A family emergency plan should be easy to find, easy to update and useful to every authorized caregiver.
Include the essentials
- The child’s full name and date of birth
- Parent or guardian phone numbers
- One nearby backup contact
- School, childcare and healthcare contacts
- Allergies and time-sensitive safety information
- The family meeting place and an out-of-area contact
Make it usable under stress
Put urgent information first, use large readable type and avoid unexplained abbreviations. Give authorized caregivers access to a current copy and explain where any required medication instructions are kept.
Keep in mind
Do not place a child’s private information on a publicly visible refrigerator, shared social post or unlocked public link.
Review it on a schedule
- After a move or phone-number change
- At the start of a school year
- After a caregiver or healthcare change
- Before significant travel
- Whenever an emergency instruction changes
Sources and further reading
- Ready.gov: Make a PlanU.S. Department of Homeland Security
Scope of this resource
Call local emergency services for immediate danger. This checklist is not a substitute for medical, school or emergency-agency instructions.
How KinleighCare creates resources