Orlando, Fla. — ”The impact of not being able to reopen is far-ranging," organization officials explained. "Childcare is the second biggest obstacle to adults returning to work after a disaster. For most families, not being able to leave their children at a child care facility means not being able to go back to work, and with a significant portion of the workforce making hourly wages, the financial impacts are immense and potentially long-lasting,” according to sources from the non-profit Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe. (See statistics below.)

There are 1,080,253 children aged 0-4 living in Florida, 6,150 center-based child care programs and 3,362 family child care homes in our state.

Ensuring you, your loved ones, and your little ones are prepared for any and all emergencies is of paramount importance. Did you know September is National Preparedness Month? The Child Care Aware of America organization is encouraging parents, child care providers and child care resource and referral staff to take the Preparedness Pledge!

You can’t prevent natural disasters and some emergencies, but having the proper insurance can significantly reduce the costs associated with one. Insurance is an essential tool that helps protect family child care providers from natural disasters, accidents, vandalism, theft, and other emergencies. It can help replace damaged property (home, household items, car), pay for injuries to children, pay for loss of business income, and defend against lawsuits from parents.

Unfortunately, many providers do not have the proper insurance to protect the children in their care, their own property, and family. In some cases, providers who do have homeowners and car insurance do not realize that their policies don’t adequately cover them once they start caring for children.

As you already know, the United States has experienced an active start to the hurricane season, including Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida. Those that care for children are entrusted with our country’s greatest asset, our children. Ensuring the child care sector is prepared to respond and recover from disasters is essential to helping families get back on their feet after a disaster.

Child Care Aware® of America’s emergency preparedness team, in partnership with — Tom Copeland, trainer, author, and advocate for the business of family child care considered one of the nation’s most prominent experts in family child care business issues, — is pleased to share two new resources designed to help the child care field gain a greater awareness around emergency preparedness so that child care businesses can recover quickly following a disaster. 1)How Insurance Protects You in an Emergency and 2)Reducing the Financial Toll of Emergencies.These resources are now available for wide distribution to family child care providers to help them understand how to take a proactive approach in ensuring that their insurance policies will provide adequate coverage in the event of a disaster.