| (a) A center must have a written emergency preparedness
and response plan that comprehensively describes its approach to an
emergency situation, including a public health disaster that could
affect the need for its services or its ability to provide those services.
(b) Administration. A center must:
(1) develop and implement a written plan as described
in subsection (c) of this section;
(2) maintain a current written copy of the plan in
a central location that is accessible to all staff at all times and
at a work station of each staff who has responsibilities under the
plan;
(3) evaluate the plan to determine if information in
the plan must change:
(A) no later than 30 days after an emergency situation;
(B) as soon as possible after the remodeling or construction
of an addition to the center; and
(C) at least annually;
(4) revise the plan no later than 30 days after information
in the plan changes; and
(5) maintain documentation of compliance with this
section.
(c) Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. A center's
plan must:
(1) include a risk assessment of all potential external
and internal emergency situations that pose a risk for harm to minors
or property and are relevant to the provision of services at a center
and the center's geographical area, such as fire, earthquake, hurricane,
tornado, flood, extreme snow and ice conditions for the area, wildfire,
terrorism, hazardous materials accident, thunderstorm, wind storm,
wave action, oil spill or other water contamination, epidemic, air
contamination, infestation, explosion, riot, hostile military or paramilitary
action, energy emergency, water outage, failure of heating and cooling
systems, power outage, bomb threat, and explosion;
(2) include a description of minors served at the center;
(3) include a description of the services and assistance
needed by minors served at the center in an emergency situation;
(4) include a section for each core function of emergency
management, as described in subsection (d) of this section, that is
based on the center's decision to either temporarily shelter-in-place
or evacuate during an emergency situation; and
(5) include a section for a fire safety plan that complies
with §550.205 of this division (relating to Safety Provisions).
(d) Plan Requirements Regarding Eight Core Functions
of Emergency Management.
(1) Direction and control. A center's plan must contain
a section for direction and control that:
(A) designates by name or title the emergency preparedness
coordinator (EPC) who is the staff person with the authority to manage
the center's response to an emergency situation in accordance with
the plan, and includes the EPC's current phone number;
(B) designates by name or title the alternate EPC who
is the staff person with the authority to act as the EPC if the EPC
is unable to serve in that capacity, and includes the alternate EPC's
current phone number;
(C) documents the name and contact information for
the local emergency management coordinator (EMC) for the area where
the center is located, as identified by the office of the local mayor
or county judge;
(D) includes procedures for notifying the local EMC
of the execution of the plan;
(E) includes a plan for coordinating a staffing response
to an emergency situation; and
(F) includes a plan for relocating minors to a safe
location that is based on the type of emergency situation occurring
and a center's decision to either temporarily shelter-in-place or
evacuate during an emergency situation.
(2) Warning. A center's plan must contain a section
for warning that:
(A) describes how the EPC will be notified of an emergency
situation;
(B) identifies who the EPC will notify of an emergency
situation and when the notification will occur, including during off
hours, weekends, and holidays; and
(C) addresses monitoring local news and weather reports
regarding a disaster or potential disaster, taking into consideration
factors such as geographic-specific natural disasters, whether a disaster
is likely to be addressed or forecast in the reports, and the conditions,
natural or otherwise, that would cause staff to monitor news and weather
reports for a disaster.
(3) Communication. A center's plan must contain a section
for communication that:
(A) identifies the center's primary mode of communication
to be used during an emergency situation and the center's alternate
mode of communication to be used in the event of power failure or
the loss of the center's primary mode of communication in an emergency
situation;
(B) requires posting of the emergency contact number
for the local fire department, ambulance, and police at or near each
telephone at the center in communities where a 911 emergency management
system is unavailable;
(C) includes procedures for maintaining a current list
of telephone numbers for:
(i) minors' parents;
(ii) safe locations; and
(iii) center staff;
(D) identifies the location of the lists described
in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph;
(E) includes procedures to notify:
(i) center staff about an emergency situation;
(ii) a contact person at a safe location about an impending
or actual evacuation of minors; and
(iii) a minor's parent about an impending or actual
evacuation;
(F) provides a method for staff to obtain a minor's
emergency information during an emergency situation;
(G) includes procedures for the center to maintain
communication with:
(i) center staff during an emergency situation;
(ii) a contact person at a safe location; and
(iii) the authorized driver of a vehicle transporting
minors, medication, medical records, food, water, equipment, or supplies
during an evacuation; and
(H) includes procedures for reporting to the Texas
Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) an emergency situation
that caused the death or serious injury of a minor as follows:
(i) by telephone at 1-800-458-9858 or by using the
HHSC website, no later than 24 hours after the death or serious injury
of a minor; and
(ii) in writing on the HHSC Provider Investigation
Report Form no later than five days after the center makes the report.
