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Get Prepared, Kids!

Introduction

It is important that children know what to do in an emergency. A few ways children can plan to be prepared for emergencies include practicing emergency drills at home and school, knowing where the family meeting place is, how to call 9-1-1, who the out-of-town family contact is, and what to do during an emergency.

We welcome suggestions for the Portal! If you find a good preparedness tool, please email it to citizencorps@dhs.gov.

We encourage the use of websites that are accessible to people with access and functional needs. For guidance on creating Section 508 compliant online materials refer to the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards. For further information on emergency management and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, please review this webinar from the Citizen Corps Community Preparedness Webinar Series.

Disclaimer
The resources listed here are purely for reference, are from publicly available sources, and intended to provide preparedness guidance, tools, and publications.  FEMA does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on any linked external, third-party website. Nor does FEMA endorse any non-Federal government entity, service, or organization including but not limited to any commercial products.

 

National Summit on Youth Preparedness

On September 15-16, 2010, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Education, and the American Red Cross hosted the National Summit on Youth Preparedness.

The Summit brought together approximately 180 attendees from the fields of youth communications, programs serving youth, developers of youth preparedness education, practitioners from the state, tribal, and local levels, and academia.  The goal of the Summit is to synthesize input from all participants to develop a framework for a national strategy on grades K-12 preparedness education to increase youth preparedness knowledge, skills, and behaviors, and to address youth of all abilities and backgrounds. 

View the PowerPoint presentation and listen to the recordings via webinar on the Community Preparedness Webinar Series page.

Youth Preparedness

The following document provides a review and of youth disaster preparedness and education materials and programs. This information may be useful when developing or implementing your own educational program.  

The Catalogue of Youth Disaster Preparedness Education Resources was created to assist individuals and organizations with locating preparedness resources that are tailored to children and youth.  All information provided here comes directly from the entities sponsoring each program. We need your help to try to make this resource as comprehensive as possible.  If you know of any programs or resources that would add to this compendium please forward it to citizencorps@dhs.gov

The Children's Working Group (CWG) was established by Administrator Fugate in August 2009, and is responsible for leading FEMA's efforts, in partnership with other federal agencies and non-governmental stakeholders, to ensure that the needs of children are considered and integrated into all disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery efforts initiated at the federal level. The Working Group is chaired by a member of senior leadership and comprised of a lead coordinator and representatives from virtually all sectors of the Agency.

Online Activities for Children

Parents

State Resources

Additional Information

Girl Scouts Emergency Preparedness Patch Program

The Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital and FEMA's Community Preparedness Division partnered to develop this patch program in order to provide information and activities in emergency preparedness appropriate for all levels of Scouts, from Daisy through Ambassador. The patch program will raise public awareness about personal preparedness, training, and volunteer service to support emergency services and community safety and will motivate young women to become leaders in their communities in the fields of emergency management and emergency response.

Relevant Webinars and Citizen Corps Research

These webinars from CItizen Corps' Community Preparedness Webinar Series may provide additional useful information:

Citizen Preparedness Research Issue 6: Bringing Youth Preparedness Education to the Forefront: A Literature Review and Recommendations (Summer 2010)

Citizen Preparedness Research Issue 6 summarizes research and evaluations in the field of youth disaster preparedness and education. Findings based on this literature review are presented in three principal categories: individual/youth preparedness education, school programs and curricula, and community engagement for youth preparedness. The report then concludes with recommended practices for youth disaster education and research to help achieve greater levels of preparedness activities among children and their families.

Citizen Preparedness Surveys Database

The Citizen Preparedness Surveys Database is a compilation of research conducted since September 11, 2001 on personal and business preparedness. This database is used to assess trends in research and trends in preparedness throughout the nation. If you are aware of relevant survey that is not included in this database, please contact citizencorps@dhs.gov.

Public Readiness Index

The Council for Excellence in Government has created a Public Readiness Index (PRI) to help individuals, families and communities measure their Readiness Quotient (RQ). Find out how other Americans measured up and check your own RQ.

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