The Family Reunification Plan Template (Template) is a result of WRHSAC’s Children in Disasters: Keeping Kids Safe project. The ability to reunify children with their families or care givers following an emergency incident was identified as high priority and an emergency planning gap by WRHSAC’s Children in Disasters Conference.
The Template is intended to assist agencies and organizations which provide services to children in establishing their own Family Reunification Plan. The plan can be utilized to reunite children with their families or care providers following an emergency incident.
Online Family Reunification Template Training Modules have been created to assist agencies in creating their own plan from the template.
The Template can be used by any department or organization serving children—including public and private schools, child care providers, after-school program sponsors, camps, churches, residential facilities, etc.—as the basis for developing their own detailed Family Reunification Plan. Additionally, the template can serve as an educational tool for jurisdictions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders who provide reunification services or support. The template can assist in understanding the complexities of implementing a coordinated and collaborative reunification operation, including but not limited to: reunification protocols and the legal responsibilities of government and private entities, terminology, methods of reunification, and effective coordination with Federal, State, Tribal, and local emergency management officials.
The following video provides an overview reunification planning and how the template can assist you:
Each organization utilizing this template will determine its specific role and responsibilities in reunifying families and should modify the language throughout the template accordingly. The Family Reunification Plan Template is simply a tool to introduce organizations to planning concepts in order to create a final Family Reunification Plan. Organizations should utilize what fits their needs. Text in boxes provide a description of what information should be included in the respective section. The boxes should not be included in the final Plan.
This template is accompanied by a Family Reunification Plan Activation Checklist that highlights the immediate steps necessary to activate a family reunification plan during an emergency. (The checklist can be found in the first pages of the Template). In addition, WRHSAC has developed a Family Reunification Plan Supportive Equipment List that identifies equipment (hardware/software) which would assist with the successful implementation of the reunification plan (See Appendix I).
The Template is available in both PDF and Word format.