(4) Shelter-in-place. A center's plan must contain
a section that includes procedures to temporarily shelter minors in
place during an emergency situation.
(5) Evacuation. A center's plan must contain a section
for evacuation that:
(A) requires posting center evacuation routes conspicuously
throughout the center;
(B) identifies evacuation destinations and routes for
an authorized driver, and includes a map that shows the destinations
and routes;
(C) includes procedures for implementing a decision
to evacuate minors to a safe location;
(D) includes a current copy of an agreement with a
pre-arranged safe location, outlining arrangements for receiving minors
in the event of an evacuation, if the evacuation destination identified
in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph is a prearranged
safe location that is not owned by the same entity as the evacuating
center;
(E) includes procedures for:
(i) ensuring that staff accompany evacuating minors;
(ii) ensuring that minors and staff present at the
center have been evacuated;
(iii) ensuring that visitors, including parents and
service providers, evacuate the center;
(iv) accounting for minors and staff after they have
been evacuated;
(v) accounting for minors absent from the center at
the time of the evacuation;
(vi) releasing minor information in an emergency situation
to promote continuity of a minor's care, in accordance with state
law;
(vii) notifying the local EMC regarding an evacuation
of the center, if required by the local EMC guidelines;
(viii) contacting the local EMC, if required by the
local EMC guidelines, to find out if it is safe to return to the geographical
area after an evacuation; and
(ix) determining if it is safe to re-enter and occupy
the center after an evacuation;
(x) notifying HHSC by telephone, at 1-800-458-9858,
no later than 24 hours after an evacuation that minors have been evacuated;
and
(xi) notifying HHSC Regulatory Services by telephone
immediately after the EPC makes a decision to evacuate all minors
from the center.
(6) Transportation. A center's plan must contain a
section for transportation that:
(A) arranges for a sufficient number of vehicles to
safely evacuate all minors;
(B) identifies staff or contractors designated to drive
a center owned, leased, or rented vehicle during an evacuation;
(C) includes procedures for safely transporting minors
and staff involved in an evacuation; and
(D) includes procedures for safely transporting and
having timely access to oxygen, medications, medical records, food,
water, equipment, and supplies needed during an evacuation.
(7) Health and Medical Needs. A center's plan must
contain a section for health and special needs that:
(A) identifies the types of services and medical equipment
used by minors, including oxygen, respirator care, or hospice services;
and
(B) ensures that a minor's needs identified in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph are met during an emergency situation.
(8) Resource Management. A center's plan must contain
a section for resource management that:
(A) includes a plan for identifying medications, medical
records, food, water, equipment, and supplies needed during an emergency
situation;
(B) identifies staff who are assigned to locate the
items in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and who must ensure the
transportation of the items during an emergency situation; and
(C) includes procedures to ensure that medications
are secure and maintained at the proper temperature during an emergency
situation.
(e) Training. A center must:
(1) train staff on their responsibilities under the
plan no later than 30 days from their hire date;
(2) train staff on the staff responsibilities under
the plan at least annually and when the staff member's responsibilities
under the plan change; and
(3) conduct one unannounced annual drill with staff
for severe weather and other emergency situations identified by a
center as likely to occur, based on the results of the risk assessment
required by subsection (c) of this section.
(f) Fire Emergency Response Plan.
(1) The center must have a comprehensive written fire
emergency response plan. Copies of the plan must be available to all
staff. The center must periodically instruct and inform staff about
the duties of their positions under the plan. The written fire emergency
response plan must provide for the following:
(A) use of alarms;
(B) transmission of an alarm to a fire department;
(C) response to alarms;
(D) isolation of fire;
(E) evacuation of the immediate area;
(F) preparation of floors and building for evacuation;
and
(G) fire extinguishment;
(2) The fire emergency response plan must include procedures
to contact HHSC by telephone, at 1-800-458-9858, no later than 24
hours after activation of its Fire Emergency Response Plan.
(3) The staff must conduct emergency egress and relocation
drills as follows:
(A) perform a monthly fire drill with all occupants
of the building at expected and unexpected times and under varying
conditions;
(B) relocate, during the monthly drill, all occupants
of the building to a predetermined location where occupants must remain
until a recall or dismissal is given; and
(C) complete the HHSC Fire Drill Report Form 4719 for
each required drill.
(4) The EPC or a designee must conduct fire prevention
inspections on a monthly basis and prepare a report of the inspection
results. The center must maintain copies of the fire prevention inspection
report prepared by the center within the last 12 months. The center
must post a copy of the most recent fire prevention inspection report
in a conspicuous place at the center.
(g) Emergency Response System.
(1) The center administrator and alternate administrator
must enroll in an emergency communication system in accordance with
instructions from HHSC.
(2) The center must respond to requests for information
received through the emergency communication system in the format
established by HHSC.
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