Lesson 2 Overview

At the completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

  • Identify and categorize the hazards and threats that are most likely to impact your child care site.
  • Describe the level of risk associated with identified hazards and threats.
How Vulnerable Are You? Understanding Your Hazards And Risks

The first step in becoming more prepared is thinking about what could happen and what kind of damage would result if it does happen. Some of these events are obvious, while others may not be.

A hazard is an event that can cause harm or damage to people, the environment or structures. It can be a natural or human-caused event such as an earthquake or an act of violence. It can also be something that causes economic, financial or social harm to businesses, groups, or communities. In short, hazards are events that have the potential to cause harm.

Risk is a way of judging the danger from a hazard by looking at the likelihood of a given hazard happening and the impact if it did occur. For example, the risk of a tsunami occurring in Denver is zero (a tsunami is an ocean hazard that often results in catastrophic damage along the coast, Denver is not near the coast), whereas the risk of a blizzard is high (blizzards in the Rocky Mountains are common and the impacts can cause significant harm).

In this lesson we’re going to show you how to identify and categorize the hazards that are more likely to impact your facility or endanger those you are caring for and be able to determine the level of risk for these identified hazards.

This visual depicts the order of the course topics. They are Hazard Identification, Assessing Risk, Develop Your Plan, Review Plan, Test Plan, and Update Plan. Hazard Identification and Assessing Risk are highlighted.
The Domino Effect
When thinking about hazards and risks, it is important to remember that one thing can cause another. For example, an earthquake can cause a levy to fail which can cause a flood that can cause hazardous material to release when the sewage treatment plant is inundated with flood water. Another example is the any number of hazards (weather, earthquakes, fires, floods) that can cause localized or widespread power outages. Understanding the domino effect is key to properly identifying hazards and risks; very few things happen in isolation.
Who Can Help Identify Your Local Hazards?

If you need some assistance identifying hazards that could impact you, try reaching out to these resources for assistance:

  • Your local/county emergency manager
  • Parents/Legal Guardians and family of children in your care
  • First responders
  • Local schools and the local school district
  • Your local National Weather Service office
  • Your State Department of Health
  • Your child care site insurance carrier
  • Utility company personnel
  • Local business and industry personnel
  • Child care organizations and referral agencies
This visual shows the different stakeholders based on category. The categories are Caretakers, Government, Childcare, First Responders and Other Stakeholders. Under Caretakers, parents and legal guardians are listed. Under Government, local/county emergency manager, and state department of health are listed. Under Childcare, local schools and school district is listed. Under First Responders, Law Enforcement, Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services are listed.
The information below identifies the most common hazards.
This is a image of the Most Common Disasters. The three categories are Natural, Technological, and Human-caused. For Natural, Drought, Earthquake, Epidemic/ Pandemic, Flood, Hurricane/ Typhoon, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcanic Eruption, and Winter Storm are listed. For Technological, dam failure, hazardous materials release, industrial accident, levee failure, pipeline explosion, radiological release, train derailment, transportation accent, urban conflagration, urban conflagration are listed.
Most Common Hazards and Ways to Mitigate Them
In the next few slides, we’ll talk about some of the most common hazards nationwide and how to lessen their impact or prevent impact all together. We do this through mitigation. Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Sometimes a mitigation is building a new levee, but more often it is simple things like securing bookcases to walls. Take a moment to think about each of these hazards in relation to your situation. What is your risk for each hazard, and what have you done, or can you do, to lessen the impact should it happen?
General Safety

Let’s start by looking around your facility. By far the most common hazards are within easy reach. Take a “child’s-eye view” survey at the height level of your age group, going from room to room and looking at anything that a child could get in to or grab that might hurt them. Uncovered electrical outlets, unlocked cabinets, cleaning supplies within reach, or even unlocked freezers! As you go through each room, take a minute to address the easy “fixes” and make a list of the ones that will take more time or materials.

While this information is relative to is general safety, these issues are foundational to emergency preparedness and may be amplified in an emergency or disaster situation.

Structure Fires
Fires are the most common disasters that happen to businesses. Building fires can spread quickly and are extremely dangerous. Understand the type of structure you’re in and have smoke detectors installed and replace their batteries at least once a year, fire extinguishers on hand, and exit paths clear.
Wildland Fire
Wildland fires are a danger to many across the country. They can start by natural or human events and are generally unpredictable. Some weather conditions might increase the severity or likelihood of a wildland fire but they can occur any time the conditions are right. If you are in an area prone to wildland fires, keep combustible materials cleared away from your facility and know multiple evacuation routes, should you need to leave the area. Consult your local regulations to ensure you meet building and fire code requirements. Additionally, your local fire department may have resources on fire-resistant landscaping that may help mitigate your facility’s wildfire risk.
Severe Weather
Severe weather includes thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, and extreme temperatures. Weather can be hazardous in and of itself, but it also causes or contributes to other hazards such as flooding and wildfires. Some of these events are location dependent, while others can happen anywhere. Most weather events will have warnings and watches in advance of when they may take place. A watch, which can be in effect for several hours, means weather conditions exist where severe weather can easily develop. A warning means to act because severe weather has developed in your area.
Flooding

Flooding can occur as a natural disaster (excess water overloading local waterways) or human caused (watermain break). Your facility’s location relative to the local floodplain or proximity to dams, canals, or other water infrastructure will help determine the likeliness of a flooding event. Talk with your insurance representative about flood protection insurance.

Click here to access the Preparedness for Child Care Providers Toolkit.  

 

Geological Events
Geological events include tsunamis, landslides and debris flow, and volcanoes. They cause considerable human suffering and major events can cause billions of dollars in losses. Some of these events only occur in certain areas, and some provide warning time. It’s important to understand the geologic hazards that could impact your locality and the nature of these events. These events are specific to certain locations and may not be applicable to your child care facility.
Earthquakes

Earthquakes happen almost entirely without warning, and even if you are in an area that “doesn’t have earthquakes”, keep in mind that new faults are discovered every year and long inactive faults can become active again.

No matter where you are, properly securing furniture to the wall, strapping water heaters and practicing drop, cover, and hold on, are good practices. In the event a new fault is discovered, you and the children in your care are less likely to suffer injuries as a result of an earthquake.

Utility Outage
Utility outages can occur on their own or as part of another hazard. Loss of electricity, water, or gas can cause your facility to become unsafe and potentially close. A loss of electricity can result in a security system outage, medical equipment failure, and food spoilage from lack of refrigeration; a loss of water can affect toilet facilities, hand washing, and food preparation; and a loss of gas can cause a furnace and hot water heater to not work.
Other Hazards

Other hazards that are human-caused or can come from naturally-occurring events. Human caused hazards include:

  • Active Shooter
  • Lost, Missing, or Abducted Children
  • Illness/Epidemic/Pandemic
  • Hazardous Materials and Explosions
  • Food Safety
Protecting Children from Violence or Exploitation

As a child care provider your first concern is always the safety of the children in your care. Unfortunately, the world is a dangerous place and we all need to be vigilant to prevent children from being hurt or exploited. Knowing what to do in the event someone gains entry with a weapon and intent to harm children is critical. You also need to know what to do if a child is missing. The toolkit at the end of this course will provide guidance on planning and referrals to the latest training for these topics.

We know these are uncomfortable topics but having and practicing a plan is one of the best ways to keep children safe if the unthinkable happens.

Click here to access the Preparedness for Child Care Providers Toolkit.

Keeping Children Healthy
Whether it is the flu, a pandemic or just keeping food safe to eat, it’s important to have a plan and procedure developed that address the issue of children’s health and keep you compliant with local and state health regulations. The toolkit at the end of this course will point you in the right direction and provide guidance on incorporating this into your plan.
Other Hazards

The hazards that can occur as a result of other hazards or on their own are called secondary hazards. They can include:

  • Structural Damage - Financial Hazards, such as property damage and debt
  • Economic downturn
  • Transportation and supply line disruptions
Mitigating Common Hazard Checklists

These checklists provide information on how to lessen the impact of the most common hazards. They can be found in the toolkit or click on the link below for a checklist for General Safety. Checklists for more specific hazard procedures can be found in the toolkit.

