Ten years after 9/11 America Is Unprepared to Protect Children. A National Report Card on Protecting Children During Disasters

It took less than two hours on the morning of September 11th to forever alter the way American families would define safety and security in their lives. Yet 10 years later, more than two-thirds of the country do not require the four basic preparedness and safety standards for children in schools and child care during a disaster: written plans for evacuation and relocation, family reunification,
children with special needs and multiple disasters. For the fourth year, Save the Children’s U.S. Programs National Report Card graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia on four criteria of
preparedness: (i) a plan for evacuating kids in child care; (ii) reunifying families after a disaster; (iii) children with special needs; and (iv) an evacuation plan for schools. It also details the four standards and presents some state successes.