1. Find Out

Find out and record precisely what happened; which individuals were involved; and their current location, present condition, and immediate needs. Note any actions that have been taken so far. Ascertain who was supervising when the incident occurred, and determine who is in order now. Assess your available resources, which outside help may be called in, and how much assistance will be delivered.

Document the facts as you learn them. Keep a notebook and pen or pencil in your crisis response kit.

• Essential facts checklist
• What happened?
• Who was involved?
• Where are they now?
• What is their present condition?
• What action has been taken so far?
• Who was supervising?
• Who is in charge?
• What internal resources are available?
• What outside resources are needed?
• How will assistance be delivered?
• When did the incident occur?

As you get the facts about what happened or is still happening, it’s essential to determine whether the crisis is life threatening. If you are faced with a bomb threat, shooter, or the encroachment of a life-threatening situation, you may need to take immediate action before you contact emergency services.

2. Call emergency services
Equipped with facts, call 911 or the appropriate emergency services. Telephone numbers to emergency services should be prominently posted and kept in multiple locations to be accessed quickly and easily. Include directions to your facility with emergency phone numbers. It may be difficult for staff to provide precise recommendations to emergency personnel in a crisis. Consider adding a fully-charged cellular telephone, with a telephone number posted on it, to your crisis response kit (see page 8). This way, if your telephone services are not working, you may still be able to communicate.

Calls made at this time should be kept to an absolute minimum. Limit your calls to the following:

Emergency medical services: Describe the situation accurately and quickly. The facts you have gathered will help you to respond to the dispatcher’s questions and increase the likelihood of a prompt and proper response. Remember to ask relevant questions. For example, if children or adults have been injured, determine what actions should be taken before the emergency medical personnel arrive.

We recommend having one or more staff members certified in CPR and First Aid on the premises at all times.

Fire department: You may need to alert the fire department, even if there is no evidence of fire. There may be unknown hazards present—gas leaks, hazardous chemical spills, for example—that the fire department can identify and remedy.

Police department: If a crime has occurred, notify the police immediately. The police can also help secure and control access to the area.

Exceptional circumstances may require calls to other authorities or agencies. For instance, call the Poison Control Center if you suspect a child or adult has ingested a harmful substance. If you suspect a child is missing, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children immediately. The Center can mobilize resources and coordinate a search with the FBI and local authorities. Remember that the first minutes and hours after a child is suspected of missing are often the most important in obtaining a successful recovery.

3. Stabilize the situation

With help on the way, your attention can be directed to stabilizing the situation. You can accomplish this by accounting for those involved, assessing their condition, removing everyone from further harm, and controlling the activity at the scene.

When you develop your plan, identify individuals on your staff who can act as “greeters.” Greeters help monitor traffic flow, keep unauthorized individuals out of the crisis area, and direct press inquiries to a designated spokesperson. The individuals you select for this role should be diplomatic but authoritative, articulate, and level-headed.

Greeters also need to be well-versed in your crisis management plan. Please provide bullet points about how the media can contact the designated spokesperson and how, when, and where parents can retrieve their children.

Disperse these greeters to strategic areas (entrances, exits) with appropriate instructions as soon as possible. When something terrible happens, people who want to help, onlookers, media, and less well-intentioned people often flock to the site.

Account for all individuals involved. In the moment’s confusion, it may be challenging to remember everyone’s name. Your crisis response kit should include a current roster and a list of staff and volunteers. Camps that are both day and resident, may have different logs at different times—childcare centers care for other children daily, sometimes from hour to hour. Consider duplicating your sign-in sheet and periodically placing the copy in your crisis response kit.

Immediately attend to the needs of those injured, and search for others who may have been disabled. Administer care following the instructions you receive from

Emergency Services. After injured individuals have been cared for or placed in the care of a qualified EMT, turn your attention to the non-injured individuals who may have witnessed the event.

If possible, gather the non-injured individuals in a centralized location. This may be an entire area within your premises. This area should be free from hazards, and access should be restricted. Use barriers if available, and station a greeter at the entrance and exit to the site.

Assign an adequate number of staff members to care for the uninjured children. It is essential to balance the crisis’s demands and the need for continuity of everyday activities. Children should be closely observed. Some children may seem okay, even though they may be hurt or deeply affected by the incident. Sometimes the crisis will elicit memories of earlier trauma. Watch for these “silent sufferers” and ensure they receive appropriate care and attention.

Consider using a neighboring camp, child care center, school, church, or synagogue as a possible evacuation site in your crisis planning. Make arrangements to use these facilities in advance and store emergency supplies at these locations. If necessary, plan for the safe transportation of the children in your care to these alternative emergency facilities.

Finally, preserve the scene’s integrity to the best of your ability. Some items can provide crucial forensic evidence for police, medical personnel, insurance companies, and others. Restrict as much of the affected area and objects as circumstances allow.

4. Establish crisis headquarters

Once the immediate pressure of the crisis has decreased and the situation has been stabilized, organize crisis headquarters. Look for an area that is reasonably quiet and secluded. A calm atmosphere will allow clear thinking and an opportunity to make phone calls without distraction. Many directors believe that locating crisis headquarters in their facility’s office positively affects parents, children, and others. However, we recommend avoiding areas likely to become a hubbub of activity, including the facility’s office. In any case, scout possible locations in advance and find at least one alternative that fits the bill.

Store emergency equipment and supplies in a pre-designated area so they can quickly and rapidly move into crisis headquarters. When headquarters is functional, take some time to think about a protocol for the phone calls you will make. A telephone protocol is a statement or script that you and the designated staff can use to impart information about the crisis accurately and consistently. This procedure can help reduce speculation and contain the “emotional temperature.”

We strongly recommend consulting your attorney for advice in drafting or reviewing a script or statement.

Consider adding a separate unlisted telephone line that can be explicitly used in emergencies. Set up a log for incoming and outgoing telephone calls, and assign one person to monitor the telephone. Maintaining communicated with whom you spoke and when the conversation occurred. This log should be extremely importanttained until the crisis is entirely resolved. Be conservative — staff the phones and record all activity until you are comfortable that the problem has passed.

Designate one individual as the facility’s spokesperson. Typically, this will be the director unless they cannot fulfill this role.