Hurricane Katrina laid bare the inabilities of state and local governments to handle immobile citizensâchildren, the elderly, ill and disabled persons in hospitals, and institutionalized individualsâin emergency situations. This research, based on a mail survey of a wide array of Florida county and city officials conducted in the Spring of 2007, examines how local government officials have incorporated immobile special needs populations and the agencies that serve them into their emergency management plans (natural disasters; terrorist acts). The study concludes that there is still a lack of attention to children and the disabled and an absence of established networks with private sector agencies serving these populations. The research demonstrates the usefulness of controlling for the type of jurisdiction, population size, and the type of position held by local government officials in gaining a better understanding of how these factors influence vulnerability assessments. We find significant differences in assessments among first responders and their more generalist counterparts. In general, those individuals serving in first responder capacities were more likely to identify the spectrum of population vulnerabilities as of "major" importance to emergency planning efforts. First responders are more familiar with the challenges associated with managing immobile populations and are therefore more likely to prioritize their importance when it comes to emergency preparedness. In addition, first responders in both counties and municipalities rate the quality of their interactions with public and private sector agencies serving immobile populations more highly than non-first responders. Because of their functional responsibilities, first responders tend to have better networks in place with those agencies providing services to the immobile. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]