Your Role inEmergency Preparedness

Beverly SchmalzriedSenior Strategic Advisor, NACCRRA

A Little History

• During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita NACCRRA assisted with local efforts

• Published a resource on helping children impacted by disasters

• Afterwards, convened a group of individuals who had been involved in the response to a number of different types of disasters

A Little History, Cont.

• Developed and published, Is Child Care Ready? – a guide for CCR&Rs

• Conducted training for groups within some states• Worked with Save the Children in responding to

disasters in several states • In 2010 worked with Save the Children, Domestic Unit,

to develop model national emergency preparedness standards; published in April, 2011

• Conducted training on emergency preparedness in Texas and Connecticut

A Little More History

• Developed and published, Is Your Child Care Program Ready? – a guide for directors and providers

• In 2011 published a training guide with PowerPoints, Emergency Preparedness Training

• Developed and seeking funding for 10 one-hour online lessons on emergency preparedness

Questions?

• Have you been involved in a disaster? • What type of disaster was it?

There Have and Continue to be Many Disasters

• In 2011– 99 Major Disaster

Declarations– 29 Emergency

Declarations– 114 Fire

Management Assistance Declarations

• To get the data for your state go to: http://www.fema.gov/news/disaster_totals_annual.fema.

When disasters strike families and child care programs are affected

A StoryI later drove to a subdivision called The Downs in the heart of Tuscaloosa that is home to several friends of ours. A former colleague's home was just missed by huge oak trees that fell in her front yard, making her home one of the few in this neighborhood that escaped destruction. Nearby, our day care provider's home was struck by a tree and part of her chimney was lying in her yard. Deeper into the subdivision the destruction was much worse. A fellow member of our Sunday School had lost his house. Behind his lot stood the remains of my former boss's home. It will have to be razed. After I helped my ex-boss stack up some salvageable items he searched for a folding chair to sit on and watch men cut trees off of what was left of his roof.

Retrieved from Time.com at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2068630,00.html.

HHS News Release, June 2, 2011

The HHS Administration for Children and Families, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Social Services, convened a task force to address emergency child care needs as well as the recovery of the community's child care capacity. The tornado destroyed 19 child care centers with combined capacity to serve approximately 600 children.

Child care is also part of the response.

Church offers free child care todayCalvary Baptist Church will provided emergency child care for volunteer workers and anyone else in need from noon-6 p.m. today. If you bring an infant, bring formula, diapers and wipes. Food for all other ages will be provided.

West Alabama Tornado Assistance and InformationCHILD CARE:Trinity Presbyterian on Rice Mine Road in Tuscaloosa is providing free childcare Tuesday, May 3 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00p.m. to tornado survivors. Free transportation is provided. Contact the church for more information at 205‐391 2111.‐

Joplin tornado families offered free childcare

Joplin parents faced with rebuilding after Sunday’s tornado now have a safe place to take their children during the day.The Joplin Family YMCA is leading an effort to provide free care for children, ages 5-14, through the Y’s existing summer day camp program.Juan “Cookie” Estrada, chief executive officer of the Joplin Family YMCA, said the “Joplin Childcare Relief” effort is a partnership with the United Way of Southwest Missouri and the local chapter of the American Red Cross.“These are our kids,” he said Thursday. “Our goal is to make sure these kids have a safe, happy place to go.”Families are also welcome to take showers at either location, at no charge — an offer Y officials said will continue as long as needed.Estrada said infant care, under age 2, is available on the Missouri Southern State University but the number of available cribs is not yet known.Unfortunately, a gap remains. He said there are ongoing efforts to identify care for children ages 2-4.C.J. Huff, superintendent of the Joplin school district, said it’s critical that children have a safe place to play and see friends while parents “get their houses in order.”“Our families need that sense of normalcy,” he said.

Posted May 26, 2011. Retrieved July 13 from http://blogs.news-leader.com/schools/2011/05/26/joplin-tornado-families-offered-free-childcare/ .

Today’s Agenda

• Your Role in Emergency Preparedness– Leadership– Policy– Preparation– Response

• Resources Available from NACCRRA

Leadership

• Serve as the point of contact in the community for child care

• Represent the child care community with emergency management personnel

• Ensure child care is considered in emergency planning

• Increase employers’ and organizations’ awareness of child care needs during emergencies

Leadership, Cont.

• When emergencies occur, serve as the point of contact with local and external organizations

Serve as the point of contact in the community for child care

• Within a community, many kinds of child care programs – many invisible and outside formal system – Legally operating unlicensed care– Family child care– Child care centers– Head Start programs– After school programs

• Works better if emergency management can relate to one organization that represents them all

Represent the child care community with emergency management

• Contact local emergency management office• Attend public meetings related to emergency

preparedness • Arrange for emergency management

personnel to meet with groups of child care programs

• Distribute information from emergency planning

State and Local Emergency Management Offices

• http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/statedr.shtm.

