Disaster Planning for Child Cares

Partners in Child Care Program

Lisa Carpenter, REHS, MBA

Program Manager

Overview

• Snohomish County Profile

• Snohomish County Child Cares

• Partners in Child Care Program and Disaster Prep

• Six Steps to Disaster Preparedness

• Crisis/Disaster Handbook

• Helping Children Cope with Disasters

Snohomish County profile

• 625,000 population size

• Located directly north of Seattle

• Mountains to the east, Puget Sound to the west, 68% forested

• 87.8% speak English only

• 3rd most populous county in Washington State

• Major industries include Boeing, Navy, medical services

• Median age is 34.7

• Median household income is $53,060

Pacific Northwest

Snohomish County child cares

• Approximately:– 1,000 licensed child cares in county– Of those, about 200 are centers and 800 are

homes– Partners in Child Care staff have worked with

over half of the licensed child cares to date

Partners in Child Care (PiCC) program profile

• Program established in 1994 following Pacific Northwest E. coli outbreak

• Currently contains 9 staff: public health nurses, environmental health specialists, a nutritionist, health educators, office support, and a manager

• Provides consultative health and safety services to licensed child care providers upon their request

PiCC disaster activity

• Washington State requires child care providers to have a disaster plan

• We educate providers on disaster preparedness and assist them in preparing child cares for disasters

• To date PiCC has helped hundreds of child care providers become better prepared to handle a disaster

Glacier Peak

Hazmat Spill

Nisqually Earthquake 2001

Nisqually Earthquake

2001

Subduction zone earthquake due

Will be 8.5 to 9.2 magnitude

lasting over 4 minutes with

8.5 feet high ground motion

Six steps to preparedness

• Take responsibility

• Assess the child care facility

• Communicate

• Establish a disaster plan

• Assemble disaster preparedness kits

• Test the plan and practice often

Crisis/Disaster Response Handbook

• Developed by PiCC and Department of Emergency Management

• Educational tool and direct template for providers

• Covers 19 kinds of disasters

• Includes mental health checklist and supporting resources

• Available electronically

• Circulated nationally and internationally

Access to crisis handbook

• Email to the following address for a downloadable copy of the Crisis/Disaster Response Handbook:

http://www.askpicc@shd.snohomish.wa.gov

Examples of disasters

• Earthquake

• Flooding

• Bomb threat

• Gas leak

• Assault on child or staff

• Storms & snow

• Emergency lockdown

• Shelter in place

• Kidnapping

• Missing child

• Fire emergencies

• Hazardous materials

• Suspicious mail

• Power outage

Areas of training focus:

• Communication

• Child care provider education

• Ongoing practice

• Disaster kits

• Evacuation measures

• Out of area contacts

• Alternate sites

• Working with media

Helping children cope

• Reassure children they will not be left alone

• Be aware of behavior changes

• Keep to routines

• Avoid news coverage around children

• Allow children to express their thoughts and feelings

• Be especially supportive - hugs, smiles, kind words

Helping children cope

• Give simple, truthful answers to children’s questions

• Reassure children they are not responsible for the disaster

• Seek professional help when needed

Resources on helping children cope with disasters

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), http://www.fema.gov/kids

• American Red Cross, http://www.redcross.org

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), http://www.nimh.nih.gov

• Center for Mental Health Services (Emergency Services and Disaster Relief

Branch), http://wwwmentalhealth.org/cmhs/emergencyservices/index/htm

• American Academy of Pediatrics,

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases.disastercomm.htm

Summary

Proper preparation, ongoing practice, complete kits, and good communication can help turn . . .

A Disaster

into

An Inconvenience