Family Child Care Emergency Preparedness | Domestic Preparedness Photo: Child Care Aware of America (July 2010)
Preparedness

Family Child Care Emergency Preparedness

by Jillian Ritter -

Many families depend on child care providers to care for their children so parents can work and go to school. The National Survey of Early Care and Education estimates that 118,000 listed providers care for more than 750,000 children between birth and 5 years of age in home-based settings. Home-based child care, also referred to as family child care, is care provided in a home setting for a smaller group of children (usually under 12 children). Parents often choose family child care because of the appeal of a home-like environment, smaller group sizes, and greater opportunity for flexible hours. Listed child care means they appear on state or national lists of early care and education services, such as licensed, regulated, license-exempt, or registered home-based providers.

 
Commentary

Ever-Evolving Preparedness Challenges

by Catherine L. Feinman -

Emerging threats of yesteryear seemed unrealistic, so allocating funds and resources to such threats was not a priority for many agencies and organizations. Today, some of those “unrealistic” scenarios have become almost commonplace. As a result, having a three-day kit, knowing how to stop the bleed, and training for an active shooter event no longer seem unusual. However, communities are still generally greatly unprepared for what is yet to come tomorrow.

Preparedness

Small Steps Toward Long-Term Power Outage Preparedness

by Deborah Link -

Although a long-term, widespread power outage may not be a top priority in community preparedness plans, many communities have considered the devastating effects of such a scenario. A long-term power outage, for the purpose of this article, is defined as one that lasts from the time regular and emergency resources are depleted to a year – or even longer. The cause of the power outage could be any of the following: an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from any source, a cascading event after a smaller area is affected by some type of power system intrusion or attack, or any other threat or hazard that could cause a power outage.

Commentary

Letter to the Publisher & Poll

by -

Dear DomPrep Readers, On Wednesday, January 1, 2020, I published a six month review along with a publisher message. I received a thought provoking reply from Mr. James Rush that I need to share with you. Jim is very well known and respected in the Emergency Management arena and is a frequent contributor to DomPrep. I agree with his five points and ask if you agree as well. Please find a link to a flash poll that I encourage you to take. Please feel free to forward this email to your colleagues to also get their input. Let me know if you find this useful. Best regards, Martin D. (Marty) Masiuk, Founder & Publisher

Preparedness

Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks: Paris Attacks of 2015

by Robert Mueck -

On 21 October 2019, the French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office announced that the investigation into the 2015 terror attacks in Paris, France, had concluded. It took French authorities four years to complete the investigation. The attacks targeted outdoor cafes, a stadium, and a concert hall – resulting in 130 deaths and another 352 injured. The investigation revealed that a larger jihadist cell was behind the complex coordinated terrorist attacks (CCTA), reaching across Europe but particularly Belgium, which was later also targeted by the cell. The result of the French investigation has led to the indictments of at least 20 suspects and the discovery of many lessons learned.

Commentary

Triggered Collapse, Part 1: A Nation Unprepared

by Drew Miller -

As numerous past disasters and government exercises have indicated, many people will take advantage of overwhelmed police to loot and maraud. “Preppers” are well aware of this threat, but it may be politically incorrect for government officials to honestly address lawlessness and risk offending voters, so they lack preparation for the problem of gangs and armed marauders looting and killing in the wake of a big disaster that overwhelms first responders.

Updates

Public-Private Cooperation for Pandemic Preparedness and Response

The Event 201 pandemic exercise, conducted on October 18, 2019, demonstrated a number of important gaps in pandemic preparedness as well as some of the elements of the solutions between the public and private sectors that will be needed to fill them. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, World Economic Forum, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have proposed seven recommendations.

DomPrep Mourns the Loss of Edward John Gabriel, M.P.A, EMT-P, CEM, DBCP

The emergency preparedness and response community remembers the lifetime service and valuable contributions of Edward John Gabriel.

Counties Assist the Elderly in Disasters

The elderly are particularly vulnerable to disasters given the increased likelihood of having physical or mental health conditions or being socially isolated due to a lack of a support network. It is important for counties to assess the needs of and have plans in place to assist their elderly populations in the event of a disaster.

Mitigating the Risk and Impact of Assaults on EMS Responders

Many studies have shown that firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) responders have a high likelihood of experiencing an assault since they respond to calls in varied locations, often paired with only one or two colleagues. Researchers on the Stress and Violence to Fire-based EMS Responders (SAVER) study found many improvements organizations can make to mitigate the risk and impact of assaults on their responders.

The Updated CERT Basic Training Is Here

The updated Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training is now available. It features a revised Disaster Medical Operations section, updated Terrorism and CERT section, and new hazard-specific annexes. Find the new curriculum materials online and order free copies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency publications warehouse.