• http://www.cbohsep.org/LEPC/Members.aspx.

FEMA Regions

Ensure child care is considered in emergency planning

• Meet with the emergency planning committee• Make emergency planning agencies and

committees aware of child care in the community

• Be sure child care is included in local, regional and state emergency planning

• Coordinate child care plans with school district plans

Increase employers’ and organizations’ awareness of child care needs during emergencies

• Meet with Chamber of Commerce and other local business and professional organizations to discuss how child care will be provided during emergencies

• Meet with local churches and civic organizations to plan for their involvement in emergency child care

• Meet with major employers in area about how child care needs will be met after an emergency

When emergencies occur, serve as the point of contact with local and external organizations

• Work with local officials until external help arrives– Ensure first responders have child care

• Work with FEMA, Red Cross, Save the Children and other organizations helping with response

Contacts• FEMA and child care• https://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/9580

_107.shtm.

• http://www.fema.gov/kids// • Red Cross and child care• http://newsroom.redcross.org/2011/06/02/story-c

hildren-need-care-in-disasters-too//

• Save the Children and child care• http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI

4E/b.7495333/k.761B/Domestic_Disaster_Support.htm.

Something to Think About

• Are you READY to take a leadership role in child care emergency preparedness?

Policy

• Be knowledgeable about the NACCRRA/Save the Children recommendations for national standards

• Educate policy makers about the standards • Educate educators and trainers about the

standards • Advocate for incorporation of the standards

into state regulations

Policy, Cont.

• Encourage state licensing agency to have emergency standards for use during disasters

• Help agency responsible for subsidy administration establish a disaster response plan

Be knowledgeable about NACCRRA/Save the Children recommendations for national standards

• Review Protecting Children in Child Care during Emergencies

• http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/publications/8960503_Disaster%20Report-SAVE_MECH.pdf.

• Eight recommended standards with sub-standards and supporting rationale

• Designed to serve as model for state standards and training

Eight Standards

• Develop and maintain a written emergency plan that includes policies and procedures to help ensure children’s safety and protection.

• Maintain the information needed to protect children’s and staff’s health and safety during emergencies.

• Develop and implement plans and procedures and backup plans and procedures for communicating with families before, during and after emergencies and for reuniting children with their families.

Standards, Cont.

• Be prepared to evacuate the child care facility or family child care home, take shelter-in-place, or lock down the facility or home.

• Have and maintain the equipment, supplies and materials needed to care for children and staff during emergencies, evacuate children and staff, and communicate with parents, staff members and community agencies during an emergency.

Standards, Cont.

• Prepare and train staff members, assistants, substitutes and volunteers and, in family child care homes, family members, to protect children’s health and safety during an emergency.

• Protect the health and safety of children and adults with special needs and chronic medical conditions during an emergency.

• Take the actions needed to protect program information and assets to help ensure the child care program can continue to provide child care after an emergency.

Educate policymakers about the standards

• Meet with state licensing agency to discuss standards

• Meet with state emergency management officials about the standards

• Get support from related organizations – firefighters, medical community, and others who need child care in order to respond

Educate educators and trainers about the standards

• Review standards with groups providing training on child care and early education– Technical schools and high schools– Community colleges and universities

• Present standards at professional conferences and meetings

• Send copies of standards to consultants and trainers

Advocate for incorporation of the standards into state regulations

• Review your current state regulations and those of the surrounding states

• Review the Save the Children report on state emergency preparedness regulations

• Compare your state regulations to the recommended standards

• Identify stakeholders interested in supporting regulation changes

National Report Card

• http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9DEF2EBE-10AE-432C-9BD0-DF91D2EBA74A%7D/2010-Disaster-Report.pdf.

Advocate, Continued

• Using NACCRRA and other materials begin a media campaign on the need for emergency preparedness

• Meet with state licensing agency to suggest regulation change

• Forward articles related to child care programs involved in disasters

• Keep advocating for regulation change

Encourage state licensing agency to have emergency standards for use during disasters

• During emergencies, child care programs may not be able to follow all standards but can still keep children healthy and safe

• Review the model emergency standards available from NACCRRA

• Meet with state licensing agency to help make emergency standards part of state plan

Help agency responsible for subsidy management establish a disaster response plan

• During an emergency, subsidy management may be disrupted

• If you are administering subsidies develop a contingency plan

• Help subcontractors and others develop a contingency plan so that subsidies can continue

Some questions

• What do your state’s child care regulations say about emergency preparedness?

• Is there something you could do to improve your state’s regulations?

Preparation• Help local programs assess their level of emergency

preparedness• Provide written materials on emergency

preparedness to local programs• Plan and conduct training on emergency

preparedness for local programs• Plan and conduct training on emergency

preparedness at state and regional conferences• Help your state implement its state plan

Preparation, Cont.

