Section 4: Children, Emergencies and Foster CareYou will need to print out the following handouts for this Lesson
#4: HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH DISASTER
#5: EMERGENCY PLANNING FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (Optional Reading)
To view the references used in this course, please go to REFERENCES AND LINKS.
Section 4: Children, Emergencies and Foster CareWhen it comes to a children in foster care and community wide disasters, individual foster families has responsibilities and the State of Alaska Office of Children's Services has responsibilities. This unit will look at both.
The bottom line is that we want children to be safe and have a responsible adult looking after their safety. That's the foster parents job. But the State has the final responsibility for the care of the children in foster care, so it needs to have a plan to make sure that the State of Alaska can keep track of where children are and reasonable guarantee their safety in the the aftermath of a disaster. That's the job of licensing and the State's Emergency Response Plan.
The State of Alaska Administrative Code that addresses Environment Health and Safety in licensed facilities (7 AAC 10.1000-7 AAC 10.1095) outlines what is required in foster homes. Much of Alaska's requirements of foster homes is similar to what we have discussed in this course. Here is what the State of Alaska Office of Children's Services requires of licensed foster parents in Alaska.
Hope that sounds familiar! That's what we covered in the first session. The licensing regulations require foster homes to have a plan for fire evacuation and a plan for emergencies and disasters such as natural disasters as well that may affect your home, including tsunamis, cold weather, flooding and earthquake emergencies. OCS calls these Resource Family Emergency Response Plans (RF ERPs). If you have been doing the exercises in this course, you already started one! If you need to review, return to the section on Make A Plan.
A foster home must have an emergency evacuation plan. This means that you must plan for how you would be able to get your family members out of your home within 150 seconds, including children with limited mobility. This is most commonly in response to a fire.
Evacuation drills should be practiced with family members at once a month unless bad weather prevents the drill.
- Keep a record of your drills ( your licensing worker will ask to see it) and check your smoke detectors regularly.
- Practice your evacuation drills regularly. Older children should know how to get out of the house. Agree on a meeting place outside the house. With young children, adults are responsible for their safety and for getting them out safe. This is especially important for children with special needs or for babies.
- With a child under 30 months with special needs (such as deafness or in a wheel chair or crib bound), you need to specify how you will evacuate that child. Determine in advance who is able to carry the child; how the wheelchair be wheeled out of the house; or, where the accessible exits are located.
Also, take time to review regularly your family plan for emergencies, reminding children where your emergency meeting spot is and making sure they know what to do and who to call if the family gets separated. Again, if you have been following this course, you've already begun to develop a family plan and that includes presenting and practicing the plan, . If you need to review, return to Practice Your Plan.
Again, sound familiar? Earlier we discussed your emergency kit and what needs to be in it. If you need to review what needs to go into your kit, go to the Make A Kit Checklist. The Regulations specify that at a minimum, your emergency supplies kit needs to include:
- a fully stocked first aid kit
- a least one flashlight and batteries
- at least one battery operated radio and batteries
- potable water
- nonperishable food
- blankets
If an emergency affects your home, you should notify your licensing worker by phone, fax or email no later than the following working day and submit a detailed written report to the department within five days. The report should include date and time of the emergency, description of the emergency, and a description and evaluation of how you evacuated your home.
Of course, this may be more difficult if a disaster affects your whole community and not just your home. That is why your emergency response plan should be on file with your social worker and your licensing worker. To review what you should be sharing with the Office of Children's Services, review the Share Your Plan with OCS information.
What is the Emergency Response Plan for the State of Alaska When It Comes to Children in Foster Care?
The OCS’s Statewide Emergency Plan (OCS SERP) is a way for regional and field offices to develop local and family emergency response plans to natural and manmade disasters.
Federal Legislation passed in 2006 mandated that state, to continue to receive federal funding develop an emergency response plan that will provide continuity of care and services to children in State’s care and respond services to new child welfare cases in areas affected by a disaster. It also required each state to develop ways to preserve communication, essential programs and case records in case of a disaster.
Alaska is in the process of developing this plan. Foster families, local offices, regional offices and state OCS offices all will have a role in this plan. Resource families with children under state’s care will be asked to have a Resource Family Response Plan (RF ERP) in each child’s file. This is the plan we discussed in Session Two, so you already know kind of information you need to give to your social worker. .
Each OCS field office will work with local partners which may include First Responders, Tribal entities, Emergency Management Teams, and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) which will be planning specific emergency responses for individual community. During a disaster, the role of OCS will include locating and ascertaining the safety of children, families and staff, as much as possible, prior to, during and immediately after incident and assisting in any new demands for child welfare services as a result of the disaster.
Resource families are an important part of this plan. By having your information on file with your social worker, there is a better chance to locate you and the children in your home more quickly after an emergency. Future plans include a general toll free number to call if you are displaced by a disaster or emergency. Meanwhile, your first job is to keep the children you are responsible safe and get them the care that they need. You need to contact the nearest OCS office as soon as you are able to report your whereabouts.
The OCS Statewide Emergency Plan is a plan in process. More information should be coming as it is being developed. Contact Izabel Bowers, OCS Emergency Response Coordinator at Izabel.Bowers@alaska.gov with any suggestions, feedback, updates or questions.
Following are more resources for parents helping to prepare children for emergency planning. These are not required reading for this course, but you may find valuable information and resources that will help you prepare your children better.
Activities for Helping Children Learn About Emergency Preparedness (http://www.ready.gov/index.html)
Click on Ready Kids for a list of activities for Children.
FEMA Electronic Coloring Book for Children
http://www.fema.gov/kids/games/colorbk/
The American Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Coloring Book for Children (http://www.prepare.org/children/children.htm)
A listing of materials including articles and coloring books to help you prepare children.
Emergency Planning for Children with Special Needs
A special look at disaster planning when you have a child with special needs.
Check what you've learned in Session Four by taking this short quiz.
1. What do the Licensing Requirements require of licensed foster families regarding emergencies and disasters? (FILL IN THE BLANKS BY TYPING IN YOUR ANSWERS THEN CHECK THE BUTTON.)
Make a ________________________________________ .
Make a ________________________________________.
_____________________________ Your ___________________________ .
In an Emergency, notify _______________________________as soon as you can.
2. Federal Legislation requires all states to develop an emergency response plan for their child welfare agencies if the states want to continue to receive federal funding
3. Resource families should share their emergency plans with their social worker by giving them written information to put into the child's file.
4. Licensed foster parents are required to have an emergency kit. Name at least two things that should be in it. (NAME TWO ITEMS THEN CLICK THE BUTTON TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.)
a. _________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:
1. Make A Plan. Make A Kit. Practice Your Plan. In an Emergency, notify OCS as soon as you can.
2. True. Alaska is currently working on its Emergency Response Plan.
3. True. While it is currently not required, it is a good idea and is expected to become a required part of the State's Emergency Response Plan.
4. At a minimum, your emergency supplies kit needs to include a fully stocked first aid kit, a flashlight and batteries, a battery operated radio and batteries, potable water, nonperishable food. and blankets.
TO COMPLETE THE COURSE AND EARN 3.0 TRAINING HOURS, YOU MUST COMPLETE THE "CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING" QUESTIONNAIRE.
The questionnaire must be done on line and either printed out and mailed back or completed and clicking Submit at the end of the course. Go to the last page of the course by going to CONCLUSION and reading the instructions for completing the questionnaire.