Emergency Preparedness

Learning Objectives Let’s take a few moments to go over the objectives for this course. By the time you have completed this course, you will be able to: • Identify hazards and risks at the child care site. • Create a written plan that addresses the emergency needs of the program. • Communicate, practice, and…

Pre-Test Please complete the course pre-test before continuing with the course.  Failure to complete the course pre-test will prevent you from completing the course, earning your course completion certificate, and receiving Oklahoma Registry credit.

Everyday Hazards You will need to access the Handout 1: Everyday Hazards worksheet. After reading the directions on Handout 1: Everyday Hazards worksheet, take a few moments to think about the questions on the worksheet and write down what first comes to your mind. Focusing on all the potential hazards in child care may be…

Who Can Help Identify Hazards An important and effective way to be aware of hazards is by including the whole community in the identification process. The following community groups and individuals have information about risks, hazards, and emergency procedures and should be included in your child care preparedness efforts (Child Care Aware, 2017): Local emergency…

Coordination with Community Partners Coordinating with emergency management officials, first responders, and community partners (including schools, community centers and nearby businesses) is vital for the safety of your child care program during an emergency. In addition to providing information about local hazards and risks, they can help guide you in securing other information needed to…

Hanging On So Tight Community partners can help you prepare for a possible emergency and can provide assistance and support after an emergency occurs. Watch the video clip, “Hanging On So Tight”,—a story of an Oklahoman child care facility that survived a tornado and how the community came together afterwards. Now, let’s review the various…

Fires Fire is the most common of all business disasters. • More than 4,000 Americans die and more than 20,000 are injured by fire each year. • Fires can spread quickly and are dangerous not only because of the flames but also the heat, smoke, and poisonous gases emitted. • Asphyxiation is the leading cause…

General Safety General safety includes childproofing. For sites with young children, follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of taking a “child’s-eye view” survey. This involves going from room to room and addressing the hazards at the level of a curious toddler. Ensure the safety measures you take are in accordance with local/state child care…

Utility Outages Utility outages and blackouts can occur anywhere, to anyone, at any time. For prolonged utility outages of more than two hours, the main concerns—beyond the safety of children and staff— are minimizing food loss and maximizing the comfort of people at your site. To prepare for utility outages and blackouts (Grace & Shores,…

Crime/Missing, Lost or Abducted Children Crime is a problem in many environments. To keep the children in your care safe, follow these general crime prevention rules (Grace & Shores, 2010): • Conduct background/reference checks on all paid employees and volunteers (full- and part-time) to ensure people working at your site have not been arrested or…

Severe Weather Severe weather can happen anywhere and at any time. To be better prepared, it is important to know the types of severe weather risks in your area. You can do some simple things to keep the children at your site safe and your property protected when severe weather strikes. When there is a…

Excessive Heat In recent years, excessive heat has caused more deaths than all other weather-related events. A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessive heat, often combined with humidity. Excessive heat contributes to disorders such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Older adults and young children are more likely to be impacted by excessive…

Tornadoes Tornadoes are the most violent of storms with winds that usually exceed 100 mph and can devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A thunderstorm is the first step in the development of a tornado; if conditions are right, then a tornado may develop. Tornadoes can appear without warning and can be transparent until dust and…

Flooding Flooding is the most common disaster in the United States. Floods can be caused by extended periods of heavy rain, tropical storms and hurricanes, warming after a heavy snow, or flash floods. Every state is at risk for flood hazards. Be especially aware if you live in low-lying areas near water or downstream from…

Thunderstorms Every thunderstorm produces lightning and, on average, lightning kills 300 people and injures 80 people each year in the United States (NOAA and NSSL, 2017). Lightning is unpredictable; it can strike as far as 10 miles from any rainfall. Other thunderstorm-related dangers are tornadoes, strong winds, hail, wildfire, and flash flooding. To be prepared…

Winter Storms (Blizzards/Ice) The National Weather Service (2017) calls winter storms “deceptive killers” because of the number of deaths indirectly related to the storms, including traffic accidents, fire, and hypothermia. Even areas that normally experience mild winters can experience major winter storms and extreme cold. Primary concerns with winter storms are the potential loss of…

