Disaster Planning and Response
This Web page provides resources to assist individuals working with children and families to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters or other emergency situations.
- Resources from the Department of Education and Other Federal Agencies
- Helping Families and Children, Including Those with Disabilities, Cope with Disasters
(See also our Homelessness Web page, which contains resources to assist individuals working with families and children who are homeless.)
Resources from the Department of Education and Other Federal Agencies
- The Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools provides information to help schools prepare for and respond to a variety of possible emergencies, including natural disasters, violent incidents, health emergencies and more - http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/index.html
- The Office of Child Care (OCC) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides resources to help parents, providers and
policymakers develop emergency preparedness, response and recovery plans:
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Child Care Resources for Disasters and Emergencies
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/initiatives/emergency/index.htm - Spotlight on Disaster Preparedness (June 2008 )
http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewSection&issueID=95&subsectionID=12 - Coping With Disaster: Suggestions for Helping Children With Cognitive Disabilities
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/add/Sept11/addcoping.html
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Child Care Resources for Disasters and Emergencies
- The Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR) at the HHS has developed resources related to disaster preparedness activities and planning for children in all settings - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohsepr/children/about_children.html
- The Child Welfare Information Gateway has information to help States and jurisdictions develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans and respond to emergencies quickly and effectively to protect children and families - http://www.childwelfare.gov/management/disaster_preparedness/professionals.cfm
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a Web site on Helping Children Cope with Disaster at http://www.fema.gov/rebuild/recover/cope_child.shtm. See also, FEMA's paper entitled Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs (2004), at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1442
Helping Families and Children, Including Those with Disabilities, Cope with Disasters
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers a variety of resources for families and children on disaster preparedness and other health and safety topics - http://www.aap.org/disasters/families.cfm. See also the AAP policy statement on Disaster Planning for Schools (2008) - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/122/4/895.abstract5
- The Council for Exceptional Children has published an article entitled Help Students Cope with Fear and Feelings Following Disaster (2005). It includes a section on special care for students with disabilities and strategies to help students with specific disabilities - http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3999
- The Florida Institute for Family
Involvement has published a guide entitled Disaster Preparedness for Families of Children with Special Needs
(Retrieved March 2006) to help families of children with
special needs be prepared in the event of an
emergency, disaster, or acts of terrorism. Although it is Florida oriented, much of the
information is useful for all families and children with special needs -
http://www.kitsapdem.org/pdfs/special_needs/Preparedness_Children_Special_Needs.pdf
(PDF: 677kb)
- The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has resources available to help children and youth cope with traumatic events - http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/
- ZERO TO THREE has resources to support parents and caregivers in helping infants and toddlers cope with and recover from traumatic and stressful experiences - http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=key_disaster&AddInterest=1142
Links on this site are verified monthly. This page content was last updated on 06/28/2011 CF.
