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Preparedness for kids

By tsmith on January 25, 2006.

Well, at least there seems to be some progress in terrorism preparedness plans. Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security has a program ready to prepare children for disasters.

After more than a year of delays, the Department of Homeland Security says it plans to launch a preparedness program next month aimed at alerting and preparing children for natural disasters.

The program, called Ready Kids, is scheduled to roll out with TV ads, school programs and other events.

"Ready Kids is a tool for parents and teachers to use to be able to speak to their students and children about how to be prepared for any type of disaster," said DHS spokeswoman Joanna Gonzalez.

However, this again shows what I was discussing here. Seems FEMA, which is one of the agencies DHS is composed of, already has a program covering this ground (http://www.fema.gov/kids). Good to hear they're working together, and not wasting our money by duplicating efforts or anything. Oh, and did I mention it has a rap:

Disaster...it can happen anywhere,

But we've got a few tips, so you can be prepared

For floods, tornadoes, or even a 'quake,

you've got to be ready--so your heart don't break.

(Note to FEMA: even kids are savvy enough to realize this rap is...crap).

Like the rest of their preparedness plans, this one is long overdue. It was originally scheduled for release in September 2004--but is "definitely" scheduled for launch next month. How it will differ from FEMA's and why we need 2 different ones remains to be seen.

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Policy
public health

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Gah! Just say "no" to government rap! Treat children with respect. They are smarter than that. Normally, I'm against the death penalty, but I might make an exception for those government officials who violate the seperation of popular culture and state.

I agree. To be fair, they do have some things on the site that are, well, less stupid.

Disaster prep is your responsibility
And mitigation is important to our agency.

Now that's rap.

My emergency plan is to follow the kids as they execute their emergency plan.