September is National Preparedness Month

Although September is almost over, it's not too late to prepare for emergencies and disasters as a part of National Preparedness Month!  

Recent studies and surveys show that: 

• 39% of parents say their child’s Head Start/child care center or preschool had experienced an emergency in the past two years.
• Only modest improvement had been made in household preparedness (23% in 2003 to 35% in 2015); 
• A lack of confidence remains in local governments to respond to disasters; and 
• Families remain unfamiliar with school or child care disaster plans.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) outlines tips and additional resources to help you get better prepared on its website. Once of those resources is the AAP Family Readiness Kit, which assists families in getting disaster-ready.  

Preparedness experts, parents, and child care providers contributed to this kit, which includes general guidelines for readiness that can be used in most situations, including how to:

• Build a kit
• Make a plan
• Be informed
• Get involved