Creating, Practicing, and Implementing Plans for Family Reunification Before, During, and After an Emergency
Emergency management planning is very important because many incidents, whether caused by hazards or threats, are unpredictable. When unpredictable incidents occur, they may prevent a normal school dismissal, thereby making it difficult for families to reunite with students. A Family Reunification Annex can be created as a part of a school emergency operations plan (EOP) in order to detail actions to take before, during, and after an emergency to ensure students are reunited with their families. There are many aspects to consider when creating a Family Reunification Annex, including communications; logistics; student security and release; and children who are missing, injured, or worse. Once completed, the annex should provide details on how to inform families about the reunification process in advance; clearly describe roles and responsibilities in reunification; verify that an adult is authorized to take custody of a student; and facilitate communication between the family check-in gate, student assembly area, and reunification area. Maximizing the strength of an education agency’s plans for family reunification is an important part of the work that emergency management teams do at the K-12 level.
What’s on this page?
Resources from the REMS TA Center, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal agency partners on the topic of family reunification for K-12 schools. They are organized based on the before, during, and after phases used to comprehensively manage emergencies.
Before
- Backpack Emergency Card, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Conducting a Secure, Safe, and Successful K-12 Family Reunification Process Webinar, REMS TA Center and U.S. Department of Education with Arizona Department of Education, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District in Massachusetts, and Chandler Police Department in Arizona
- Families as Partners in School Emergency Management (Helpful Hints Volume 2, Issue 7), REMS TA Center
- Family Reunification Training Package, REMS TA Center
- Multi-Agency Reunification Services Plan Template, National Mass Care Strategy
- Reunification After a Community-Wide Disaster: Planning Tools for Schools Webinar, REMS TA Center and U.S. Department of Education with Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Reunification Community of Practice Forum, REMS TA Center
- Safety Central Mobile Application, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Sample Family Reunification Annex, REMS TA Center
- Unaccompanied Minor Registry, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
During
- Communication and Collaboration During Natural Disasters: The Lessons Learned From Past Experience (Lessons Learned Volume 3, Issue 2), REMS TA Center
- National Emergency Child Locator Center, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Responding to and Recovering From an Active Shooter Incident That Turns Into a Hostage Situation (Lessons Learned Volume 2, Issue 6), REMS TA Center
- Sample Family Reunification Annex, REMS TA Center
After
- Conducting a Secure, Safe, and Successful K-12 Family Reunification Process Webinar, REMS TA Center and U.S. Department of Education with Arizona Department of Education, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District in Massachusetts, and Chandler Police Department in Arizona
- National Emergency Child Locator Center, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Post-Disaster Reunification and K-12 Schools Fact Sheet, REMS TA Center
- Post-Disaster Reunification of Children: A Nationwide Approach, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, American Red Cross, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Responding to and Recovering From an Active Shooter Situation (Lessons Learned Volume 2, Issue 6), REMS TA Center
- Reunification After a Community-Wide Disaster: Planning Tools for Schools Webinar, REMS TA Center, and U.S. Department of Education with, Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Sample Family Reunification Annex, REMS TA Center
- Student-Parent Reunification After a School Crisis, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services