Superstorm Sandy Puts Child Care Emergency Preparedness in National Spotlight

Save the Children convenes leading experts and advocates to ensure children are protected before, during and after disasters

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Save the Children:

WHAT:

In partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Child Care Aware of America and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Save the Children hosts the Child Care Emergency Preparedness Symposium. The event, the first of its kind, brings together experts, leading advocates and key stakeholders to help improve the ways child care providers prepare for and respond to children’s unique needs during disasters.

WHO:

Keynote speakers include FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate; Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La); Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Education at the Administration for Children and Families Linda Smith (invited), and Senior Vice President of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs Mark Shriver. The program also features two expert discussion panels offering national, state and local perspectives on protecting the 11 million children under age 5 who are cared for outside the home each day.

WHY:

Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, displacing thousands from their homes for weeks to come. Although affected areas had plenty of forewarning, Sandy demonstrated that disaster can strike anywhere and anytime and shined a national spotlight on emergency preparedness. Fueling the urgency for preparedness improvements, a recent report from Save the Children finds that an astounding 31 states do not require all regulated child care facilities to meet at least one of three basic emergency preparedness standards, potentially leaving thousands of our most vulnerable citizens unprotected during disasters.

WHEN:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012; 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036

DETAILS:

Visit the Child Care Emergency Preparedness event site, here.

Interviews available upon request.

About Save the Children

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Visit www.savethechildren.org

Keeping children safe when disaster strikes

Since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, Save the Children has emerged as a national leader in ensuring children’s well-being during emergencies, deploying its response teams to assist more than 300,000 children. Through preparedness and response work, Save the Children works with policy makers, emergency professionals and organizations to make children’s needs an integral part of emergency plans at the national, state and local levels.