Ready for Anything: A Disaster Planning Manual for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
How ready is my staff for an emergency?
A well-trained and well-prepared staff is a critical component of a disaster plan. Each person on your staff should be given their own copy of your plan. They should also be involved in all future disaster planning.
Your staff should know the answers to these basic questions at all times:
- Where is the facility’s disaster plan stored?
- Where are the emergency exits?
- Where are the fire extinguishers?
- Where are spare keys stored?
- How are records stored, and who has access to them?
- Where is the first aid kit?
- Where are the emergency supplies?
- Where is the facility’s safe room?
- Where is the rally point in the event of a building evacuation?
- Who is responsible for operating facility vehicles?
You’ve already thought about some of these questions. You’ll think about others in later parts of this manual. What’s critical to keep in mind, though, is that it’s not enough for you to think about these things. Your staff must, as well.
Taking stock
Just as you took stock of the young people you serve and the attributes of your facility, it is important to take stock of your staff as well. Take a few minutes to answer the questions on the following worksheet:
- How many staff members are normally present on site?
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- Who makes important decisions when you are not present?
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- Who on your staff can drive your facility’s vehicles?
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- Who on your staff is trained in first aid and/or CPR? Who is trained to administer medication?
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- How is important information relayed to staff in your facility?
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- Is your staff able to contact one another when off site? How?
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- How often does your staff rehearse emergency response scenarios?
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How many staff members are normally present on site?
It is critical for you to know how many staff members are present in your facility at any given time in order to plan how much food, water, and other emergency equipment to have on hand.
You must also consider how responsibilities will be shared among staff members during emergency situations. For example, during the day, when there are usually multiple staff on duty to respond to an emergency, one person might be tasked with calling 911, another with retrieving emergency supplies, and a third with overseeing the building evacuation. Night staff, who tend to work alone or in much smaller numbers, must be trained and ready to assume full responsibility for everything during a disaster.
Later, in the “Response” section of this manual, you will begin to develop individual response guides tailored to the disaster scenarios that are likely to affect your facility.
Who makes important decisions when you are not present?
Obviously, it isn’t possible for senior management to always be present. That means you must have clear protocols in place for emergency decisionmaking in your absence. Consider establishing an “emergency management team” within your facility, to ensure that your staff has a clear understanding of who is the designated “emergency manager” at any given moment. Any staff person who might be in a position to make critical decisions should be provided with access to the entire facility—keys to the safe room/emergency supply storage area, access to backup files, and so forth. Furthermore, every staff person should know how to reach your onsite emergency manager quickly (by cell phone or pager, for example) should the need arise.
Who on your staff can drive your facility’s vehicles?
While most evacuations will take you only steps from your facility, some may require you to go much further (see “Where would I go during an evacuation?”). It is critical that you have enough vehicles—and drivers—to evacuate all staff and youth.
If your facility has its own vehicle, keep a list of staff members certified to operate it (licensed, trained in its operation, and covered by insurance). At least one certified staff person should be on duty at any given time. Each should have access to vehicle keys, registration and insurance information, and petty cash or credit cards for purchasing fuel.
If you don’t have your own vehicle, or if it won’t hold your entire population, you will need to arrange to use staff vehicles. Establish well in advance who will drive, how insurance issues will be handled, and how vehicles will be brought to the facility.
For more information on transportation, see “What access to transportation do I have?”
Who on your staff is trained in first aid and/or CPR? Who is trained to administer medication?
Since medical emergencies are among the most common crises you can face, having a staff well-trained in basic first aid and CPR is a critical part of disaster planning. If your State doesn’t require that all staff be trained in CPR and first aid, ensure that there is always at least one certified staff person on duty and that all other staff can easily reach that person by cell phone or pager. If you have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site, ensure that at least one staff person on duty at any given time is certified to use it.
Keep track of each staff person’s certifications in first aid, CPR, AED use, and administering of medication in his or her personnel file. Since certifications expire after a set period of time, you will need to ensure that staff take regular recertification courses. The Red Cross is an excellent training resource—visit www.redcross.org to learn more about scheduling trainings for your staff.