Click here to access the Preparedness for Child Care Providers Toolkit.

Screenshot of Hazard Identification: General Safety form
Toolkit Link Placeholder
Conducting Risk Assessment: Hazard Identification
The first step for conducting a Risk Assessment is identifying all potential hazards that could impact you. You did some of that while learning about hazards. After you complete this course, work with as many external stakeholders as you need to identify as many hazards as you can. The more comprehensive the list, the better you’ll be able to determine your risk and prioritize plans and actions. Your hazards will be individually rated in the upcoming steps.
Conducting Risk Assessment: Hazard Impact

The second step for conducting a Risk Assessment is assigning the impact number to each hazard. On a Scale of 1-5, with 1 being minimal impact and 5 being maximum impact, rate each hazard’s potential impact on your ability to provide child care. For now, use your best judgement. After you complete this course, you can utilize this toolkit and reach out to your local/county emergency management agency, local school officials and the local school district, your state and local Departments of Health, your property manager if your facility is leased, and your insurance carrier for assistance determining impact.

Click here to view the Preparedness for Child Care Providers Toolkit.

This visual describes a numerical rating of one to five for hazard impact, with five being the most severe and one being the least severe. Each rating is accompanied with a description.
Toolkit Link Placeholder
Hazard Probability Example

If you are on top of a hill above a river that regularly floods, the likelihood of you being flooded is probably low. However, the impact from the same flood may very well have a significant impact on you. Remember the domino effect; the flood could cause hazards that are more likely to occur such as power outages. When you assess likelihood be sure to consider the domino effect, not only to your location but to the parents/legal guardians whose children you’re responsible for.

Don’t worry about trying to adjust your rating to account for impact, just focus on the likelihood of a given hazard occurring. In the next step, we’ll show you how it all comes together. As we’ve suggested before, your local/county emergency management agency, local school officials and the local school district, your state and local Department of Health, your property manager, and your insurance carrier are great resources that can assist with determining probability.

Conducting Risk Assessment: Calculate Risk

The last step for conducting a Risk Assessment is calculating risk. Risk is the Impact rating multiplied by Probability rating, with the resulting number as your Risk. Let’s say you live near a river and have experienced flooding in the past. You rated the Impact at 3 and the Probability at 5 so your Risk would be 15 (3 x 5 = 15). Go through your hazard list and multiply the Impact rating by the Probability rating. When you’re done make a list of your hazards using your Risk number to rank them high to low.

Click here to access the Preparedness for Child Care Providers Toolkit.

 

Toolkit Link Placeholder
This visual represents how to calculate risk. Hazard Impact multiplied by Hazard Probability equals Hazard Risk
Conducting Risk Assessment Video

This video will walk you through a visual explanation of how to conduct a risk assessment.

 Click this link to view the video transcript.

Risk Assessment Script

Now that you’ve identified what hazards could impact you, let’s calculate your risk and prioritize your preparedness actions. 

Next, using a scale from one to five, with five being the worst possible impact and one being a minor disruption, write down a number that reflects how severe the impact would be if the

Now we need to decide how likely the hazard is to occur. Using a one to five scale again, with five being very likely to happen and one being very unlikely, assign a number for each hazard. This number represents the probability of the hazard occurring.

To determine risk, multiply the impact number by the probability number.

Now, all that’s left is to make a list of your hazards from high to low.

With this list you can prioritize where your efforts should focus first, in this case Severe Weather. The lowest risk value, hazardous materials release, doesn’t mean it won’t happen and we should still prepare for it, but it can probably wait until you address preparing for your higher risk hazards.

 

Lesson Summary
In this lesson, you have learned how to identify hazards that may impact your child care business, how to lessen the impact of hazards, and how to conduct a risk assessment that will help you prioritize your planning in the next lesson.