Emergency Preparedness - STARS Child Care Basics · Emergency Preparedness A variety of emergencies...

Parentsandsocietyexpecttheirchildrentobeinasafeenvironmentwhileinthecareofchildcareprograms.

However,emergenciesanddisastersdooccurinthesesettingsandchildcareprovidersneedtoplanandbepreparedwhensucheventshappen.

EmergencyPreparedness

Avarietyofemergenciescantakeplace.Medicalemergenciescanvaryfromaninjuryontheplaygroundtochokingonapieceoffood.

1Healthy Practices: Safety and Wellness

Naturaldisasterscanoccurwithoutwarningsuchasanearthquakeorcanquicklybecomedangeroussuchasaflood.

Andthereisthehuman- orfaultyequipment-initiatedemergencysuchasafireoramissingchild.Emergenciescanalsohappenwhileinroutetoafieldtriporplayactivities,soappropriatemeasuresandproceduresneedtobeinplace.

EmergencyPreparedness


ThemodelplanwasdevelopedbytheSnohomishCountyHealthDistrictPartnersinChildCare.It’spurposeistogivechildcarecenterpersonnelstep-by-stepproceduresforrespondingtoemergencysituationsduringthefirst30minutesofthedisaster.

Ifstaffareabletofollowtheinstructionsintheordertheyarewritten,itwillhelpthemtoknowwhattodoineachtypeofdisasterorcrisis.

DisasterPlan


Allstaffshouldbetrainedannuallyonthedisasterplanattheirchildcareprogram.

DisasterPlan

Youarealsorequiredtohavewrittendocumentationthatparentshavereadandreviewedyourdisasterplanuponenrollment.


Thedisasterplanshouldbe:

• Specifictothechildcarecenter

• Relevanttothetypesofdisastersthatmightoccurinthelocationofyourchildcarecenter

• Abletobeimplementedduringhoursofoperation

• Postedineveryclassroomforeasyaccessbyparentsandstaff

DisasterPlan

Adisasterplanisrequiredtocoverallpossibleemergenciesinachildcarecenter.


Intheeventofafire,staffmembersandchildrenshouldbeabletogetatleast50feetawayfromthebuildingorstructure.

EvacuationTheroutinepracticeofemergencyevacuationplansfosterscalm,competentuseoftheplanin

theeventofanemergencyordisaster.


Ifthechildrencannotreturntotheirusualbuilding,asuitablesheltercontainingallitemsnecessaryforchildcaremustbeavailablewherethechildrencansafelyremainuntiltheirparentscomeforthem.Anevacuationplanshouldtakeintoconsiderationallavailableopenareastowhichstaffandchildrencansafelyretreatinanemergency.

Evacuation


UseofDailyRosterDuringEvacuationDrills

Evacuation

Thecenterdirectororhis/herdesigneemustuseadailyclassrosterincheckingtheevacuationandreturntoasafespaceforongoingcareofallchildrenandstaffmembersinattendanceduringanevacuationdrill.Caregiversmustcounttobesurethatallchildrenaresafelyevacuatedandreturnedtoasafespaceforongoingcareduringanevacuationdrill.

Useofarosterensuresthatallchildrenareaccountedfor.Evacuationoftheusualchildcarefacilityisonlythefirststep.


EvacuationChildrenandstaffmusthaveasafeandappropriatelysuppliedplaceofrefugewherechildrencanreceivecareuntilparentscanarrivetoprovidecarefortheirchildren.

Parentsshouldbeinformedinadvanceofthelocationofthisalternatesitesothatinanemergency,theycangodirectlythereinsteadofneedingtosearchfortheirchildrenduringacrisis.


Evacuation

Youmustkeepthetwelvemonthrecordindicatingthedateandtimeyouconductedtherequired

monthlyfireevacuationdrillson-siteforthecurrentyearplusthepreviouscalendaryear.


EvacuationYoumustpostasimplediagramofthecentershowingroutesforgettingdifferentgroupsofchildrenoutofthebuildingandwheretheyaretogatheroutside.Theseevacuationdiagramsmustbepostedineachroombytheexitsandinhallways.


FireSafety

Topromotefiresafety,checkthecenterregularlyforfirehazards.Thebestprotectionagainstfiresisprevention.Forinstance,storematcheswherechildrencannotreachthemandaccidentallystartfires.Asachildcareprofessional,youneedtofindandcorrectfirehazards.

Smokealarmsmustbecheckedatleastonceeachmonthtomakesuretheyareworking.

Ifsmokedetectorsarebatterypowered,changebatterieswhenindicated.


FireSafety

Practicefireandevacuationdrillsatdifferenttimesofthedayusingalternateexits.Inarealemergency,youmayhavetobeoutsideforseveralhoursuntilthebuildingcanbedeemedsafetoreturn.

Itisrecommendedthatyoukeepanemergencykitbythedoor,whichincludesalltheemergencyinformationforthechildren,

blankets,treats,andthingstodotokeepthemoccupied.

