Overview
Under the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, the Subcommittee on Children in Emergencies and Disasters (SCED) identified the need for a tool to help communities protect children's health after disasters. The Children's Environmental Health Post-Disaster Assessment Toolkit was developed with input from agency representatives within the SCED and written, tested, and published by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. This tool guides a systematic process for assessing needs to protect children from hazardous environmental exposures after a disaster.
Purpose
Wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and other disaster events can create serious environmental hazards that harm human health. Children face greater risks from these hazards because of how their bodies develop, how they behave, and their dependence on adults for protection. Emergency management and environmental health professionals at all levels of government can benefit from using a consistent approach to identify and address the environmental risks children face after a disaster.
This toolkit is designed around four key outcomes to help reduce environmental health risks for children. These outcomes guide ways to engage with communities and reduce risks of exposure for children after a disaster.
The four outcomes include:
Environmental hazards caused by disaster(s) that pose risks to children are identified so they can be addressed in homes and residential settings.
Environmental hazards in places where children learn, attend childcare, pray, play, and receive services are identified so they can be reduced or eliminated across community spaces.
Public health and clinical services have the information and resources needed to respond to the effects of environmental hazards on children's health.
Clear, accurate, appropriate, and actionable information is available to parents and community members entrusted with the care of children so they can help keep children safe.
This toolkit can be used at any time after a disaster or emergency, whether it's days, weeks, months, or even years later, based on the needs and judgment of state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.
Considerations
Audience
Public health or emergency management staff deployed in support of disaster recovery missions
Partners
This toolkit describes a process that depends on strong partnerships at every level. Disaster recovery is locally led, state-managed, and federally supported. Non-governmental organizations and the private sector also provide important knowledge, services, and resources. These partnerships are essential for understanding children's needs, coordinating recovery actions, and making sure efforts are aligned across agencies, systems, and communities. Key partners may include:
State agencies
Tribal and territorial governments
Local government
Federal agencies
School systems
Health care providers and networks
Community organizations
Academic institutions
Private sector organizations
Consider developing a partner engagement strategy to help guide collaboration and communication from the start of the recovery process.
Assumptions
Children's Environmental Health is a broad and growing field. Extreme weather events and other disasters have made environmental hazards more dangerous for children. These growing risks highlight the need for stronger coordination between federal and state partners to protect children's health and safety. There is a need for standard tools and processes that enable emergency managers and public health partners to consistently gather and apply information about the environmental risks children face after a disaster.
Strengths
This toolkit was developed using best practices, lessons from past disasters, and input from multiple agencies working together. Through that experience, we learned what matters most when protecting children from environmental hazards. As a result, the toolkit has several strengths:
Helps disaster responders and communities work together to identify and reduce environmental risks to children
Encourages clear, consistent conversations about children's environmental health after disasters
Brings attention to gaps in knowledge about how to protect children from environmental hazards
Supports and strengthens other disaster assessments and tools with a focus on children's health
Limitations
No process is perfect, and this toolkit will continue to be improved over time based on feedback and real-world use. While it is a helpful starting point, we recognize a few limitations:
This assessment is meant to be used by people who may not have a background in environmental health. Because of this, it focuses on collecting qualitative information about concerns and issues.
Identifying gaps or needs related to children's environmental health does not mean that resources to solve those problems will always be available.
This toolkit does not offer formal recommendations or solutions to address the gaps or needs identified during the process.
Responding to Critical or Emergent Issues
While the Children's Environmental Health Post-Disaster Assessment is not designed to serve as an emergency response tool, team members may occasionally uncover a critical, emergent, or immediate need during their work. These issues may include imminent threats to health and safety, serious environmental contamination, or the discovery of children living in unsafe conditions. Situations like these require prompt attention and escalation to prevent them from becoming more serious.
If an urgent concern is identified, the Assessment Team should pause routine activities and notify the designated incident recovery lead or federal Recovery Support Function (RSF) coordinator. Teams should be ready to clearly explain the nature of the concern, who is at risk (especially children), and any supporting details that may help coordinate a timely response. It may be necessary to engage the appropriate emergency management, environmental health, or child welfare agencies. When uncertain, teams should elevate the concern for further review so that the issue is handled safely and appropriately.