It seems as though the Office of Head Start is ready to gauge whether local agencies will be ready for a large-scale disaster in the vein of Hurricane Katrina. A program instruction (PI) from early October announced the "Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey," which is due by Dec. 30 of this year.
The survey will capture each center's level of preparedness "so that OHS can better plan for technical assistance and guidance," according to the PI. The survey can be downloaded by here at the OHS Web site. The survey is a requirement of Section 649(m) of the Head Start Act:
"The Secretary shall evaluate the Federal, State, and local preparedness of Head Start programs, including Early Head Start programs, to respond appropriately in the event of a large-scale emergency, such as the hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, or other incidents where assistance may be warranted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)."
The survey is split into eight sections:
- Section A: Presence of a large-scale emergency plan and emergencies included
- Section B: Drills of your emergency preparedness plan, policies, and procedures
- Section C: Communication of your emergency preparedness plan, policies, and procedures for staff, parents, and others Section D: Financial support of your emergency preparedness plan
- Section E: Connecting your program with State and local (jurisdictions) evacuation and emergency protocols
- Section F: Coordination with emergency management agencies and organizations for large-scale emergencies
- Section G: Preparing for response and recovery from large-scale emergencies
- Section H: Emergency preparedness and response planning for localized emergencies