If you have a residential facility where youth are present for extended periods of time, consider offering them first aid, CPR, or AED training. You can never have too many trained responders!
How is important information relayed to staff within your facility?
During a crisis, your staff must be able to quickly and accurately communicate with you and each other. Ideally, staff should carry walkie-talkies that enable them to contact one another regardless of where they are. Each staff person should understand who is the emergency manager on duty; who is trained in first aid, CPR, or AED usage; who is able to drive the facility vehicle; and who has access to the secure areas of the facility (safe room, emergency supply and file storage). Consider creating a “duty board” to display this information.
It is also important to consider how your staff will obtain important information from outside the facility. If a hurricane is coming, for example, how will your staff know if regional authorities give an evacuation order? Keep a radio or television in a central area of your facility, and ensure that, during a regional disaster, it remains tuned to a local news station so that your staff can remain abreast of developing situations as they occur.
If your facility has a voicemail system, consider creating a special extension on which you can record an emergency message. In the event of a large-scale emergency, off-duty staff can call in and receive critical information and instructions (such as when and where to bring vehicles). If an evacuation becomes necessary, you can continue to receive phone calls and important messages by using the call forwarding feature on your facility’s phone.
Finally, if you have a parent agency responsible for making decisions concerning evacuations or other responses to large-scale disasters, ensure that your emergency manager knows how to contact that agency.
Is your staff able to contact one another when off site?
To ensure that staff can communicate even when off site, create an up-to-date staff contact list (Appendix C) and post it prominently in a secure location (your main office or staff lounge, for example). The list should include staff member’s names, home and cell phone numbers, home addresses, e-mail addresses, and information about whether or not each staff person is certified to operate facility vehicles or is responsible for providing a vehicle during evacuations.
A copy of the list should be given to all staff, included in your staff Go-Bag (see “What supplies and resources do I need?”), and kept in the glove compartment of each facility vehicle. Regularly update the list to ensure that it is as current as possible.
How often does your staff rehearse disaster response scenarios?
Once you have completed your disaster plan, develop a schedule of drills so that your staff (and, possibly, the young people you serve) can rehearse one or two disaster responses every couple of months. Consider, for example, rehearsing a “shelter in place” scenario to determine how adequate your safe room is, or a medical emergency to practice such steps as notifying emergency responders and retrieving the first aid kit. After each drill, discuss with participants what worked in your response and what could work better, and adjust your plan accordingly (see the “Recovery” section of this manual for more information on revising your disaster plan). Your entire staff should participate in drills; if it is not possible to bring everyone together at once, alternate drills among your various shifts.
Remember that, in preparing effective responses to disasters, repetition is key. Your staff—and your young people—may roll their eyes as they go through the motions of rehearsing various disaster responses. But the more they practice the steps required to deal with a specific disaster, the more likely they’ll be able to respond appropriately when it actually occurs.
You can use the maintenance log (Appendix B) to schedule and track your disaster response drills.
Moving on
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Assess your staff’s level of training in first aid, CPR, AED usage, and medication administering (if applicable). Ensure that each duty shift has at least one staff person on hand who is trained in first aid and CPR. If your staff needs additional training, contact the local chapter of the Red Cross to explore your options. Track each staff person’s certification in your personnel files. |
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Create a “duty board” for your staff office that lists staff names and other contact information. Include on the board information about each staff person’s trainings and certifications and some sort of marker to indicate who is the emergency manager on duty. |
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Ensure that your staff has the means to quickly and accurately communicate with each other while on site, even if they are in different locations. Walkie-talkies are a good option. |
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Create a staff contact list (Appendix C) and post it in a secure area within the facility. Also place copies of the list with your emergency supplies and inside each facility vehicle. Provide each staff person with a copy to take home. |
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Develop a bimonthly drill schedule to rehearse disaster response scenarios. Schedule and track your drills on the maintenance log (Appendix B). |
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What supplies and resources do I need? >> |