Firedrillsmustbeconductedanddocumentedmonthly.


FireSafety

Itmightbebettertohaveparentscomeandretrievetheirchildren.Staffandchildrenshouldnotalwayshaveadvancedwarningoffiredrills.Childrenneedtopractice:

• Keepingearsuncoveredandkeepingquietsotheycanlistentoinstructionsfromstaffaboutwheretoexit

• Exitingquietlyandcalmly• Liningupquietlyoutsideawayfromthebuilding• Waitingfortheannouncementthattheycangobackinside

Ifthefiredepartmentmustcometoevaluateyourbuildingitmaytakeseveralhours.


FireSafetyWhenthefirealarmsounds,differentcenterstaffshouldbeassignedtoattendtothefollowing:• Leadingthegroupsfromthebuildingtodesignatedareas

andsupervisingthem• Gettingtheattendancerecordssoitcanbeconfirmedthat

allchildrenareoutofthebuilding• Closingdoorsandwindows• Checkingallareasofthebuilding,includingbathrooms,

whereachildmightbeleftbehind


FireSafety

Ifyourcenterservesnon-ambulatorychildren,youmustdevelopasafemethodtoevacuatetheminanemergency.

Incenterscaringforchildrenwithspecialneedsthataffecttheirmobilityyoumayneedextrastaffatalltimestosafelyevacuatethechildreninatimelymanner.


FireSafety

Caregiversshoulddiscusswiththechildrenhowtheirlivesaremoreimportantthananypossessions.

Explaintothechildrenwhytheyshouldgetoutofthebuildingimmediately,andNOTputtheirshoeson,gotogettheircoatorraceto

theircubbytogetsomething.


FireSafetyCaregiverscancoverotheraspectsoffiresafetywithchildreninappropriateagegroups,suchas:

• Howtostop,drop,androlliftheirclothingisonfire• Howtocrawlontheirhandsandkneesifaroomis

fullofsmoke• Howtofeeladoorknobforheatbeforeopeningthe

door• Howitisimportanttohaveanemergency

evacuationprocedureathome,notjustatthecenter


WeatherorDisasterEmergencies

Blizzards,hurricanes,floods,electricalstorms,tornadoes,andearthquakesareexamplesofweatherordisasteremergencies.

Alltheseconditionsposesafetythreatsforthechildrenandstaff.Therefore,itisimportanttohaveanemergencyplanforpossibleweatherordisasteremergencies.Theplanswilldependonthegeographicalareainwhichyouarelocated.Disasterdrillsmustbepracticedanddocumentedquarterly.


WeatherorDisasterEmergenciesInsomeweatheremergencies,thechildcareprogrammaybeclosed.Aplanshouldbeinplacefornotifyingparentsofsuchanemergency.Specialarrangementsmayneedtobemadefortransportingthechildren.Bepreparedforemergencies.

Alwayskeepbattery-operatedflashlightsandaradioinaconvenientspot.

Foremergencies,blankets,water,food,andafirstaidkitshouldalsobeavailable.


MissingChild

Manyinstanceshavebeenreportedwhereachildhashiddenwhenthegroupwasmovingtoanotherlocation,orwherethechildwanderedoffwhenadoorwasopenedforanotherpurpose.

Countingchildrenroutinelyiswithoutsubstituteinassuringthatachildhasnotslippedintoanunobservedlocation.


MissingChild

Caregiversshouldrecordthecountonanattendancesheetoronapocketcard,alongwithnotationsofanychildrenjoiningorleavingthegroup.Caregiversshoulddothecountsbeforethegroupleavesanareaandwhenthegroupentersanewarea.

Thefacilityshouldassignandreassigncountingresponsibilityasneededto

maintainacountingroutine.

Facilitiesmightconsidercountingsystemssuchasusingaremindertoneonawatchormusicalclockthatsoundsattimedintervals(aboutevery15minutes)tohelpthestaffremembertocount.


MissingChildOlderpreschoolchildrenandschool-agechildrenmayusetoiletfacilitieswithoutdirectvisualobservation.Thestaffshouldassessthesettingtoascertainhowtheabilitytoseeandhearchildactivitiesmightbeimproved.

Theuseofdevicessuchasconvexmirrorstoassurevisibilityaroundcorners.Babymonitorsforolderpreschoolandschool-agechildren,whousethetoiletbythemselves,maybeconsidered.


MissingChild

Facilitiesmightalsoconsidertheuseofsurveillancedevicesorsystemsplacedstrategicallyinareaswheretheymightcontributefurthertochildsafety.

Inaddition,thesesystemsarebeneficialbecausetheycanallowparentstoobservethefacility;andcaregiverscanusethemassupportintheeventofanaccusationofabuse.


Emergency Preparedness - STARS Child Care Basics · Emergency Preparedness A variety of emergencies...

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