To hold safe

Framing a New Era of Disaster Child Care

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  Disasters rend the fabric of community and family life in multiple tragic ways. When the primary social institutions supporting childrens well being are left in chaos in the wake of disaster, children become particularly vulnerable to physical and emotional trauma. One of the most critical challenges facing disaster responders and recovery agencies today is to attend quickly and with a well-considered advance plan to the special needs of kids in devastation.
  In the history of our nations response to disasters, little attention has been paid to preparing for the unique medical and psychosocial needs of children. Recent tragedies, whether acts of terror or acts of nature, have exposed the weakness of our nations disaster child care systems. These include inadequacies in emergency medical care preparation for children, haphazard systems for reuniting children with their families following emergency rescue and/or evacuation, and a lack of preparedness and/or capacity among existing disaster response agencies to provide immediate respite care for children in disaster environments and emergency shelters.
  Today, a new generation of leaders is calling for better response to the needs of children in disasters. In this paper, we draw upon the shared concerns, experiences, and vision of these emerging leaders to propose a new framework for integrated disaster child care. This Hold Safe framework proposes that disaster response for children should fulfill three fundamental obligations:
A. To Recognize Childrens Distinct Needs Children have unique medical, psychosocial, physical, and judicial needs in disaster situations, many of which differ from the needs of adults.
B. To Foster Resiliency Emergency rescue and disaster relief responders should intentionally develop resources and response capabilities based on our best understanding of how to foster resiliency under various crisis conditions encountered in disasters.
C. To Provide a Continuum of Care The ultimate goal of disaster relief agencies, whether private or governmental, should be to hold safe the children in their care until families, community agen- cies, child care centers, schools, churches, and other local primary caregivers for children can resume their responsibilities of care after a disaster. The continuum of care reflects the distinct needs of children from the immediate first-response relief through the rebuilding of normal lives and living conditions.

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