This content was published: August 17, 2006. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Sylvania Child Development Center implements initiative to prepare for disasters
Photos and story by James Hill
The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies has released its “Is Child Care Ready?: A Disaster Planning Guide for Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies,” which the Child Development Center at PCC Sylvania will use to train its staff on how to prepare for and recover from disasters. The organization has also published a brochure to help parents check to be sure their child care program is prepared for emergencies.
The distribution of these publications is the initial step in the first-ever nationwide effort to prepare child care programs for catastrophes. PCC’s Child Development Center will play an integral role in the implementation of the initiative.
Across the nation, nearly 12 million children under the age of five – including 1.5 million infants under the age of one – are cared for in a child care setting every week. Although many child care providers are trained to respond to fires, most have no or limited training in responding to other disasters, including hurricanes, floods, or terrorist attacks.
Child care agencies across the country will use the guide to train providers in their communities as well as offer support during and after a disaster to children, families, and employers they serve. The CDC will use this new information to coordinate with the college’s emergency plan regarding when child care staff and children should evacuate and when to stay in place; the critical emergency information the center should have on file; and refine how to connect with PCC Public Safety and local emergency agencies so that they are aware that the child care program may need special assistance during a disaster.
To download a free copy of “What’s the Plan? or Is Child Care Ready?,” visit www.naccrra.org.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »