Page 50 - Creating a Community of Resiliency

Summary of Focus Group Findings and Recommendations
 Have a plan for ALL emergencies.
 Earthquake
 Fire
 Threatsofviolence
 Pandemics
 Water, electricity, gas, wind, etc.
 Have frequent practices/drills and communications .
 Ensure involvement at ALL levels.
 Specify roles of individuals at ALL levels.
 Ensure the plan is (a) in writing and (b) accessible for all staff.
Related Action: This brief, suggested approach will be presented to CCALA. Future funding will be pursued to collect, review , and make recommendations to each of the R&R agencies on their emergency preparedness plans.
Recommendation—Parent Involvement at the Child Care Site: Establish and schedule parent involvement opportunities such as the following:
 Review parent contact information monthly.
 Call parents regularly to give short update (“how your child is doing today”)—
serves as a check on contact information.
 Have a sheet next to the sign-in sign-out form “Update your emergency contact information.”
 R&R agency can call parents if the provider exhausts all contact information and none are current.g
 Hold a family spaghetti night with child care to bring parents in for important information.
 Share emergency drill/evacuation plan shared with parents at orientation to child care.
 Invite the local fire department to come in uniform; have them demonstrate what it might actually look like (including crawling on the floor) so that it would be less frightening and more familiar if there were to be a real emergency.
 Establish an emergency response team/advisory committee made up of parents.
 Develop a phone tree for rapid communication.
 Establish your OWN emergency response community: parents and close neighbors and businesses. Establish and make this connection BEFORE an emergency. As it
g This can only be for children who receive subsidized child care and the parent’s information cannot be given to the provider; the R&R would have to contact the parent on behalf of the provider.
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