Course Pediatric Disaster Behavioral Health (PDBH) Toolkit

Section Overview

This section focuses on just-in-time implementation of this toolkit in either an active response or recovery effort. If you’re implementing the toolkit to support preparedness efforts, please reference this section.

This portion of the toolkit will focus on two components to just-in-time implementation of this toolkit:

• Response Deployment - An operational planning process to learn how to jumpstart rapid toolkit implementation, integrate this framework into ICS/HICS processes and structures, and connect the framework to emergency management coordination structures.
• Phase-Based Recommendations - Broad strategic recommendations to guide response/recovery actions based on the community phases of disaster behavioral health impacts

Key principles for successful just-in-time implementation of this toolkit:

• All disasters are ultimately local.
  • Local capabilities, readiness, emergency response and recovery structures, community features (culture, economy, etc.), and engaged organizations will look different from community to community.
  • Guidance and recommendations should be adapted to address local challenges and meet local needs.
• Behavioral health can feasibly be integrated into broader response/recovery efforts – such as incident command systems, emergency support functions, and recovery support functions.
  • Recommendations will focus on connecting to these systems and leveraging them to support pediatric disaster behavioral health response and recovery.
• Approaches and strategies that fail to account for common trends in pediatric disaster behavioral health impacts will fail to meet the full needs of the community.