Emergency Preparedness Resources

Iowa law requires child care providers to have a written emergency plan in place by October 1, 2016. Emergency plans must include procedures for:

Evacuation and relocation
Sheltering-in-place
Lockdown
Addressing the individual needs of children, including those with functional or access needs
Communication and reunification with parents and other approved individuals
Continuity of operations

There are templates and tools available for child care providers to help meet your program's needs. You are not required to use any of the templates and tools offered, although the tools and templates will help you meet requirements in Iowa law.

Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning Guide for Child Care

Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning Guide for Child Care

Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan - Template for Child Care Centers

Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan - Template for Child Development Homes

Optional Training

CCR&R offers a 6-hour training, Emergency Preparedness for Child Care Programs, designed to help all child care providers be prepared for handling emergency situations that may affect their program and community. During an emergency situation, it is important to know how to support the emotional needs of children and caregivers in your program and be aware of resources available to support child care emergency preparedness. This training will equip you with the knowledge to be prepared and recover from these emergencies. This training will also provide the necessary tools and information to create an emergency plan for your program that will meet Iowa law requirements.

A few suggestions to keep in mind as you develop the emergency plan for your program:

Keep your plan simple so you and your staff can remember the important steps to do when an emergency happens.
Keep your plan in a place where it is available to reference.
Train on and practice your plan so everyone knows what needs to be done. You and your staff's actions should be instinctive and decisive.
Update your plan at least annually. Make necessary changes after conducting drills or an actual event.

Welcome to Emergency Preparedness Planning Video Series!
These videos will help child care businesses to plan and be prepared when it comes to knowing how to respond to and recover from an emergency.

Bomb Threat Information .pdf or Word

Child Enrollment Information .pdf or Word or fillable

Child Identification Card .pdf or Word

Child Injury/Incident Report Form .pdf

Child Release Form .pdf or Word

Damage Assessment Form .pdf or Word

Equipment Check Form .pdf or Word

Evacuation Drill Permission Form .pdf or Word

Exit Signs .pdf

Parent Letter & Wallet Card .pdf or Word

Practice Drill Evaluation Tool .pdf or Word

Practice Drill Recording Form .pdf or Word

Relocation Posting .pdf or Word

Relocation Shelter Agreement .pdf or Word

Risk & Hazard Assessment .pdf or Word

Site Diagram for Evacuation Locations .pdf or Word

Supply Kit List .pdf or Word

Optional Forms:

Forms in .pdf format

Bomb Threat Information

Child Enrollment Information

Child Identification Card

Child Injury - Incident Report Form

Child Release Form

Damage Assessment Form

Equipment Checks for detectors, extinguishers & evacuation equipment

Evacuation Drill Permission Form

Exit Signs for fire & tornado evacuation

Parent Letter with emergency information & card

Practice Drill Evaluation Tool

Practice Drill Recording Form

Relocation Posting

Relocation Shelter Agreement

Risk & Hazard Assessment

Site Diagram for evacuation locations

Supply Kit List for short & long term emergencies

Forms in Word Template format

Bomb Threat Information

Child Enrollment Information

Child Identification Card

Child Release Form

Damage Assessment Form

Equipment Checks for detectors, extinguishers & evacuation equipment

Evacuation Drill Permission Form

Parent Letter with emergency information & card

Practice Drill Evaluation Tool

Practice Drill Recording Form

Relocation Posting

Relocation Shelter Agreement

Risk & Hazard Assessment

Site Diagram for evacuation locations

Supply Kit List for short & long term emergencies

Links to Healthy Child Care Iowa Forms:

Child Care Weather Watch Form

First Aid Checklist

Other Resources:

Emergency Preparedness resources to create a family communication plan - be sure to share this link with families in your program!

