Page 32 - Creating a Community of Resiliency

Preparedness and Response Readiness: R&R Agencies
in R&R trainings, one staff person indicated that those providers are more prepared than the general public. Furthermore, it is not clear how well prepared providers are for each of the emergencies mentioned; i.e., one would not be able to measure readiness with a scale. Another staff person indicated that you do not really know how prepared you are for outbreaks/pandemics and threats of violence until you have experienced it.
“[Non‐licensed] providers are no more prepared than the general public because they are not required to be.”
“I like to think the providers who went to the training last year are more prepared than the general public. And I hope that after the training they went out and bought emergency preparedness supplies just like I did [after I went to a training].”
R&R Agencies’ Preparation Status
Initially, the group indicated that the R&R agencies are pretty well prepared for earthquakes, fires, power outages, outbreaks/pandemics, and threats of violence. However, when probed specifically about the threat of violence, some staff members indicated that there may be a lack of preparedness.
“We thought we were prepared but it was different when the emergency happened.”
“We have a committee also and think we are pretty prepared for all except for the threat of violence. We’ve had all sorts of emergencies within our surrounding area except for the threat of violence. [Including flood]”
Staff discussed emergency preparedness procedures they have in place at their R&R agencies:
“We also make sure that on the weekends in trainings we have a box that we carry, and a checklist. We make sure there’s a supervisor at every training and that people know security’s number in the building, back up numbers, cell phone numbers, etc. We found out through trial and error that we need to keep a first aid kit in that box too.”
“Stage 1e has a disaster recovery plan‐mostly in terms of data.”
Ways R&R Agencies Can Work Together
This section of the discussion served as a brainstorming session for how R& R agencies can work together to support providers during an emergency or disaster. For example, R&R agencies could play a role in disseminating information to early care and education providers. The brainstorming seemed general in nature (appropriate for a first-time meeting around a particular topic). In 2013 (almost a year after this focus group), Save the Children facilitated working sessions in which participants began to flesh out these ideas.
e The DPSS (Department of Public and Social Services)–funded welfare-to-work child care program.
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