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School and Daycare All Hazards Plan - Department of Emergency Services

School and Daycare All Hazards Plan - Department of Emergency Services

School All Hazards Plan


The Pennsylvania "All Hazards" School Safety Planning Toolkit is designed to help school districts/schools in their efforts to plan for all types of disasters, natural and human-caused. Everyone from the state level of government to the school districts/schools and the community at large has a moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety of our children in the event of a disaster.  

The Safe Schools Planning Sub-Committee, of the Pennsylvania Safe Schools Advisory Committee, considers this Toolkit a "living document". New procedures for prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery become available on a regular basis. Therefore, these documents will be updated on an annual basis or after a significant event that impacts how school districts/schools in the commonwealth plan for the hazards that may affect their campuses. 

Child Care/Day Care Centers Planning

No matter where the childcare facility is or how large it is, children, staff, and even parents may be at risk as a result of natural or human-caused disasters. Effective planning and response is achieved by coordination, cooperation, and the participation of individuals and the community at large.    

The Child Care Planning Toolkit should yield an emergency plan for childcare centers that enhances safety of the staff and children in the center and satisfies the licensing requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. The kit includes a three-part plan (Basic Plan, Checklists and Supporting Documents), and a Childcare Facilities Planning Guide that helps fill in the blanks to complete the plan.

This planning guide is directed to childcare providers and facility managers. It is intended to provide assistance in meeting the planning requirements necessary to protect employees and children within the facility. Because of the differences in size and complexity between different childcare facilities, this guide is intentionally generic in nature. In smaller facilities, there may be only one person to perform all of the functions listed here, in larger facilities a larger staff and child population may make a more complex plan appropriate. The procedures and principles discussed in this guide are no more than common sense. Use your own judgment as to how complex the plan needs to be. Remember, when it comes time to use the plan, there won’t be a lot of time to read. On the other hand, a complete series of checklists might help you to remember some critical details during the excitement just after an alarm sounds. 

Questions about childcare and childcare programs should be directed to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

Help with emergency planning can be obtained from our office.