Childcare Now Safer Thanks to Emergency ID

Childcare providers better prepared for future hurricanes and other disasters now with Emergency ID.

Ashland, MA (PRWEB) May 19, 2007 -- The Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC) (www.PreventingLostChildren.org), together with its preferred partners, Wander Wear Inc. (www.wander-wear.com) and The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) (www.naccrra.org), announce a recommended emergency child ID solution. In August 2005, NACCRRA launched a major disaster-planning initiative to prepare child care programs across the nation for disasters. A critical recommendation in its guidelines is for child care providers to have emergency identification available for all children in case of any type of disaster where the children may be separated from the child care provider.

During Hurricane Katrina, over 5000 children were separated from their families -- many in child care with no way for rescue personnel to identify them and reunite them with their families. In fact, it took over six months to reunite the last family. Every week, nearly two-thirds of children under the age of five, or 11.6 million children, are routinely cared for by someone other than their working parents -- and the number is growing. NACCRRA works to ensure that families in every local community have access to high-quality, affordable child care. High-quality child care offers a healthy and safe learning environment for children. NACCRRA's national disaster planning initiative addresses safety by providing local Child Care Resource & Referral agencies with resources to train child care providers on how to prepare for and recover from disasters.

To further maximize the impact of its disaster planning initiative, NACCRRA partnered with The Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC), which is the leading national authority on lost child prevention. One of CPLC's preferred product partners, Wander Wear, offers Parent Locator Tags, which are easy to use and provide a safe way to reunite lost children with their parents or caregivers. The caregiver or parent writes their cell phone number on the back of the durable and waterproof plastic tag and clips it in a visible place on the child's clothing. If the child gets lost, another adult can easily assist without having to disrupt the distressed child. The child's parent can be called and the two can then be quickly reunited. Thanks to its partnership with CPLC, NACCRRA has made 3,000 Parent Locator Tags available through its Child Care Aware® initiative to child care professionals across the nation.

CPLC's National Director & Family Safety Expert, Alyssa Dver commented, "At the Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC), we typically focus on the everyday situations where a parent and child are separated accidentally like when a child runs off in a store, beach or other public place. However, it is so important that we are also prepared to provide young children with the tools and knowledge to be found in case of public emergencies -- especially when the child is in child care away from their working parents."

Linda Smith, NACCRRA's Executive Director, added, "Using child identification tags should be a key component of every child care provider's emergency plan. Providers -- and parents -- can rely on Wander Wear's Parent Locator Tags as a proven way to reunite families as quickly as possible after any disaster."

Parent Locator Tags can be purchased on the Wander Wear website: www.wander-wear.com. Individual tags are $3.99 and a Safety Six Pack is $19.99. To learn more about NACCRRA's disaster planning efforts, visit www.naccrra.org/disaster/.

About The Center to Prevent Lost Children™ (CPLC)

The Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC) (www.PreventingLostChildren.org) provides parents, grandparents, teachers and other caregivers with critical information that can prevent children from getting lost -- and that helps find them safely when it happens. Through live and recorded seminars, the CPLC provides safety tips and product/technology advice. Adult and children's workshops are delivered in schools and day care centers, parenting clubs, religious & civic organizations, YMCAs, hospitals, and corporate settings. CPLC family safety consultants also work with employees in venues such as retail stores, amusement parks, airports, beaches and sporting events where children often get lost. CPLC also works with sponsors wanting to bring lost child prevention information to their customers or constituencies.

About Wander Wear®

Wander Wear® Inc.'s (www.wander-wear.com) mission is to prevent children from getting lost. With over 90% of families affected, Wander Wear strives to keep families safe during emergencies or when visiting public places such as malls, amusement parks, beaches, and while traveling. As a parent-run company, Wander Wear offers practical information along with easy-to-use products for effective lost child prevention.

About NACCRRA

NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, works with more than 800 state and local Child Care Resource & Referral agencies to ensure that families in every local community have access to high-quality, affordable child care. To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake groundbreaking research, and advocate child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.

About Child Care Aware®

Child Care Aware®, an initiative of NACCRRA, is committed to helping parents find the best information on locating quality child care and child care resources in their community. Child Care Aware® operates a national telephone hotline (1-800-424-2246) and website (www.ChildCareAware.org) -- both available in English and Spanish --that connect families to their local CCR&Rs and provide parenting and early care and education information.

For more press inquiries about The Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC) or Wander Wear please contact Red Branch Public Relations at 718.554.3223.

For press inquiries about NACCRRA, please contact Jen Schill, Senior Communications Manager, National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), at 703.341.4148.

The Center to Prevent Lost Children™ is a trademark of The Center to Prevent Lost Children (CPLC).

Wander Wear®, Parent Locator Tags™, Easy-to-Spot™ apparel, and Whizzly™ are trademarks of Wander Wear Inc.

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