A written contact plan is only useful if family members recognise it and can use it. This 40-minute workshop turns names and numbers into a few practised actions. Keep personal data to the minimum a child needs, store it carefully and adapt the plan to local emergency services, school procedures and the child’s age.
Set up the plan first
Adults choose one nearby meeting place, one wider-area meeting place and a trusted out-of-area contact. Confirm that the contact agrees to the role and knows the family’s plan. Check school and workplace evacuation procedures rather than assuming children will be released directly.
Make a small card for each child with caregiver names and numbers, the out-of-area contact, essential medical or communication information, and meeting-place cues. Do not include unnecessary identity numbers or sensitive account information. Add a photo or symbol for a pre-reader, and make the card accessible for a child who uses AAC or another communication system.
Minutes 0–10: introduce three choices
Explain that emergencies can separate people or make phone networks busy. The child’s three choices are: follow the trusted adult or school plan; go to the agreed meeting place only when safe and instructed; use the card to contact a caregiver or the out-of-area person.
Make clear that children should not leave school, childcare or another supervised setting on their own. The responsible institution’s reunification process comes first.
Minutes 10–22: practise a message
- A young child points to their name and caregiver on the card.
- A school-age child practises saying: “I am safe. I am with ____. I am at ____.”
- An older child sends a pretend text to the agreed contact, without posting location publicly.
Ready.gov notes that texts may sometimes get through when calls do not and can reduce demand on phone lines. This is not guaranteed, so the plan should not depend on one device, app or network.
Minutes 22–32: use two scenarios
Try two calm, realistic prompts: “School closes and you are still with your teacher,” and “The family is away from home and cannot use the usual route.” Ask the child to show the first safe action, not solve the whole emergency. Adults correct gaps in the plan rather than criticising the child.
Include what not to do: do not meet an unknown person, post a location publicly, repeatedly call emergency lines for updates, or travel alone unless the family’s authorised safety plan specifically requires it.
Minutes 32–40: locate and update
Place copies where they are useful: a child’s bag if school policy allows, the household emergency kit and with regular caregivers. Adults may keep an encrypted digital copy, but the child should not rely only on a locked phone. Review the card at least yearly and after moves, school changes or new numbers.
End by asking the child to name the trusted adults who can help. A child who cannot remember numbers has not failed; the purpose of the card and practice is to reduce memory demands.
Protect privacy while staying usable
Use first names or relationships where sufficient, and never publish the completed card online. Explain that the card is shown to a teacher, emergency responder, known caregiver or another safe adult when help is needed—not to peers for fun. Replace lost cards promptly and reconsider how much information they carry.
Build the card with EdCaptain’s child-friendly emergency communication guide and keep a current copy in the family emergency kit.
Test the adults’ side too
Adults should confirm that the out-of-area contact can receive messages, that school numbers are current and that authorised pickup details match school records. Practise one adult sending the same short status format the children learned. Decide who updates relatives so many callers do not overwhelm the household.
If the family uses multiple languages, write the core message in each one. A child with limited speech can point to a card or use a prepared AAC phrase. Keep the plan simple enough to work when a phone battery is low, an app is unavailable or a caregiver is stressed.
