Enrichment · Wellbeing

Decide now who calls whom,
and where you meet.

In a crisis nobody remembers phone numbers, and children do what they have practiced. For each kind of crisis your family could face, this guide sets the first call, an out-of-area contact, a meeting place near home and one farther away, who does what and what the children say and do if they cannot reach you. It prints a card for each backpack and tracks when you last practiced.

Make a planWhat you get

Plans

The worked example is made up: a house fire, a mental health crisis and a severe storm. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A record per crisis: the first call, last practiced date, an out-of-area contact, meeting places near and away, how you reach each other, who does what, words for the children and an eight-item checklist. Prints a wallet card; counts days since each plan was practiced; flags plans never practiced or older than six months, no out-of-area contact, a mental health plan without 988, no meeting place away from home and no words for the children.
Who it is for
Parents and caregivers, and teenagers helping plan for younger siblings.
Format
Browser guide with a saved record per plan. Prints a wallet card, one plan, all of them in a table or a blank plan; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick the crises your family could face.
  2. Fill in the first call, contacts and meeting places.
  3. Write the words for the children.
  4. Print a card for each backpack and wallet.
  5. Practice, and enter the date.

Make a plan

Family communication plans

A family communication plan1Collect the numbersEvery person, school,workplace, doctor.2Pick an out-of-area contactSomeone the same emergencywill not reach.3Pick two meeting placesOne near home, one away fromit.4Text before you callTexts get through when linesare busy.5Put it on paperBackpacks, wallets, by thephone.6Practice twice a yearTen minutes, everyonetogether.A family communication plan1Collect the numbersEvery person, school, workplace, doctor.2Pick an out-of-area contactSomeone the same emergency will notreach.3Pick two meeting placesOne near home, one away from it.4Text before you callTexts get through when lines are busy.5Put it on paperBackpacks, wallets, by the phone.6Practice twice a yearTen minutes, everyone together.
Based on the family emergency communication plan from Ready.gov. For a mental health crisis, the first call is 988.

Why text first

During a disaster, phone lines jam with calls while short text messages often still go through. Ready.gov advises texting and keeping calls for emergencies; an out-of-area contact gives everyone one number to report to.

A mental health crisis is a crisis too

If someone in the family might hurt themselves or is in severe distress, call or text 988 for support, any time. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Writing this down now means nobody has to work it out in the moment.

Sources

  1. Ready.gov (FEMA). Make a plan; Family Emergency Communication Plan.
  2. American Red Cross. Home fire escape plan: two ways out and a meeting place outside.
  3. Ready.gov. Kids: talking to children about emergencies.
  4. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988lifeline.org): call or text 988, chat online, 24 hours a day.

The worked example is made up, and 555 numbers are fictional. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. In an emergency, call 911. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.