York County Special Needs Registry
The York County Special Needs Registry is a voluntary, community outreach service to assist elected officials and emergency responders in municipalities across York County in obtaining important information on special needs residents living in their communities.
The Special Needs Registry also assists residents by ensuring that all emergency response units (fire, police, EMA, etc) have access to the same information about each person -- thus decreasing confusion during an emergency situation. This standardized information decreases safety risks to both responders and residents in emergency situations.
The system is entirely voluntary -- elected officials in each municipality determine whether they want to participate, and residents signing up for the service must also sign a form.
Under state law, municipalities are required to keep information on special needs persons in their area, and the Special Needs Registry provides an organized system to do so. Also, state law requires group living arrangements to provide their own emergency plan. Therefore, the Special Needs Registry is a resource for residents with special needs who have no reliable source of assistance in the event of an emergency. The Special Needs Registry can be used for more than just evacuation purposes -- the information it provides is also helpful in any emergency situation (fire, chemical spill, police incident, etc).
The York County Special Needs Registry program consists of a paper resident sign-up sheet, an excel spreadsheet (where the resident data is entered to provide an electronic copy), as well as a GIS mapping program which is accessed using a free, download-able mapping utility. The mapping portion of the program allows emergency responders to quickly view the area in question, and gather basic information on special needs folks in that area.
Contact the York County Special Needs Registry:
If you have questions, comments, or concerns about the York County Special Needs Registry, please contact us: York County Emergency Management oem@ycdes.org 717-840-2990
The registration form is available HERE and can be returned to the following locations -
- York Area United Fire and Rescue (YAUFR) Headquarters, 50 Commons Drive, York, PA 17402
- Springettsbury Township, 1501 Mount Zion Road, York, PA 17402
- York County Emergency Management, 120 Davies Drive, York, PA 17402