General
Strategies for Follow-Up Emergencies/Critical Incidents
General Strategies for Follow-up to
Emergencies / Critical Incidents
The following information may be useful in the
days and weeks following an emergency.
Long-term follow-up procedures are also listed.
The Day After: Workday Two of Emergency
Management
Convene Emergency Response Team and
faculty/staff members to update them on any additional
information/procedures.
1. In case of death, provide
funeral/visitation information.
2. Identify students and staff in need
of follow-up support and assign staff members to monitor
vulnerable students:
Coordinate counseling
opportunities for students
Announce ongoing support for students with
place, time, and staff facilitator
Provide parents with a list of community
resources available to students and their families
3. Convene District Support Team to
assist with debriefing.
Assess system-wide support
needs, and develop planned intervention
strategies
Discuss successes and problems
Discuss things to do differently next time
(After Action Reporting)
4. Allow staff the opportunity to
discuss their feelings and reactions to the incident.
The Emergency Response Team should provide a list of
suggested readings to teachers, parents and students.
(i.e., handouts later in this chapter).
5. Develop a process for screening
and registering volunteers.
6. Develop a process for inventorying
district and donated supplies.
Long-Term Follow-up and Evaluation
1. Amend
Emergency Response
Protocols if needed. The After Action Reporting
process is very helpful in this area. This strategy
is designed to identify and record perceived
strengths and weaknesses in the overall activities
that were offered.
2. Write thank-you notes to people
who provided support during the emergency.
3. Be alert to anniversaries and
holidays. Often students and staff will experience
an "anniversary" trigger reaction the following
month(s) or year(s) on the date of the emergency, or
when similar crises occur.