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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

Disaster Planning and Trauma Response

Topic Editor: Sharon Lunn

sharon.lunn@unc.edu

These resources can assist individuals working with children and families to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters or other emergency situations like shootings and violence.

See also: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH), Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Federal Agencies and National Organizations

Head Start Emergency Preparedness Manual for Early Childhood Programs (2015)

This manual from the Office of Head Start can assist service personnel with preparing for emergencies, crises and tragic event. More information is available from Head Start's page on Emergency Response and Recovery.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Established to improve access to care, treatment, and services for traumatized children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events. This resource includes descriptions of each type of trauma and evidence-based treatments that work.

Helping Children and Adolescents Cope With Traumatic Events

This fact sheet from the National Institute of Mental Health outlines how children experience trauma, and what community members and caregivers can do to intervene.

Ready Kids

The Ready national public service campaign educates and empowers people to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. Ready Kids provides resources for families, educators, and organizations supporting children in their learning about disasters.

For Families and Children

Healthy Children

Healthy Children provides relevant resources for families and children, including:

Emergencies and National Disasters: Helping Children and Families Cope

The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) provides resources to support families in helping young children cope with the challenges that might occur during stressful emergency or disaster situations. Resources under Children: Stress and Challenging Behavior may be helpful to those supporting very young children in light of recent acts of community violence.