• Work with emergency planning office on plans for temporary child care after disasters

• Prearrange potential sites for temporary child care

• Pre-organize equipment and materials needed to setup temporary child care

Help local programs assess their level of emergency preparedness

• Offer training on emergency preparedness• Encourage programs to do a self-assessment• Survey programs on whether they have an

emergency plan• Include questions on emergency preparedness

on newsletters, emails, blogs• Write a letter to the editor on the importance

of emergency preparedness for child care programs

Provide written materials on emergency preparedness to local programs

• Distribute copies of Is Your Child Care Program Ready? Available from naccrra.org.

• Distribute copies of What’s the Plan? to parents using child care

• Print sections of Is Your Child Care Program Ready? in newsletters

Plan and conduct training on emergency preparedness for local programs

• Conduct training on developing an emergency plan or reviewing existing one

• Hold an “emergency kit” shower – have each person bring multiple examples of items that should be in an emergency kit

• Seek community donations of items for emergency kits and distribute as door prizes

• Ask local emergency management personnel to speak to groups of providers

Plan and conduct training on emergency preparedness at state and regional conferences

• Using NACCRRA or other materials, speak on the need for emergency preparedness at local, state and regional early childhood conferences

• Offer to meet with provider groups to discuss emergency preparedness

• Submit articles for professional organization newsletters on emergency preparedness

Help your state implement the state plan

• For the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-2011 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plan period, CCDF Lead Agencies were required to report the status of formal emergency planning and response processes for the child care sector. Among the information reported was whether emergency preparedness efforts are in the planning, development, or implementation phase; and with which agencies and/or organizations the Lead Agency coordinates with in these efforts.

Summary of State Plans• 16 States (AR, CT, HI, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MT, ND, NJ, NM, NV, SD,

UT, VA) and two Territories (AS, CNMI) indicated they were planning an emergency preparedness and response plan for child care and other early childhood programs

• 11 States (AK, CA, CO, DE, GA, MO, OR, RI, SC, WA, WV) were developing a plan

• 3 States (FL, MN, MS) reported that they had developed a plan that had not been implemented

• 8 States (AZ, DC, NC, NE, NH, TN, VT, WI) and three Territories (GU, PR, VI) are in the process of implementing a plan

• 13 States (AL, ID, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, NY, OH, OK, PA, TX, WY) answered “other”

To review what your state planned/plans to do

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/initiatives/emergency/docs/epr_response_fy2010-2011.pdf

.

Status of State Efforts as of 2011Activity Number of

States/Territories

Has requirements for licensed child care providers 27Has plans for the continuation of child care funding 24Offers and/or funds training 24Has a State Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) in place 17Has developed and/or distributed a handbook/manual for providers 16

Has a mechanism for continued payment to providers/contractors 15

Has a process to communicate with providers 14Has requirements for contractors/local entities implementing child care services 7

Participates in interagency taskforce/workgroups working on emergency preparedness

7

Has a process for transferring eligibility 6Has developed and/or released public service announcements 2Requires local entities and contractors to have COOPs in place 2

Only 16 States Report Working with CCR&Rs on Emergency Preparedness

• AK• AZ• FL• IA• ID• LA• MN• NC

• ND• NJ• NY• OK• PR• VT• WI• WY

Work with emergency planning office on plans for temporary child care after disasters

• Review related sections in Is Your Child Care Program Ready?

• Find out what the plan is for offering shelter child care

• Identify child care programs most likely to impacted by disasters

• Discuss plans for having child care available for first responders, volunteers, parents needing assistance

Prearrange potential sites for temporary child care

• Identify sites in different parts of area for temporary child care

• Meet with churches, schools and other facilities that could house temporary child care

• Assess space for temporary child care in likely shelter sites

Pre-organize equipment and materials needed to setup temporary child care

• Review Is Your Child Care Program Ready? for lists of materials needed

• Develop room “kits” with needed supplies and equipment

• Identify potential sources for large equipment (cribs, cots, tables, etc.) that can’t be stored

Response

• Determine which child care programs have been affected

• Activate plans for child care for first responders, volunteers

• Determine which child care programs have spaces available to provide care

• Help families who have lost care find another source of care

Response, Cont.

• Coordinate donations for child care programs affected by disaster

• Help affected child care programs assess damage and plan for future

• Help affected programs apply for financial assistance

• Help displaced child care providers find other positions

Response, Cont.

