See PDF version: Protecting Children in Child Care Settings During Emergencies» [PDF, 1.8MB]

Each week, more than 11 million children under the age of five attend licensed child care facilities, and there are countless other children in informal child care arrangements with family, friends, and neighbors. There are more than 330,000 licensed child care facilities in the United States, including 107,000 child care centers; 155,000 small family child care homes; 44,000 large family child care homes; and 23,500 other child care and early education centers, which includes Head Start and Early Head Start sites. On average, children spend 36 hours each week in some form of child care. It is imperative that these child care programs be prepared to face common emergencies and other disasters that may befall their communities.

According to a report from Save the Children, many states do not have licensing standards that require emergency preparedness plans and procedures. Save the Children and the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies have partnered to develop Protecting Children in Child Care During Emergencies, which contains the recommended state and national regulatory and accreditation standards for including emergency and disaster preparedness in child care centers and family child care homes. 

The standards outlined in Protecting Children in Child Care During Emergencies indicate that child care centers and family child care homes should be required to:

• 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 the health and safety of children and staff 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;
• 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 and communicate with parents, staff members, and community agencies during an emergency;
• 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; and
• Take actions needed to protect program information and assets to help ensure the child care program can continue to provide child care after the emergency.

Also included in the document are references such as insurance, medical, and reunification guides; a list of useful items for sheltering in place; recommended first-aid kit contents; and lists of necessary supplies.

In 2009, the Office of Head Start developed the Head Start Emergency Preparedness Manual» [PDF, 809KB]. It is designed to support Head Start and Early Head Start programs in development, implementation, recovery, and evaluation of their required emergency plan. The manual contains resources and tools to guide local preparedness planning, and the standards and rationale in Protecting Our Children in Child Care During Emergencies provide the foundation upon which programs can build a written plan. Managers are encouraged to review the regulations and associated requirements to meet each standard and compare them with their current plan. This activity may be included as part of a program’s "Practice-Review-Revise Cycle," as described in Chapter 6 of the OHS Emergency Preparedness Manual.