Posted: August 20, 2025
In real estate, location is important. "Location, location, location!" With emergency preparedness plans, that is also the case. There is so much about a location that determines the emergency plans that should be put in place, anticipating possible crises and responses. Is your building located in a flood plain? How do you prepare? Is your program in a high-rise building? How do you prepare? Are you in the "middle of nowhere"? How do you prepare? Your location decides so much about an appropriate, customized response plan.
The FEMA Nation Risk Index map
Put your zip code or county into this FEMA National Risk Index map and find out what the more common emergencies are for your area. Then spend a little bit of time thinking back over the last year. What were the actual current events that required a quick, whole-program response? A power outage due to severe weather? A tree falling across the parking lot? The water line to a washing machine breaking and flooding a storage area? Work stoppage at a public transportation site near your building? While you can't prepare for every emergency, it is good to regularly discuss response plans and fine-tune them to include more likely experiences. In time, a program's basic response plan can become more and more comprehensive.
In many states, programs are required to review emergency response plans on an annual basis and re-communicate those plans to the families enrolled in their programs. Some programs do this in the fall at the beginning of a school year or in October during Fire Prevention Month and the Great ShakeOut Preparation Day (third Thursday in October). This is a great time to remind families not only about the preparations you have made at the location, but also that you have specifically identified safe relocation spaces away from the designated site to where you and the children can safely evacuate if your place is not safe. How recently have you had a conversation with the staff at the relocation site? How recently have you actually evacuated the whole way to that alternate address? These are great practice experiences. If you'd like to give families a reminder card for their wallet or phone about emergency contact numbers and relocation addresses, BKC has created an Emergency Wallet Cards template (PDF) for that purpose. Personalize this form with your program's information and distribute these cards at the beginning of the school year when you remind families of your overall emergency plans, policies, and preparation.
If you want to think more about emergency preparation or if you are creating an emergency response plan for the first time, these newly launched courses can help. Select the one that is appropriate for your setting—either Center and Group Emergency Plans and Preparation or Family Child Care Emergency Plans and Preparation. Both courses will be available in Spanish later this summer.
