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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (June 29, 2006) — Milligan College education faculty member Dr. Beverly Schmalzried has written a national publication to help child care programs understand and prepare for disasters.
Schmalzried worked with the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), a non-profit group of 800 child care agencies based in Arlington, Va., to develop the “Child Care Must be Ready!” guide, which is scheduled to be released in July and has been featured in the New York Times and on the broadband ABC News internet broadcast.
The publication will serve as a blueprint to help child care centers and family child care providers prepare for and recover from many types of disasters. The NACCRRA came to the realization that child care programs are especially vulnerable to the impact of disaster because of the young age and helplessness of the children involved, and they sought to create a standardized resource that could help with preparation and recovery.
Such tragedies as the recent hurricanes and flooding in the Gulf Coast, earthquakes in California and other natural disasters are topics covered in the guide. Also taken into account are recent terrorist attacks. Educators who have hands on experience in these recent national disasters served on a panel in April, offering invaluable information and advice to be included in the resource.
“Child Care Must be Ready!” serves as a blueprint in the first nationwide childcare emergency planning initiative. It will guide after school programs and child care facilities on how they can respond quickly and efficiently to disasters, as well as how to speed up recovery efforts. It offers evacuation techniques as well as instructions on how to set up temporary child care centers near shelters and in disaster areas.
Schmalzried teaches in the teacher education program at Milligan College. She began teaching at Milligan in 2003 after a 20 year role with the United States Air Force where she was the senior manager responsible for all planning, policy and resource management of the Air Force’s programs for children and youth. This included 143 child development centers, 85 family day care programs, 83 after school programs, 85 youth programs, 69 community centers around the world, and a budget in excess of $300 million per year.
Schmalzried holds an M.S. in family and child development from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in child development from Florida State University.
Copies of the guide can be purchased from www.naccrra.org.
For more information contact Dr. Beverly Schmalzried at 423.461.8940, or BSchmalzried@milligan.edu .