church World Service and the Coordinated Assistance Network will be facilitating case management training on CAN Recovery Tools across the state in early July.

Monica Montoya, Community Engagement Manager, American Red Cross and Christy Smith, CAN Liaison, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), will be hosting breakout sessions to train case managers to understand the technology as well as register for user access.

July 7: Faith Presbyterian Church, 5003 Whitesburg Dr., Huntsville, AL.
July 9: First Christian Church (DOC) 650 McCallie Av. Chattanooga, TN
July 11: First Presbyterian Church, 2100 4th Ave. North, Birmingham, AL
July 13: St. Joseph Catholic Church, West Front St., Thomasville, AL
July 15: First United Methodist Church, 800 Greensboro Ave., Tuscaloosa, AL

To register: Go to www.cwserp.org and click on the link to the Recovery Tools and Training registration. (Persons can register for the session most convenient for them regardless of location.)

Recent enhancements to CAN's Resource Database now integrates U.S. Census data and any open Red Cross shelter data with the Resource Database search results. By putting this data on one searchable map it provides a unique snapshot of a community's recovery resources for response or recovery efforts.

When the map initially loads, the U.S. Census data and open Red Cross shelter data (NSS) are displayed for that particular map view. By clicking on the icon for and map data, a small popup appears with more specific information about that resource with a link to the Service Profile. The map displays Service Profiles, not Agency Profiles from CAN's Resource Database.

All of the information in the Resource Database is maintained by the community. Please take some time in the coming weeks to review any Service Profiles that are associated with your agency to confirm that data is still active.

The Resource Database user manual includes step by step instructions on how to maintain all of your community's resources.

Beginning in July access to all existing legacy Program Portals will be transitioned to Regional Portals. Any active client records should be managed from the appropriate Regional Portal. Since the introduction of the 10 Regional Portals in 2010, all client records were migrated from any Program Portal into the appropriate Regional Portal.

The impacted Program Portals include:

• Hurricane Katrina (Region 6 Portal)
• LA DCM Katrina/Rita (Region 6 Portal)
• Texas Disasters (Region 6 Portal)

For instance, if you are managing clients in the Texas Disasters Portal, simply search for those records form the Region 6 Portal.

Search Tip: There are many inactive client records which were migrated to Archive database in 2009. If you are unable to find a specific client record, be sure to search the Archive database by selecting "Include Archive Data" as part of your search criteria.

Jon Biggs has been a vibrant supporter of CAN since its first deployment after Katrina with Katrina Aid Today. He is now working for Lutheran Services Tennessee as a Trainer and Coordinator for the flood and tornado recovery efforts.

"Tennessee has response efforts occurring state wide from this year's flooding, tornados and straight line winds on top of last year's flooding. I would not be able to monitor our response without the CAN Client Registry one stop database," said Jon.

Over the years, Jon has delivered agency-led training including participants from other agencies—applying CAN's collaborative approach to the agency-led, community-based training.

Know someone who is doing good work with CAN in their community? Let us know: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Many users in the Southern states are now returning to login into CAN after periods of inactivity and are unsuccessful in accessing their account. The "RememberMe" feature allows users to enter the email associated with their account to send the username and password to that address.

To access this feature from CAN Recovery Tools, use the left-hand menu "Registration, Login and Password Help." Once on that page please follow the instructions to complete the process.

If your email address has changed, or you no longer have access to it, please go to www.CAN.org and use the Support link in the top right hand corner to submit a support request.

Tip: Did you know that you can also reset your password from the User Profile screen in CAN's Recovery Tools when logged in?

When case managers switch agencies, they must set up a new user account affiliated with that agency and authorized by that agency's Point of Contact. From www.CAN.org, select "Join the Network" and follow the steps to create a new user registration.

1. Create a new online account
2. Download, complete and have the agency POC sign the Confidentiality Agreement
3. Follow all on-screen instructions to complete the process
4. Verify your email address

• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh, Albemarle Office
• Catholic Charities of East Tennessee
• Ninth Episcopal District of AME Church
• Lutheran Ministries of Alabama
• Family Guidance Center of Alabama
• American Red Cross, Northeast Florida Chapter
• American Red Cross WNC Region
• American Red Cross of Central Oklahoma
• American Red Cross Jasper Alabama
• American Red Cross Hiwassee Chapter
• American Red Cross: Southeast Missouri Chapter
• United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
• Wake Interfaith Disaster Team
• Greene County Interfaith Volunteers, Inc.
• Centro Internacional de Raleigh