Do You Have a Disaster Plan for Your In-Home Daycare?

What would you do if your business suddenly had to close? Would you be able to continue on after the surrounding events ended or would the lack of income force you to shut your doors?

Unfortunately, this is a reality faced by many in-home daycares these days. The good news is that having a solid plan ahead of time can mean the difference between closing your business and being able to resume in the future.

Keep reading to learn more. Here’s what you need to know about having a disaster plan for your in-home daycare.

More Than Just an Emergency Plan

While having a quality emergency plan for your in-home daycare is vital from a safety perspective, a disaster plan is a little different. This type of document covers what your business would do if you were unexpectedly forced to close, such as after a fire, due to damage, or from some other related event.

While an emergency plan talks about how to keep everyone safe, a disaster plan goes in-depth on topic like how to get in touch with your commercial insurance carrier and what instructions you have for employees or parents when it comes to finding alternative care.

Your disaster plan can be a formal document that you store digitally or just a binder of information that you keep in a fireproof place. Depending on the size of your in-home daycare, you might also want to consider keeping a copy at a different location in case of a catastrophic event.

What to Include in Your In-Home Daycare Disaster Plan

When creating your document, try to think up as many scenarios and angles as possible. After all, the more organized you are now, the easier it will be to pick up the pieces after an unfortunate event. A few ideas of what to add to your in your in-home daycare disaster plan include:

  • Ideas on how to help parents find additional caregivers in the event of a disaster.
  • Plans for employee compensation or duties during a shutdown situation.
  • Goals for savings to help pay for business costs while your daycare is closed.
  • Contact and policy information for your insurance coverage.
  • A list of current families and the best ways to get in touch with them to communicate your closure.

Partnering with Other In-Home Daycares

If you have a high number of children attending your in-home daycare, then you might want to also consider partnering with another trusted location nearby. Why? You could come to an agreement together that the one that’s still operational can help your families while you’re out of commission. When you open back up, the children can return as normal. In exchange, the partner daycare center could receive help or a small stipend. Often, this is a great idea for two or more childcare centers in the same area to assist each other in times of need.

Having a solid disaster plan is just one of the many ways you can protect your in-home daycare. The other? Quality commercial insurance coverage. To learn more about your available coverage options or to receive a quote, please fill out the form below.

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