Participants gain a deeper understanding of active shooter situations:

• Describe the ways to increase security within your childcare program.

• Summarize at least two lessons learned from previous mass shooting incidents.

• Explain how to conduct effective active shooter drills.

• Describe at least one method of keeping children calm and quiet.

• Define common characteristics of mass shooters.

• Describe the 3 different response actions which can be used during a violent event.

• Identify at least two special considerations that need to be taken into account when working on active shooter drills with individuals with developmental disabilities.

We never simulate gunfire or perform unannounced drills during our active shooter preparedness training.

Situational awareness means being aware of your surroundings. The sooner you can identify things that are out of place, the more time you have to respond and react. This is especially important in a child care setting, as young children rely on providers to protect them and keep them safe. In our situational awareness online training, participants will learn and gain resources from a mix of slides, real-life videos, and graphics. Participants will learn how to create a culture of safety and awareness.

Our goal is to help early childhood organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters and emergencies. We conduct multidisciplinary workshops to ensure that emergency management, public health, first responders, and early childhood organizations establish relationships before an emergency event.
 
This course features an overview of emergency preparedness procedures. We also review your existing plan and ensure it is compliant with the applicable guidelines for your licensing authority. Topics covered include severe weather, man-made hazards, chemicals and toxins, public health emergencies, evacuation and relocation, shelter in place, crisis communications, and family reunification. We help organizations create detailed emergency response and recovery plans, as well as teach providers how to implement and practice preparedness training and drills in an age-appropriate manner to staff, parents, and children.

Cyber attacks are at all time highs and early childhood programs are not immune. The three most attacked industries include education, government and research. In fact, a recent study out of the United Kingdom found that one out of every four child care programs experienced a cyber attack in the past year. Given this new threat, early childhood programs are encouraged to revisit their digital footprint, policies and procedures. The presentation on "Cybersecurity for Early Childhood Professionals" offers a comprehensive look at the current digital landscape and the potential impact on your early childhood program. Recognizing the increasing integration of technology into all facets of early education – from enrollment to classroom management, the course highlights potential risks and threats that early childhood programs may encounter in cyber space and provides leading practices to help increase the cyber security of your organization. 

Your Safety Summit can Include:

• Active Shooter Preparedness Training

• Cybersecurity

• De-escalation techniques

• Situational Awareness

• Crisis Communications

• Or pick your own sessions

An all-day event designed to provide child care providers with the latest preparedness information, tools, and resources. Our instructors have real-world emergency preparedness experience and expertise, and our trainings are designed and developed specifically for the early childhood community.

Early childhood professionals are the first educators of emergency preparedness for our children. Children arrive at elementary school already knowing how to behave during severe weather, fires, and a host of other emergencies - thanks to the work that early childhood professionals do each day. This training will focus on how to conduct meaningful drills in the early childhood environment. We will discuss the nuances of drills, why conducting drills is important, how to conduct active shooter drills in an age-appropriate manner, and how to best include individuals with developmental disabilities into drills. Participants will learn through a mix of slides, graphics, videos, and real-world scenarios.

Communication is a vital and often overlooked tool for emergency preparedness planning. After most emergencies and natural disasters, communication is identified as the single biggest area in need of improvement. During our communication during emergencies and disasters online training course, participants will learn the importance of having multiple forms of communication, how to be informed when an emergency or disaster strikes, how to make sure your program is prepared during a 911 call, and how to communicate internally and externally.

Houses of Worship provide an open and welcoming environment, and that can, unfortunately, make them a target for violent individuals. We have created training specifically for Houses of Worship, taking into account their unique settings. During our training, participants will learn to: 

• Discuss the various types of attacks that take place in religious institutions

• Study attacker profiles

• Define situational awareness

• Discuss how to implement Houses of Worship safety teams

• Actionable security tips for religious organizations

• Review historical events

As you have no doubt experienced, tensions are running high. Now, more than ever, it is important to be proactive and 'lower the temperature' to prevent situations from escalating. In this course, we examine real world incidents and discuss proven techniques to help prevent unnecessarily escalating a situation.