• Help damaged programs seek temporary license, relicensing

Determine which child care programs have been affected

• Can be challenging– Phone service disrupted– Street signs missing– People missing/have left area

• Programs may be voluntarily closed– Grieving– Attending to personal/family needs

Activate plans for child care for first responders, volunteers

• Work with emergency management agency, Red Cross to identify needs

• Contact open programs for spaces• Help with “enrollment” issues – required

information, paperwork • Help programs extend hours• Set up temporary care, if necessary • Establish priorities for available care

Determine which child care programs have spaces available to provide care

• Determine spaces in programs that typically provide care

• Look for spaces in other programs that may have openings – Head Start, pre-K, church programs, family child care providers taking fewer children than allowed

Help families who have “lost” care find another source of care

• Expect families to need extra time and attention – “everyone has a story”

• Use regular resource and referral skills to make best match for family

Coordinate donations for child care programs affected by disaster

• Child care programs may have lost some or all of supplies and materials

• Other programs in state or nation may want to help

• Ask others to help -- you’ll be doing them a favor!

• Provide suggestions for what to donate – gift cards are good!

• See lists in Is Your Child Care Program Ready?

Help affected child care programs assess damage and plan for future

• When it is safe to do so • Ask the tough questions –– How much will it cost? – How long will it take? – Will families return to the area?– Will families return to your program? – Will you be able to find staff? – Are you emotionally ready to do this?

Help affected programs apply for financial assistance

• Information Memorandum (CCDF-ACF-IM-2011-01)

• Small Business Administration (SBA) - The Disaster Assistance Loan program provides low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and most private non-profit organizations to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, inventory, and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster. Lead Agencies could assist child care providers in applying for and accessing these loans for rebuilding. More information can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/index.html.

Source: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/guidance/current/im2011-01/epr_framework.htm#4.

Additional Possibilities• (FEMA) Temporary Relocation of Facilities: Reimbursement for re-

establishing child care services provided by States, localities, or non-profit organizations prior to a disaster. FEMA will provide assistance for the lease, purchase, or construction of temporary facilities to re-establish child care services provided prior to a disaster. Assistance is limited to child care facilities operated by a governmental or eligible private non-profit (PNP) entity prior to a disaster. If the facility was damaged, the cost of obtaining temporary facilities to re-establish operation of the program until the damaged facility can be repaired is an activity eligible for reimbursement by FEMA. NOTE: Privately owned, for-profit child care facilities are not considered eligible applicants for FEMA reimbursement. (See Attachment A – FEMA Disaster Assistance Fact Sheet DAP 9580.107, Child Care Services.)

Additional Possibilities, Cont.• (FEMA) Repair, Restoration, or Replacement of Public and Private

Nonprofit Facilities. FEMA has established that governmental and eligible PNP organizations which operate child care centers may be eligible for assistance in repair, restoration, or replacement of facilities. In order for PNP organizations to be considered for reimbursement, the applicant must first apply for a disaster loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA). If SBA does not approve the loan or approves a loan for less than the amount required to repair the disaster damage, the applicant may apply to FEMA for assistance for the difference. NOTE: Privately owned, for-profit child care facilities are not considered eligible applicants for FEMA reimbursement. (See Attachment A – FEMA Disaster Assistance Fact Sheet DAP 9580.107, Child Care Services.)

Additional Possibilities, Cont.

• (CCDF) Lead Agencies may use CCDF quality dollars to provide supply-building grants to providers impacted by a disaster. These funds may be used for supplies and minor remodeling to bring the facility into compliance with health and safety requirements; however, CCDF funds may not be used for the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement of a building or facility. (Also see ACYF-IM-CC-05-03, Option E for further guidance on the definition of major renovations. A link to this document can be found in Attachment A.) Note that tribal grantees may apply to use CCDF funds for construction or major renovation. The checklist below provides a summary of the key elements to consider when planning for the rebuilding of child care facilities.

Help displaced child care providers find other positions

• Facilitate “transfer” of individuals from closed programs to programs with needs

• Try to keep people in the field• Advantages:– Have had background checks– Have been trained– Have some experience

Any Questions?

–Leadership–Policy–Preparation–Response

Resources

• Emergency Preparedness Training Guide and PowerPoints

Emergency Preparedness for Child Care Programs: Training Curriculum

• Utilizes Is Your Child Care Program Ready? as a base

• Based on the eight model national standards and additional materials

• Includes sample agendas with instructional objectives

• Includes get-acquainted and warm-up activities related to emergency preparedness

Resources in Training Guide

• Series of PowerPoints on each topic with Speaker Notes

• Suggested group activities for each section• Suggested discussion questions for each

section• Suggested materials for providers for each

section• Trainer and trainee handouts

Online Lessons on Emergency Preparedness

• Ten one-hour lessons• Based on the model national standards • Includes content screens, activities and

quizzes • Seeking funder to place in learning

management system

Summary

• Position your agency to be the “go-to” agency for child care emergency preparedness

• You can help your state child care office fulfill the requirements in the child care planning guidance

• You have the skills and resources to do it! • The child care programs and families in your

community need you to do this!

Questions?

beverly.schmalzried@naccrra.org