Rapid Parental Notification for Child Care Providers

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There is a new urgency across our land to ensure that critical incident plans, communication plans, and parental re-unification plans are in place at all institutions responsible for the safety of America's children. The U.S. Courts have stated that preparation for disasters is now a duty and expectation of those acting in a "locos parental" role.

Child care providers face unique challenges preparing for and responding to critical incidents and unplanned schedule changes. Like most emergency scenarios, effective communication is critical, and child care has the added challenge of providing parents with timely and accurate information about their child.

One of the most common barriers to effective planning and response is the perceived inability to rapidly communicate with parents. Worded another way, critical incident plans are formed around the assumption that it is impractical or impossible to reliably contact parents during a critical incident.

For example, directors will choose to stay in the ...