Keeping children safe: safety and preparedness
Child care and early education small business are a place where children grow, families feel supported, and communities thrive. Strengthening your preparedness, whether through emergency preparedness planning, trainings, clear safety boundaries, or optional tools like door alarms, empowers you to continue providing high-quality care in a safe and confident way.
Emergency Preparedness Planning: A Foundation for Safety
All licensed family child care programs are required to maintain a written emergency preparedness plan, updated annually. This plan includes procedures for evacuation, shelter-in-place, lockdown, relocation, communication with families, and accommodations for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities or chronic medical needs.
These requirements are designed to ensure programs have a reliable framework to respond to a range of emergencies. Regularly reviewing and practicing your plan helps strengthen your confidence and ensures children and families are supported through unexpected situations.
Door security: clarifying expectations
There is a common misunderstanding that licensed programs must keep doors unlocked. To clarify: Providers are allowed to lock their entry doors.
Minnesota regulations simply require that children inside must always be able to exit freely, during an emergency, without the use of a key or special knowledge, ensuring safe egress at all times.
Additionally, door alarms are not required. However, many programs find them to be a helpful optional tool. Door alarms can support situational awareness, help monitor comings and goings, and enhance overall safety, particularly in busy moments such as drop-off and pick-up.
Strengthening daily safety practices
Many educators have shared that the following practices help them feel organized, supported, and prepared:
- Keeping updated copies of emergency plans accessible
- Maintaining clear boundaries between program areas and personal spaces
- Ensuring emergency supplies are stocked and ready
- Connecting regularly with peers or professional networks
- Posting emergency contact information in visible locations
These approaches help reinforce the solid, intentional practices you already bring to your work.