Emergency Planning for Juvenile Justice Residential Facilities

• NCJ Number: 234936
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 50 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Policy/Procedure Handbook/Manual

Annotation

This document from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a guide for juvenile justice residential facilities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies.

Abstract

This document is the result of an assessment conducted in October 2009 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to determine the level of emergency preparedness among State, county, and local juvenile justice systems. The assessment found that these systems' plans focused on basic continuity of operations rather than on comprehensive emergency planning, response, and recovery. The primary focus of this guide is to provide information to local, county, and State juvenile justice systems on how residential facilities can continue to ensure that the youth in their facilities receive the necessary support and services despite disruptions resulting from emergency situations. The guide is divided into 12 sections. The first section of the guide is an overview of the planning process and includes information on forming a planning team, assessing the facility's preparedness, analyzing courses of action, and writing, approving, disseminating, and updating the plan. Section 2 of the guide contains information on budgeting for emergency planning and response; section 3 addresses the issue of allocating responsibilities to staff; and section 4 discusses the establishment of communications procedures. Section 5 discusses planning for protecting critical infrastructure; section 6 contains information on preparing to shelter in place and preparing for evacuation; and section 7 discusses how to provide mental health services and medical care during emergencies. Section 8 of the guide discusses how to train staff in basic emergency care; section 9 examines how to evaluate the facility's staffing needs; section 10 discusses how to offer support to youth and their families; section 11 provides information on how to meet the needs of staff and their families; and section 12 provides information on managing volunteers. Figures, references and resources