Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/emergency-preparedness-are-you-ready/5020486/
When an emergency arises in your child care center or family day care home �" and it will �" are you and your staff prepared to handle the situation? If a child in your care went missing today, would you and your staff know what to do? Emergency preparedness takes planning, preparation, and practice; yes, practice! While this article alone cannot address everything involved in writing a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan, it will get you started or help you revise your current plan.Most Americans who consider emergency preparedness think of someone or another country attacking the United States. Most newspaper and televised accounts involve community leaders and policymakers preparing for a terrorist attack. However, anyone who operates a child care center, family child care home, or has children of her own, knows that caring for children involves emergencies: a bloody nose, a bump on the head, a fall that requires stitches, choking, allergic reactions to food or medicine, measles, severe weather, not to mention an irate parent or intruder who has lost control. And the list goes on.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the term ‘emergency’ is defined as “any unplan-ned event that can cause deaths or ...