Press Releases

NACCRRA to release complete disaster preparedness training curriculum for child care programs

Arlington, VA – With the recent earthquake that shook the East Coast of the United States and Hurricane Irene threatening to make landfall along the Eastern seaboard, it is imperative that child care programs are prepared to protect our children before and during natural disasters.

To ensure that child care centers and family child care providers have the resources they need to keep children safe and businesses open, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) has produced several emergency planning tools, including a new comprehensive training curriculum for child care providers. Emergency Preparedness for Child Care: A How-to Guide, includes NACCRRA’s Is Your Child Care Program Ready?, PowerPoint slides, and recommendednational standards for emergency preparedness in child care.

“There are more than 11 million children under the age of 5 in child care every week,” said Linda K. Smith, NACCRRA’s Executive Director. “But, unfortunately, this population is often overlooked in emergency preparedness planning.”

Is Your Child Care Program Ready? offers a list of actions that all child care facilities should take to prepare for any disaster:

• Collect and keep information on employees and volunteers.
• Collect and keep information on the children and families enrolled.
• Stock supplies needed to remain in the center or family child care home or to evacuate.
• Develop a key contacts and phone and email list.
• Carry out a plan for protecting vital records.
• Develop an evacuation plan.
• Train employees and children on the evacuation plan and practice the plan.
• Encourage employees to have a family emergency plan.

NACCRRA’s comprehensive emergency preparedness training curriculum will be available for purchase in September for $44.95.

To pre-order the training guide, and download other child care disaster planning materials, please visit www.naccrra.org

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NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, is our nation's leading voice for child care. We work with more than 600 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies to ensure that families in every local community have access to high quality, affordable childcare. To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care professionals, undertake research, and advocate child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families. To learn more about NACCRRA and how you can join us in ensuring access to high-quality child care for all families, visit us at www.naccrra.org.