Preparing for Disasters and Disruptions to Service Continuity

Preparing for disasters involves creating plans, preparing to manage during a disaster, and enhancing critical infrastructure prior to a disaster. In this section find Federal and State resources for both professionals and families to prepare for disasters–both natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, fires) and human created (e.g., terrorism) disasters, including examples of State disaster plans.

Resources for professionals

Building Capacity for Disaster Preparedness at a Child Welfare Agency
Capacity Building Center for States (2020)
Helps agencies build capacity by offering tools for developing policies and practices to be more flexible and effective in their response to disaster and disaster planning.

Disaster Planning for Child Welfare Agencies
Series Title Factsheets
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability View
Download (PDF - 532KB)
Order (Free)
Year Published 2016
Provides an overview of disaster planning for child welfare agencies. Outlines the reasons child welfare agencies should develop disaster plans, provides an overview of plan development, points to resources for creating preparedness plans, and highlights State and local examples.

Head Start Emergency Preparedness Manual: 2015 Edition (PDF - 997 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start (2015)
Outlines the importance of and methods for designing disaster response systems in child-serving programs.

The Role of First Responders in Child Maltreatment Cases: Disaster and Nondisaster Situations
Author(s)
Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, Children's Bureau
Cage, Richard.;Salus, Marsha K.
Availability View
Download (PDF - 1,402KB)
Year Published 2010
This manual is for professionals, such as emergency medical technicians, child protective services caseworkers, and law enforcement officers, who have the primary responsibility for the initial on-scene response to situations in which child abuse or neglect may have occurred. The manual describes the various types of child maltreatment and the signs that may indicate that maltreatment has occurred, provides an overview of the initial response and investigation in cases of suspected maltreatment, explains how first responders should prepare for and provide testimony in court for maltreatment cases, and outlines how first responders and their agencies can respond to child maltreatment cases in emergencies and disasters, including how to prepare for such situations.

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Resources for families

Are You Prepared for Disasters?: Family Readiness Kit (PDF - 5,020 KB)
American Academy of Pediatrics (2016)
Guides parents and guardians in safety planning for natural and man-made disasters, including preparing a kit and developing a family communication plan.

Emergency Preparedness and You
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & American Red Cross (2016)
Provides answers to common questions and step-by-step guidance for public health emergency preparedness for private citizens.

Hurricane: Preparing and Responding to the Needs of Children
Save the Children
Explains key topics for parents to discuss with their children before, during, and after a hurricane.

Prepare, Respond, Recover
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Provides useful information to the general public on how to prepare and recover from man-made and natural disasters.

Ready.gov
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Provides educational materials and instructions designed to help families and children prepare for and respond to natural and man-made disasters. 

Ready Wrigley
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016)
Connects to topic-specific activity books designed to prepare children ages 2–8 for natural and man-made disasters.

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