Resources for State Administrators

• Changes in State regulations
• Reimbursement policies for evacuees
• Federal policy information
• Relief/recovery efforts by other government agencies to help disaster victims
• Support for emotional needs of staff
• Resources on emergency preparedness for child care providers

Changes in State Regulations

For questions about rules and procedures for a specific State, please contact the State child care assistance office. To find the State office, go to the Child Care and Development Fund Contact Directory on the NCCIC Web site at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=ccdf.

State Child Care Licensing Agencies may have changed their child care licensing regulations to assist child care programs and family child care providers with enrolling and serving children from evacuated families. NCCIC has a directory of State licensing agencies in the State Contacts section of its Web site at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=licensing.

The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care has the full text of all State child care licensing regulations on its Web site at http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm.

Prekindergarten Program Requirements:
To assist prekindergarten programs with enrolling and serving children from evacuated families, some States may change their requirements for prekindergarten programs. The information about licensing regulations may apply to prekindergarten programs, but there may also be changes made by the State education agency. The Council for Chief State School Officers’ Web site has links to each State’s education agency at http://www.ccsso.org/chief_state_school_officers/state_education_agencies/index.cfm.

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Reimbursement policies for evacuees

For questions about Child Care and Development Fund policies and regulations, you can contact the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Office in your region. The contact information for ACF’s Regional Offices is available on the Child Care Bureau Web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/ta/raaddr/raaddr.htm.

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Federal policy information

Information Memorandum ACYF-IM-CC-05-03—Flexibility in Spending CCDF Funds in Response to Federal or State Declared Emergency Situations is available on the Web at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/guidance/current/im0503/im0503.htm and in PDF at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/guidance/current/im0503/im0503.pdf.

Federal Disaster Recovery Programs: Brief Summaries from the Congressional Research Service summarizes principal federal disaster assistance programs for possible use by Members of Congress and staff in helping address the needs of constituents. This resource is available on the Web at http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL31734.pdf.

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Relief/recovery efforts by other government agencies to help disaster victims

The following Federal agencies have information about initiatives to help disaster victims:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Food and Nutrition Services
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is responsible for providing nutrition assistance for disaster-affected areas requiring a Federal response. Contact information for the USDA headquarters and regional offices is available on the Web at http://www.fns.usda.gov/disasters/response/contacts.htm.

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Support for emotional needs of staff

It is important for staff to remember to take care of themselves and to monitor their own emotions during difficult times, in order to be a better resource for family members.

A toll-free hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) has been established for people in crisis after this disaster by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Callers will be connected to a network of local crisis counseling centers across the country to receive counseling and mental health referrals from trained staff. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Resources on emergency preparedness for child care providers

Emergency Preparedness for Child Care Programs, a resource list compiled by NCCIC, at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/disasterprep.html, includes information about a sample of Federal agencies, national organizations, and publications that have information for child care providers on preparing for emergencies.

The National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) has developed a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation for regulated child and adult care programs and regulatory agencies on emergency preparedness for disasters—Emergency Preparedness: Planning for Child and Adult Care Programs, by Judy Collins and Jim Loving. This resource is available at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/emergency/emprep.pdf.

Additional information about NARA is available at http://www.naralicensing.org/.

The American Red Cross offers information about Hurricane Awareness on the Web at http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/0305hurricane/index.html, including materials on hurricane preparedness, and what to do before a storm, during a storm, and after a storm. It provides additional resources to assist in general emergency preparedness at home, school, work, and community at http://www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_239_,00.html.

Disaster Training International helps adults learn to prepare children for disasters, to help children deal with disasters when they happen, and to respond to children’s needs in the wake of disasters. Disaster Training International provides training for adults who work with children which emphasizes practical suggestions and ideas for addressing issues related to natural disasters or human initiated violence, such as terrorism. Information is available on the Web at http://www.disastertraining.org/index.htm, including several articles related to emergency preparedness and information about the publication Developing an Emergency Management Plan, A Workbook for Programs Working with Young Children (2001), by Beryl Cheal.

State Emergency/Disaster Preparedness Documents for Child Care Providers

A sample of State emergency preparedness plans for child care facilities is available at: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/disasterprep.html. The sample does not include all State plans, but is meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to develop/implement emergency preparedness planning.

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