Illness Outbreaks Sometimes illness requires a child or staff member to be excluded from care to prevent the spread of infection. When children get sick, it is important that your site is prepared to manage the illness by knowing the following child care licensing requirements: • Which illnesses require a child to be excluded from…

Geological Events You may be in area where geological events are also a concern. The two geological events that Oklahoman caregivers need to be aware of are earthquakes and landslides. Earthquakes Earthquakes can be the most frightening and destructive natural events. An earthquake is the sudden movement of the earth caused by the breaking and…

Reducing the Risks Now that you are familiar with the hazards and risks you need to be aware of as early childhood provider, let’s focus on ways to reduce the risks to your child care program. Steps to Reduce the Risks 1. Identify hazards and risks that are of the highest consequence and most likely…

Best Practices for Emergency Planning in Child Care Programs Save the Children and Child Care Aware identified the need to create best practices for emergency preparedness for child care facilities because each state varied in their requirements for emergency preparedness standards for child care programs. The eight best practices are: 1. Make a written plan.…

Making a Written Plan “Best Practice One” is to put your emergency plan in writing. Point out to participants that this best practice will help their program meet licensing standard 340:110-3-279 (a)(1-10) Emergency plans and procedures. Read Handout 3: Licensing Requirements for Emergency Preparedness (pg. 9-10) and review all the things that need to be…

Summary of Essential Information The essential information needed in your child care facility’s emergency plan should include (Child Care Licensing Requirements, 2016): • Location, capacity, and hours of operation of the facility. • Contact information. • Evacuation locations. • Shelter locations. • Emergency warning system(s). • Emergency communications system(s). Several groups of people may need…

Site Diagrams You will need to create site diagrams for your emergency plan. Site diagrams are diagrams of the facility’s building(s) and property. They include plans for each floor of each building as well as a diagram of the locations of buildings, outside play areas, parking lots, and other areas of the property. They are…

Evacuation Locations In an evacuation, you may only need to relocate the children and adults to a safe outside area on the property. However, an emergency plan should include identified locations for offsite evacuations. You might need to take children to a location a block or two away if, for example, a fire damages the…

Shelter Locations Your facility needs several locations to take shelter in for different possible emergencies. In severe winds/tornadoes they would need to take shelter in a room with: • Reinforced walls. • As few windows as possible. For protection from an airborne hazard (e.g., a local hazardous material spill) they should take shelter in a…

Maintaining Current Health and Safety Information for On Children and Staff “Best Practice Two” is to maintain crucial information. This best practice will help programs meet licensing standard 340:110-3-279 (e)(1) Emergency supply kit/records. Read Handout 3: Licensing Requirements for Emergency Preparedness, p (11) and review the requirements for emergency supply kits and maintaining records. Up-to-date…

Child Identification Badges Identification badges will be vital if you have to evacuate children and staff to an off-site evacuation location such as a community shelter because children could become separated from their group. An identification badge should have the person’s name, a photo taken within the last six months, emergency contact information, and any…

Ready-to-Go File In an emergency, you will need crucial information to provide appropriate care for children or employees with medical conditions, to contact first response agencies, and to contact parents/guardians. Storing the data on a portable electronic storage device may seem convenient, but in an emergency you may quickly run out of battery power for…

Developing and Implementing Family Communication/Reunification Plans and Back-Up Plans “Best Practice Three” is to communicate with parents/guardians. This best practice will help child care programs meet the licensing standard 340:110-3-279 (a)(9) Reporting. Requirements to meet this standard can be reviewed on Handout 3: Licensing Requirements for Emergency Preparedness, p.10. Parents/guardians expect child care providers to…

Identifying Emergency Team and Procedures for Evacuation, Sheltering and Lock Down “Best Practice Four” is to identify the emergency team and a plan to evacuate, take shelter-in-place, or lock down the facility. This best practice will help child care programs to meet licensing standard 340:110-3-279. (a)(5-9, 10)Emergency plans and procedures/Shelter-in-place/Lock-down/Evacuation/Relocation/Personnel. You can find these requirements…

