Maegan Loktoff’s “aha moment” came while attending a virtual presentation provided by Child Care Aware® of America’s (CCAoA) Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery team. Maegan, Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance’s (ECCLA) Executive Director, reached out to CCAoA, sharing, “Disaster readiness is a topic near and dear to my heart and something our members have been asking for!” Recent wildfires underscored the critical need for disaster planning coordination.
Maegan has first-hand experience dealing with disasters. In October 2020, the East Troublesome Fire—Colorado's second-largest wildfire—forced Maegan and her family to evacuate for over two weeks. At the same time, she was leading ECCLA’s efforts to navigate the disaster's impacts.
Participants at the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) event engage with each other.
Maegan shared, “Our organization had the realization that, while our area child care programs may be prepared for disasters, we were not. We learned a lot out of that experience.” Just 14 months later, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, the Marshall Fire, caused the evacuation of over 30,000 residents in the Boulder area and impacted another ECCLA member organization.
From June to September 2024, CCAoA’s Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery team worked with ECCLA to deliver tailored solutions designed to meet the unique needs of ECCLA's network of early childhood councils across Colorado.
Key services included:
Stephanie Martin, ECCLA's Director of Membership and Evaluation, stated, “Access to CCAoA's Disaster Ready CCR&R Toolkit is key to having a comprehensive checklist to guide tailoring emergency plans to your local area.”
Stephanie noted, “While council leaders are charged with strengthening early childhood systems locally, emergency management teams and local public health may be missing. Prioritizing emergency plans can also be put off due to the magnitude of the workloads Council Leaders juggle.”
Stephanie reflected, “The intentionally planned community of practice sessions over three months gave council leaders and staff dedicated time to self-assess their own resources and partners to bring to the table.”
Looking Ahead
Stephanie shared, “As a membership organization we connect members to resources to strengthen Colorado's early childhood system. Our plan is to implement the next steps provided by CCAoA in their summary report of support provided. ECCLA is working closely with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood's Division of Early Learning Licensing and Administration who attended our meeting held in September to collaboratively provide feedback on their disaster preparedness documents. We so appreciate our partnership with CCAoA and all their work on this important topic!”
Who is ECCLA?
ECCLA serves as Colorado’s CCR&R network, representing all 35 Early Childhood Councils across the state’s 64 counties.
As a statewide hub, ECCLA leverages its collective expertise to advance shared outcomes for children, families, and the early childhood workforce.
For more information about customized emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities for your CCR&R organization, contact CCAoA’s team today!