Emergency and Disaster Binder

• You should always maintain a special binder in the office for emergency and disaster plan information. This is where you keep copies of all disaster and emergency information that relates to the center, including records of all evacuation drills. You need to review materials contained in the emergency and disaster policy binder at least every three months to make sure that out-of-date materials are replaced. Check telephone lists to make sure that telephone numbers are still valid, on an ongoing basis. It is also important to keep the center's daily attendance record in the same place as the emergency and disaster policy binder. You must take both with you if the center is evacuated.
  
  

Children with Special Needs

• Children with special needs and health issues may need individual emergency disaster plans. You should work these out with the child's parents or guardian on a case-by-case basis, and review them each month to make sure they are kept up-to-date. Furthermore, parents must keep the center informed of any relevant changes in their child's special needs.
  
  

Designated Safe Meeting Place

• You must designate a safe meeting place. This will be outside the facility, away from the building and away from where emergency vehicles may park and drive. The safe meeting place should be visible from the center and in a sheltered spot, if possible.
  
  

Post Evacuation Plan and Emergency Backpacks

• Everyone, including the children, should be familiar with the evacuation plan. The plan must be posted on the wall by the exit doors as well as in the staff room on a bulletin board where it can be easily seen. If there is no staff room, it should be located in another place that is frequented by people. You should keep a backpack for every staff member in a cupboard near the exit door. In each backpack, always keep a first aid kit, pen or pencil, notepad and an emergency information card for each child and each staff member. Every staff member should already have a cell phone that he keeps with him at all times while working in the center.
  
  

Staff Education

• There must be an emergency disaster plan training program for all regular staff, volunteers and substitute staff. This training should be reviewed every six months.
  
  

Practice

• Children and staff must practice evacuation procedures at least every month. The warning signal to indicate that practice is beginning should be a whistle or another unusual sound that the children are not exposed to at any other time. When the children and staff hear the whistle, they will know that either a real emergency or an evacuation drill is happening.
  
  

Further Points to Consider

• The safety of all children and others in the center is the most important consideration in any emergency. When making your emergency disaster plan, you should contact your local fire department to consult with them about evacuation policies and procedures for events such as fires, earthquakes and gas leaks. They will usually send a member of their agency to any child care center to help prepare the best possible plan. In the same way, contact your local police department for advice about what to do in situations where the center's security or a child's safety is compromised by another person.