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UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters Helps Preschools Prepare for Disasters

Date: January 21, 2004

Contact: Sarah Anderson (email)
Phone: (310) 267-0440

In partnership with Johnson & Johnson, UCLA releases a free workbook to ensure Head Start and other preschool programs are prepared.

The events of Sept. 11, recent earthquakes and terrorism alerts have made our nation aware of how important it is to be prepared for disasters. Until now, there has not been a disaster plan in place to aid the nearly 1 million children enrolled in the federal Head Start Program. A disaster preparedness workbook released by the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters (CPHD) provides administrators of Head Start and all other preschool programs with the resources they need to be prepared.

"Our children spend 70 percent of waking hours in the school setting," said Kimberly Shoaf, assistant director of CPHD. "Head Start has the responsibility for taking care of our youngest members of our school-aged population. They need to be prepared to protect this valuable asset to our society."

Funded by Johnson & Johnson, the workbook (www.ph.ucla.edu/cphdr) addresses the following topics:
  • Setting the stage - disasters and the importance of preparing
  • Assessing your Head Start program's risks, vulnerabilities, resources and priorities
  • Developing and implementing a disaster plan
  • Communicating important information to staff, volunteers and parents
  • Building teams and training for effective disaster response
  • Recovering after a disaster
  • Assessment instruments and additional resources for information
"Through a unique collaboration between Johnson & Johnson and the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters, we are pleased to make this valuable resource available, free of charge," said Steven J. Rottman, director of CPHD. "UCLA and Johnson & Johnson believe that every Head Start program and every preschool in America should have the ability to identify potential hazards and develop action plans to address the needs of a very vulnerable population."

The UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters was established in 1997 to address the critical issues faced when a disaster affects a community. The center is based in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the UCLA School of Public Health, and was the first such program in the United States to offer multiple graduate-level courses in emergency public health.

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