How to Make an Evacuation Plan for Family Daycare

By creating plans to deal with emergencies, you can contribute to the safety of the children in your care. Both adults and children should have regular drills on dealing with fire, natural disasters and other emergencies. To ease children's concerns, tell them that you are practicing what to do to in case of a problem. The words "fire drill" or "evacuation drill" can scare them, especially if they are very young. Coach them on how to exit the day-care center in a calm and orderly fashion.

Things You'll Need

  • Health records for each child
  • Emergency contacts for each child
  • Carry-all for records
  • Container of emergency supplies
  • Sign listing evacuation site address

Instructions

  1. Evacuation Plans

    • 1

      Set up plans for different kinds of evacuations, including in-place evacuation, where children and caregivers are moved to a safe place in the facility. This scenario would be used for a tornado warning or similar event. An off-site evacuation should include plans to move children and caregivers to a designed area outside of the daycare premises. This site would be chosen in advance as part of the evacuation plans.

    • 2

      Practice evacuation procedures with the children and caregivers on a regular basis. Keep records on the date and times of these drills. Develop a list of responsibilities for each adult during the evacuation, and make sure that everyone is clear about their roles. Assign one adult for example, to call 9-1-1 and phone the families, while another adult should post signs and grab emergency supplies.

    • 3

      Assemble emergency supplies to take along during the evacuation. These could include medical supplies, water, food and disinfectants. Make copies of the children's health records as well as a list of emergency contacts for each child in your care. Pack these records in a container that is easy to carry so that you can bring it during the evacuation. Create a sign than can posted on the day-care center during the evacuation to alert families to the relocation address.

    • 4

      Devise a plan for emergency transportation. Ensure that all caregivers are aware of the location of the hospitals nearest to the evacuation site. Train all caregivers in the techniques for turning off electricity, gas and water if needed.

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