Reunifying children with their families:

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reunification system is a 24-hour hotline. 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)/TTY 1-800-826-7653 or www.missingkids.org
The Unaccompanied Minors Registry (UMR) is a tool for reporting children who have been separated from their parents or legal guardians as a result of a disaster - http://www.missingkids.org/ourwork/disasters
The National Emergency Child Locator Center (NECLC) is activated immediately after a Presidentially-declared disaster. 1-866-908-9572 or https://egateway.fema.gov/inter/nefrls/home.htm

General Emergency Preparedness:

American Red Cross - www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster-safety-library
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - www.fema.gov
- Help After a Disaster
Iowa Community Action Association (ICAA) - https://iowacommunityaction.org/get-help/programs/
Iowa County Emergency Management Coordinators - https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/county-EM/
Iowa Emergency Management Association - https://www.homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/
Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management ALERT System - https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/programs/alert-iowa/
Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Public Assistance - https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/disasters/public-assistance/
Iowa State University Extension & Outreach www.extension.iastate.edu/disasterrecovery/
Meet the Helpers - Public Media initiative to introduce children to community helpers and practice Emergency Preparedness
National Weather Service - https://www.weather.gov/
Ready Iowa Website - https://www.beready.iowa.gov/
Safeguard Iowa Partnership - http://www.safeguardiowa.org/
Sesame Street - Emergency Preparation

Child Care:

Child Care Aware - http://childcareaware.org/providers/planning-for-success/developing-your-policies-and-procedures/
Child Care Aware - Making a Business Continuity Plan for Child Care
Child Care Resource and Referral - https://iowaccrr.org /
Department of Health and Human Services - http://hhs.iowa.gov
Healthy Child Care Iowa - https://hhs.iowa.gov/hcci

Business:

Emergency Preparedness, U.S. Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov/prepare
Preparedness Planning for Your Business, Ready.gov - http://ready.gov/business
Ready Rating Resource Center offers forms and materials to help in emergency planning - http://www.readyrating.org/Resource-Center/agenttype/viewtype/resourcetypeid/2/type1/plan
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) - https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Trauma and Emotional Support:

Camp Noah - Program to help children process their disaster or trauma experience
Child Care Aware of America - Vroom: Let's Talk About Feelings
Child Life Disaster Relief - Multiple resources on helping children cope with grief
Eluna Network - Childhood Grief
Every Step Care and Support Services - Amanda the Panda
Hamilton's Funeral & AfterLife Services Academy of Grief and Loss - Children and grief printable resources
National Association for the Education of Young Children - Coping with Disasters, Violence, and Tragedies
National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness - Helping Your Child Cope After a Disaster
National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Helping childhood trauma from disasters
National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Helping Your Child Cope with Media Coverage of Disasters: A Fact Sheet for Parents
National Mental Health Information Center - Multiple resources for families and children
Psychological First Aid - Parent Tips for Helping Infants and Toddlers after Disasters
Sesame Street in Communities - Helping Kids Grieve
Sesame Street Workshop - Offering Comfort in Scary Times
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event: A Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Read for Resilience
Zero to Three - Trauma and Stress Resources

Starting Conversations with Families in Your Program

Family 1 Flyer - DYK Iowa requires all child care businesses to have a written Emergency Preparedness plan?
Family 2 Flyer - DYK my child care business has emergency supplies prepared for both evacuations and sheltering-in-place?
Family 3 Flyer - DYK my child care business has an established relocation site for evacuations?
Family 4 Flyer - DYK Iowa requires all child care businesses to complete fire and tornado drills monthly?
Family 5 Flyer - DYK that CCR&R offers resources to help families make their own Emergency Preparedness plan?

Join CCR&R Emergency Preparedness Text Communication

Our Emergency Preparedness team has created a series of reminders and tips to help your child care program. When signing up, you will receive one or two texts a month to review planning requirements and a reminder to run drills.

Preparing Now to Protect Later

Reminders for Emergency Preparedness from CCR&R

Provider Survey Response

"When a fire started in my child care home in the middle of the day, I was thankful I had a copy of my emergency plan stored outside of my house. If I only had one copy in my house, I wouldn’t have been able to access it. I only had time to get the children out of the house. I also recommend you keep a copy of the following in your car or one of your alternative emergency places: emergency cards with your extra emergency plan that have all the information to get ahold of the parents. Include pictures on them in case the fire department is helping release children to parents if the provider is not able to. I’m also so glad that we practiced the drills each month because the children also knew what to do." - Chevy, Child Development Home Provider

For Communities