Idaho Daycare Emergency Plan Requirements

Every licensed daycare in Idaho must have a written Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan posted in a visible location within the facility. This is part of the licensing safety requirements, and the plan should be ready for initial and later inspections.

The plan doesn't need to be elaborate, but it does need to cover specific scenarios and be detailed enough that any adult in the home could execute it if you were incapacitated.

What to Include in the Plan

Evacuation Procedures

• A floor plan or map showing the primary and secondary evacuation routes from every room used for childcare
• A designated outdoor meeting point
• Procedures for evacuating infants and non-mobile children (who carries whom, in what order)
• Procedures for accounting for all children after evacuation (a physical headcount against your attendance roster)

Lockdown Procedures

• Steps for securing all exterior doors and windows
• A designated interior safe room (ideally an interior room with no exterior windows)
• Communication protocol with parents during a lockdown (how and when you'll notify them)
• Procedures for cooperating with law enforcement during an active threat

Severe Weather

• Shelter-in-place location for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, or earthquakes
• A battery-operated weather radio or alert system
• Procedures for maintaining care during extended power outages

Medical Emergencies

• Location of first aid kit (must be stocked and accessible to adults but not children)
• Emergency contact information for each child posted in a central location
• Nearest hospital or urgent care facility address and phone number
• Procedures for documenting and reporting injuries to parents

Utility Failures

• What to do during a gas leak (evacuation, utility company contact)
• Water supply backup plan
• Procedures for operating without electricity (food safety, heating/cooling)

Fire Drill Log

Keep a fire drill log with your emergency plan and confirm the applicable drill frequency with IdahoSTARS or your local fire district. Do not assume that a center's monthly schedule automatically applies to a home daycare.

Your fire drill log should document:

• Date and time of the drill
• Number of children present
• Time to complete evacuation (from alarm to final headcount at the meeting point)
• Any issues encountered (a door that stuck, a child who resisted, a route that was blocked)
• Corrective actions taken

Keep this log in a binder with your emergency plan and have it available if an inspector requests it.

Posting and Accessibility

For practical use, keep the emergency plan:

• Posted in a visible location where staff, volunteers, and substitute caregivers can see it (near the main exit or in the primary childcare room)
• Shared with parents — many providers include a summary in their parent handbook and post the full plan on the parent bulletin board
• Reviewed at least annually and updated when anything changes (new evacuation route, new children with medical needs, new contact information)

Common Gaps Inspectors Find

The most frequent problems aren't about missing plans — most providers have something written. The issues are usually:

1. No floor plan or map — the plan describes evacuation in text but doesn't include a visual layout showing exits
2. Missing infant procedures — the plan assumes all children can walk themselves out
3. No lockdown section — many providers write evacuation procedures but skip the lockdown scenario entirely
4. Outdated emergency contacts — the plan lists a hospital phone number that's changed, or parent contacts from last year's enrollment
5. No drill log — the plan exists but there's no documentation that it's ever been practiced

The Idaho Home Daycare License guide includes a printable emergency plan template that covers all required sections with fill-in-the-blank fields for your specific home layout, and a fire drill log template formatted for 12 months of documentation.

See more Idaho guides →