Ensuring children’s health and safety in child care is the top concern for any child care program, and child care emergency preparedness is vital to meeting this need. One way providers can strengthen safety practices in a child care program is to have a written emergency plan.
Child care providers run an evacuation drill with infants in 2019.
Written Emergency Plans
Earthquakes, winter storms, riots, pandemics...each day any number of emergencies or disasters could happen, so it is important to have a written plan in place in order to know what to do. By planning ahead, child care providers can think of the best way to respond before a disaster strikes.
Every child care program should have an emergency preparedness plan in place — regardless of whether your program serves 2 or 200 children. The plan should outline resources, protocols and action steps to follow in case of an emergency.
Video Series
Child Care Aware® of America created a series of short videos to help child care providers with the process of creating a written emergency plan. These videos are also available in Spanish.
Introduction to Written Child Care Emergency Plans is the first video in our series. In this video, you’ll learn why written child care emergency plans are important and what to consider before you build your plan. Hear from a real provider that became passionate about preparedness after a major earthquake impacted her program.
Once you understand why emergency plans are vital to safe child care programs, it's crucial to understand how you write one. Where do you even start? Our second video, How to Develop a Written Child Care Emergency Plan, lays the groundwork for actually writing a plan. Learn who can help and what guidance you can use to outline your program’s emergency plan.
Finally, the last video in our series, Implementing Your Written Child Care Emergency Plan, offers suggestions for putting the written plan in place, including family involvement and practicing the plan without and with children.
Using the Videos
These short videos can be used by child care providers who would like to learn more about the emergency planning process. Watch them on your own or with your team before creating (or reviewing) your written plans.
Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) staff may also be interested in including these videos in their training or technical assistance. Please feel free to share them or include them in your PowerPoints or training packages. We are proud to offer each of the three videos in both English and Spanish so that it’s easier for all audiences to access them.
Additional Emergency Preparedness Resources from CCAoA
- Child Care Emergency Preparedness (available at www.childcareprepare.org)
- The Help Center at the Emergency Child Care & Technical Assistance Center™
- Considerations for Infants and Toddlers During Disasters Webinar Recording