Millions of home visits are performed every year by Head Start and Early Head Start programs, teachers, family therapists, Child Protective Services, and many other government and licensing organizations. Most agencies enter the privacy of a family’s residence without any type of training on how to conduct a safe visit. The Institute for Childhood Preparedness has developed a course which addresses specific concepts that every family and childcare professional need to know to make visits as safe as possible. This course will cover basic concepts for pre-planning the visit, arriving safely, conducting the visit, departing the area, and after the visit activities, including checklists for staying safe. This course teaches the warning signs of domestic abuse, drug/alcohol abuse, and aggressive behavior. The attendees will learn techniques to keep everyone safe during a home visit.
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Resource Booklets available for separate purchase - the booklets include references, checklists, talking points, reminders, tips and resources.

Our training program provides early childhood professionals with the hands-on experience they need to become familiar with fire extinguisher operations:

• Learn the differences between types of fire extinguishers 

• Maintenance requirements 

• Use a fire extinguisher with the
  P-A-S-S Method 

• How to properly extinguish a fire

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Each year approximately 560 fires occur in early childhood programs. That equates to nearly 2 fires each day. Early childhood professionals need to know how to effectively use fire extinguishers before an emergency occurs.

The In-Person course provides participants with classroom and hands-on training. The classroom portion covers fire safety, fire basics/chemistry, the elements of a fire inspection, fire extinguishment techniques, and response options for fires. We then move outside and allow participants to extinguish a live or simulated fire with a fire extinguisher.

• How to save lives by controlling bleeding through the use of direct pressure or tourniquets

• How to determine where on the body each action would be appropriate

• Items needed for a basic first aid kit

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Andrew and Ron are certified Stop the Bleed instructors. This training teaches participants how to recognize life-threatening bleeding and provide immediate help. Our goal is to prepare as many people as possible to learn stop the bleed techniques, so participants are better prepared to save lives during a severe bleeding event.​

Food safety is of paramount importance, children under the age of 4 are 4.5 times more likely to get bacterial infections from food compared to adults. This makes safe food handling practices essential. Through the use of a combination of slides, graphics, and real-world scenarios, this 1-hour course will you with an understanding of food safety practices that are designed to minimize the potential for contamination. and outbreaks of foodborne illness.

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• Describe proper handling techniques for potentially hazardous foods

• Understand the types and causes of foodborne illness

• Identify safe food handling practices in the early childhood setting

• Explain basic principles of food storage and preparation

In our site safety and security for early childhood programs online training course, we will discuss strategies and techniques to increase security at your facility. We will focus on proven interventions and highlight low-cost solutions to enhance the safety in and around your building. We will also explore common security pitfalls and discuss how to eliminate or minimize these vulnerabilities.​

Law enforcement is a vital resource in our communities, and child care programs need to know how to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement officials to keep their programs safe and secure. 

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• Describe what the typical law enforcement response is to an active threat situation.

• Identify at least two ways to engage law enforcement in your preparedness activities.

• Discuss the priorities of a law enforcement official during an active shooter or active threat situation.

• Identify at least three situations where the early engagement of law enforcement would be beneficial to child care programs.

• Describe the type of information and documents that can assist law enforcement.

• Discuss how your child care program can use law enforcement as a deterrent for crime and violence.

• Identify at least three ways that you can assist law enforcement during an incident.

• Describe the expectations that law enforcement officials have for early childhood staff during an incident or violent situation.

Domestic violence is a complex issue, and our course aims to bring this issue out into the public to help save lives and ensure the safety of families. Not only does domestic violence impact the victims, but it also impacts their children. Child care providers need to know how to spot the signs, protect, and support the children in their care that have been exposed to domestic violence.

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Did you know that domestic violence is one of the leading calls for police service across most jurisdictions? Join Dr. L.J. Samuel of Cupid’s Sting non-profit as she teaches this online training course with a mix of graphics, slides, and real-world scenarios. Participants will learn what domestic violence is, where it is occurring, and things we can do to combat it.