Emergency Warning System Every child care facility needs an Emergency Warning System. If the program is in a house or other type of small building, a loud bell, whistle, bullhorn or even shouting may be sufficient. Providers should use the bell, whistle, bullhorn, or shouting to get every adult’s attention and then loudly call out…

Assembling Emergency Equipment and Supplies “Best Practices Five” is to assemble emergency equipment and supplies. This best practice will help child care programs meet standard 340:110-3-279.(d)(1-5) First aid kits and (e)(1-2) Emergency supply kit. These requirements can be found in Handout 3: Licensing Requirements for Emergency Preparedness, p.10-11. With the correct equipment/material and supplies, you…

Basic Emergency Equipment Every child care facility should have the following pieces of basic emergency equipment and materials (Child Care Aware, 2017): • Disaster Supplies Kit. • First Aid Kit. • Battery-operated NOAA Weather Radio, with extra batteries, stored in each building or location. • At least one battery-operated flashlight, with extra batteries, stored on…

First Aid Kits Each first aid kit should contain these items (Child Care Licensing Requirements, 2016): • Non-medicated adhesive strips, • Sterile gauze pads, • Rolled flexible or stretch gauze, • Bandage tape, • Disposable non-porous, latex-free gloves, • Blunt-tipped scissors, • Tweezers, • A non-glass and non-mercury thermometer, • Cold pack, • Liquid soap…

Disaster Supplies Kits Each disaster supplies kit should contain these items (Child Care Aware, 2017): • First aid kit, • Bottled water, • Baby food, • Other nonperishable foods • Disposable cups, bowls and spoons, • Can opener, • Disposable diapers, • Bathroom tissue, • Paper towels, • Wet wipes and tissues, • Hand sanitizer,…

Evacuation Vehicles In the case of an off-site evacuation, providers should load children into vehicles and drive them to the designated safe area. If the child care program is large, there may be vehicles with enough seats for every child and adult. However, it is more likely that everyone with a personal vehicle will need…

Practicing Your Plan “Best Practice Six” is to practice emergency procedures. This best practice will help child care programs meet licensing standard 340:110-3-279 (g) Drills and reviews. These requirements are listed in Handout 3: Licensing Requirements for Emergency Preparedness, p11-12. Fire and tornado drills need to be conducted monthly and locking-down, evacuating and relocating drills…

Including Children and Adults with All Levels of Abilities in Plans “Best Practice Seven” is to include children and adults with all levels of abilities in the emergency plan. Child care providers need to be prepared to protect the health and safety of children, staff members, and volunteers with disabilities or those without disabilities. Detailed…

Protecting Program Information and Assets “Best Practice Eight” is to protect program data and finances so the child care program can reopen after an emergency. Providers may have to repair or rebuild the facility if a disaster causes structural damage. During an epidemic, providers may have to close the facility temporarily and could lose additional…

Wrapping Up Let’s review the objectives we have covered throughout this course: • Identify hazards and risks at their child care site. • Create a written plan that addresses the emergency needs of their program. • Communicate, practice, and update their emergency plan on a regular basis. When families leave their children in childcare, they…

References Save the Children. Child Care Emergency Preparedness Training Participant Manual. Westport, CT: Author, 2012. © Save the Children Federation, Inc. 2012 Child Care Aware. www.chilcareaware.org. Federal Emergency Management Agency. www.fema.gov. Grace, C., and Shores, E.F. (2010). After the crisis: Using storybooks to help children cope. Silver Spring, MD: Gryphon House. Grace, C., and Shores, E.F.…

Post-Test Please complete the course post-test before continuing with the course.  Failure to complete the course post-test will prevent you from completing the course, earning your course completion certificate, and receiving Oklahoma Registry credit.

This is the final lesson of this course. Follow these steps to complete this course and receive your certificate: Make sure that you have completed all of the lessons in this course. Mark this lesson as complete by clicking the “Complete Lesson” button at the bottom of this page. Fill out the form provided on this…