Child Welfare Emergency Preparedness Services

Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) provides guidance on Child Care emergency Preparedness Planning for:

• State and Local Welfare Agencies
• State, Local & Private Foster Care Facilities

Children in the care of child welfare agencies are some of the most vulnerable populations in disaster and emergency situations. to protect them, child welfare agencies must go beyond “having a disaster plan” and develop specific capabilities to take protective actions before, during, and after a disaster happens. PCG’s experience, expertise, and structured planning framework provide state-of-the-art yet cost- effective emergency preparedness planning and capability development to allow child welfare agencies to take effective action to protect children in their care from disaster situations, including the ability to:

• Identify and mitigate hazards and threats;
• Facilitate development of provider and facility emergency plans, including detailed responses to each disaster situation;
• Coordinate effectively with first responders;
• Develop and execute communication plans;
• Identify, track, and communicate with evacuees;
• Ensure access to critical information about facilities, staff,and children at risk in an emergency;
• Provide services (including special needs and transportation) during and after a disaster;
• Integrate capabilities, coordinate responses, and share information with emergency management agencies and other states;
• Benchmark plans and capabilities with federal requirements,other states, and best practices.

PCG Services Include:

• Emergency Preparedness Plans;
• Step-by-step guidance for developing specific capabilities for protecting children before, during, and after an emergency;
• Training plans and exercises;
• Continuity of Operations plans;
• GIS capable Child Welfare Registry for identifying, tracking, and accessing critical information about facilities, staff, and children at risk in an emergency.

PCG’s emergency preparedness plans integrate federal guidelines and national best practices that cover all hazards, including eather emergencies, natural disasters, fire, smoke, bomb threats, hazardous material, terrorism incident, intruder, active shooter, and other potentially violent situations. The plans are coordinated with local first responders and delineate specific, detailed responses for each emergency situation, including evacuation, shelter in place, nd lockdown procedures. PCG’s GIS capable Child Welfare registry provides critical information to first responders and child welfare facilities within an emergency zone.

PCG Expertise

With more than two decades of experience in child welfare consulting, PCG understands the unique needs of these services providers. We are a national leader in providing child welfare fiscal, regulatory, programmatic, and operational advice and assistance. PCG’s Homeland Security/ Emergency Preparedness team has facilitated emergency preparedness forums; conducted table-top and full-scale exercises involving hundreds of first responders; and performed assessment of emergency plans, information flow, and overall preparedness for public health, public safety, emergency management and other state and local government agencies.

 Attachments:

Click on the image to download an information sheet for this service.