Crisis Procedures

Action Steps for Volunteers and Staff

When an incident occurs, it is of vital importance that the person in charge follows the below steps in this order: 1. See that a responsible adult remains with the injured person(s). Do not move injured person(s) unless that person’s life is in danger by being left at the scene of the accident.

2. Secure needed assistance. Call 911, a hospital, ambulance or doctor. Then call the council Emergency Number at 877-331-5904. If there has been an automobile accident, death, life threatening situation or suspected crime, call the police. Be able to answer: what, who, when, where, how, nature of injuries and/or damage. Have names and phone numbers of injured persons.

3. Ensure safety of others – troop members, campers, volunteers.

4. Keep a responsible adult at the scene. Do NOT disturb the victim or surroundings until assistance arrives. Organize a search for any who are missing.

5. Put an adult in charge of the rest of the group.

6. Make no statement of any kind to the media. Do not give out any names or information. All media inquiries should be directed to the Chief Marketing Officer. You only make statements to authorities.

7. Keep your copies of all permission forms and medical records to turn in to the council office.

8. Remain calm. Do NOT place blame.

9. If safety procedures are needed for one of the camp properties, see document here.

10. If crisis occurs during summer camp, refer to camp crisis plan. (NEED LINK)

Action Steps for On-Call Crisis Team

In the event of an emergency, the staff person on call will assemble the Crisis Team and complete the following:

1. During the time that you are assigned to receive potential emergency phone calls, gather the facts from the caller. Assess the situation—analyze and record all data and determine appropriate action. Look at the entire situation. Make sure all facts are straight.

2. Verify that appropriate emergency procedures have been implemented at the scene.

Confirm the facts and make sure 911 has been called.

3. Call Crisis Team Leader. Refer to crisis team for specific responsibilities.

4. After you have ensured 911 has been called if needed, then do any of the following, if applicable: a. Investigate rumors b. Locate witnesses c. Analyze expert information

5. The External Communications Team Leader will prepare statements for staff, media, parents, volunteers, board, etc., as well as phone scripts, FAQs and answers for customer care and callers to use. Standard statements will be made available as

Knowledge Articles and published in Salesforce.

6. The Internal Communications Team Leader will make initial staff alert via a meeting or e-mail and instruct staff to check e-mail for updates.

7. The External Communications Team Leader will handle ALL MEDIA calls.

8. NO CALLS are made until script is written, approved and distributed.

9. The Emergency Response Team Leader will work with the applicable staff to compile girls or adults registered for an event using program rosters from Active, Wufoo,

Formsite, etc. For programs at camp, there will be a file for each session with emergency lists for campers pre-printed, as well as communication records.

10. Send a person to the scene, if needed.

11. The Senior Director of Business Operations will supervise the calls received to the 800 number and recruit additional staff/volunteers as necessary to assist in handling calls and walk-in inquiries. Staffers who have cell phones are encouraged to use them to keep the phone lines open.

12. Parents should be told to monitor e-mail, visit the council website or call the council for updates, not the location of the situation (camp location, activity location, etc.).

13. Callers make the calls without deviating from the script or specific information received. Callers should not try to answer additional questions. If they can’t answer a question, they should refer the call to one of the people designated on the script.

Scripts will provide explicit criteria for releasing children, developed in conjunction with local authorities (i.e. child will only be released to the person designated on the registration form unless we hear otherwise from this person.).

14. A staff member, identified by the Internal Communications Team Leader, will need to remain available in a designated location or by phone to troubleshoot and maintain communication with the camp/event.

15. The Senior Director of Girl Scout Experience will maintain communication with

Experience Managers and Rangers (if this is a camp situation) and will relay information, as needed. These staff are the last people off a property in an evacuation.