PICKERINGVILLAGEUNITED CHURCH
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES MANUAL
MISSING CHILD/ADULTPLAN
APPROVED BY: PVUC BOARD
DATE:
REVIEW DATE:October, 2009
PURPOSE: To provide clear direction for action when a child/adult is reported missing at PVUC
PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS: “The Emergency Plan fora Missing Child/Adult At
PVUC”will be an evolving document.
NOTE: When a child is missing/abduction suspected, immediate actions will be taken to secure the church building and search for the child. A systematic search of the church building will be conducted immediately and all exit doors will be monitored immediately. The police will be notified immediately.
The following procedure may also be used to describe actions to be taken in the search for a missing adult, with the group leader acting as Incident Manager.
STRATEGIES:
1. The “Emergency Plan for a Missing Child at PVUC” during Sunday morning services at PVUC will beled and coordinated by the Sunday School Coordinator or designate who will be called the Incident Manager.
2. At all other times, the leader of the group responsible for the missing child will coordinate the search for the child, with the assistance of the police.
3. The “Emergency Plan for a Missing Adult at PVUC” will be led and coordinated by the leader of the group within which the missing adult is involved, with the assistance of the police.
PROCEDURE:
1. The Sunday School Coordinator will be notified by church personnel i.e.: Sunday School teacher or volunteer, parent/guardian - that a child is missing and unable to be found with a preliminary search.
2. If not already done, the Sunday School Coordinator will notify/instruct that the parents/guardian be notified so as to determine if the child is truly missing or has been removed from the building in a legitimate circumstance.
3. When confirmation is received that the child is missing, the Sunday School Coordinator will instruct that the Emergency Plan for a Missing Child at PVUC be initiated. The Sunday School Coordinator will coordinate the Plan and be called the Incident Manager.
NOTE: Job Action sheets describing the role of the Incident Manager and Officers/Chiefs of the Command Centre (see #1.5 below) may be found in the PVUC Pandemic Influenza Plan in the PVUC Emergency Procedures Manual.
4. The Incident Manager will set-up the Command Centre in the Sunday School office. (See description of Command Centre in the PVUC Pandemic Influenza Plan in the PVUC Emergency Procedures Manual).
5. The Incident Manager will appoint, if required, members of the Incident Management System (Officers/Chiefs) to assist in the enactment of the Emergency Plan for a Missing Child at PVUC. The Incident Manager will distribute Job Action Sheets to the Officers/Chiefs.
6. The Incident Manager will notify the Police immediately of the missing child and will meet them upon their arrival or will appoint someone to meet them upon arrival.
NOTE: The following activities will occur quickly:
7.The Incident Manager will instruct the Sunday School teachers to quickly escort all children to the Chapel where 2 teachers will be assigned to remain with the children during the search. Each teacher will bring the “Attendance Book” for their class to the 2 teachers assigned to the chapel. These 2 teachers will take an attendance of the children to ensure all children area accounted for, thus confirming the missing child.
8.The church personnel who found that the child was missing will complete the Missing Child/Adult Description Form as found in Appendix A of this Plan and provide the completed Form to the Incident Manager so that copies can be made for distribution to searchers.
9. The Incident Manager will assign one person to each entrance/exit of PVUC, instructing them to not permit persons into or out of the building.Only the Incident Manager will decide if a person/persons may be allowed to enter/exit the building during the period of the search.
10.The Incident Manager will recruit and instruct searchers, providing each searcher with a copy of the Missing Person Description Form, a map of an area to search, a roll of masking tape and a marking pen.
11. The Incident Manager will assign several persons to search the interior and exterior areas of the church and grounds upon the command of the Incident Manager. Each searcher will be given a map of a specific area to search. Interior building searchers will be given a roll of masking tape and a marking pen.
12. At the command of the Incident Manager, each searcher will quickly check his/her assigned area in its entirety (rooms, closets, locked rooms, behind/under boxes, pieces of equipment, under bushes, interior and under cars, etc). When a room is checked, the searcher will place a masking taped “X” on the door/doorframe, indicating the room has been searched and the missing child has not been found in the room. The searcher will then place a check mark on the room where it is located on the map.
13. If a searcher finds a locked door, the searcher will note the location of the locked door and will report this to the Incident Manager at completion of the search.
14. Once a searcher’s designated area has been checked, the searcher will return to the Command Centre to give a verbal report, noting any locked doors.
15. The Incident Manager will direct that a key(s) for locked door(s) will be obtained and the Incident Manager will assign a searcher to check behind the locked door. Once the room is checked, the searcher will place a masking tapped “X” on the door/doorframe, indicating the room has been searched and the missing child is not in the room.
16. Once all searchers have reported back to the CommandCentre and the missing child has not been found, the Incident Manager will update the Police.
17. The Incident Manager or Police (if called) will cancel the search for the missing child if the child is found.
18. The Incident Manager will direct members of PVUC staff/congregation to provide support to the missing child’s family/guardian.
POST MISSING CHILD/ADULTPLANEVALUATION
1. The Incident Manager will meet with the Search Team and the Police, (if involved,) to critique, debrief and evaluate the effectiveness of the search procedure and suggest amendments.
Drafts: June 14, June 24, December 18, 2007, October 23, 2009
APPENDIX A
PICKERINGVILLAGE UNITED CHURCH
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURE MANUAL
Missing Child/Adult Description Form
Missing Child/Adult DescriptionLocation Name: Extension:
1. First/Last Name:
2. Parent/Guardian Names
3. Height:
4. Weight:
5. Age:
6. Hair Colour:
7. Gender
8. Race:
9. Clothing:
10. Behaviour:
11. Identifying Characteristics:
1