Emergency Preparedness for Child Care © 2011 NACCRRA The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies 1

Welcome Outcomes and Objectives Agenda 2Developed by NACCRRA

History During Katrina/Rita assisted CCR&Rs in area Published Nurturing After Natural Disasters Convened individuals involved in different ways and prepared guidebook for CCR&Rs, Is Child Care Ready?, and booklet for families, What’s the Plan? 3Developed by NACCRRA

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What Is At Stake ? Nearly 12 million children under age 5 in child care every day 2.3 million child care workers essentially untrained Approximately half of all children in license-exempt or unlicensed care 5Developed by NACCRRA

What Is At Stake ? Nearly 60% of parents physically separated from their children Few states require child care disaster planning beyond fire; see SAVE study Emergency planners may not think about child care but this is improving 6Developed by NACCRRA

Overview of National Standards Developing an Emergency Plan Evacuating, Taking Shelter or Locking Down Communicating with Families Communication Equipment and Emergency Kits Training Staff and Volunteers Maintaining Required Information Protecting Individuals with Special Needs and Medical Conditions Protecting Program Assets 7Developed by NACCRRA

Recommended Areas for Training Developing an Emergency Plan Evacuating, Taking Shelter & Locking Down Communicating with Families, Children and Helpers Maintaining Required Equipment, Supplies and Information Training Staff & Volunteers and Involving Parents Developing & Implementing a Program Sustainment Plan 8Developed by NACCRRA

Is Your Child Care Program Ready? 9Developed by NACCRRA

Why Is It Important to Prepare for Emergencies? Emergencies or disasters can occur at any moment In the last decade the United States has experienced an unprecedented number of disasters When emergencies or disasters occur children, as well as those caring for them, can be injured or killed 10Developed by NACCRRA

Get-Acquainted Activity Find a couple of partners (no more than 3 in a group). –Introduce yourself, –where you work, –age of children you care for and –what you felt when you heard about the Sandy Hook disaster. 11Developed by NACCRRA

What Types of Emergencies Must Child Care Programs Be Prepared For? Programs must be prepared for all types of disasters including natural, technological and attacks. Some types of disasters can occur in any area but some locations and programs are more vulnerable to some types. Child care programs must be prepared to care for children up to 72 hours when one of the types of emergencies occurs 12Developed by NACCRRA

Incident Command System Group Discussion –What is it? –Who is involved? –How to communicate? –How does it all work? –What can you do? On-line training Be Aware…volunteer Practice with your children…DOCUMENT Emergency Preparedness Plans…How effective? 13Developed by NACCRRA

Take a Break Developed by NACCRRA14

Why is an Emergency Plan Necessary? Having a plan increases the likelihood that the outcome for a disaster will be more favorable Developing a plan helps us think about all that needs to be done to prepare Many different individuals are involved in operating a child care program; having a plan helps everyone know their responsibilities 15Developed by NACCRRA

Activity Discussion Question Response Action Drills Activity 16Developed by NACCRRA

Thanks for coming!! Be Prepared and Be Safe!! Developed by NACCRRA17