Crisis Communication Resources

Working in the child protection services industry, Children’s Advocacy Centers – like so many like-minded organizations – are unfortunately susceptible to a variety of “crisis situations.” NCA strongly believes in providing our members with resources and tools for handling all types of situations in an effort to strengthen not just the individual CACs we serve, but the overall cause of child abuse intervention and prevention.

The following links will take you to Crisis Communications materials and training resources that will be helpful in your organization’s ongoing Issues Management practices, as well as during times of crisis.

And if your organization is experiencing a crisis situation, or if the media has been contacting you about a specific situation, If you are experiencing a critical incident that may have implications in the media, you must file a Critical Incident Report (CIR) with Director of Member Services Kim Hamm at khamm@nca-online.org at (202) 548-0090 x155 immediately.

First, Read NCA’s Critical Incident Reporting Policy

This document outlines NCA’s policy on critical incident reporting and provides detailed instructions on:

• What situations are classified as critical incidents
• What do to when a situation is a critical incident

Then, download the Critical Incident Report (CIR) Form, fill, and submit

Download this form and fax it to (202) 548-0099 or email it to membership@nca-online.org to report a critical incident ASAP.

For more, view our Crisis Communications Webinar

Offered to NCA members, this one-hour recorded webinar focuses on Crisis Communications and ongoing Issues Management. Included in the presentation is helpful knowledge regarding what to do during a crisis situation. Specific topics include:

• General overview of crisis communications and issues management strategies
• Heavy focus on media relations during times of crisis
• The communications process with NCA
• The benefits of proactive public relations in preparation for a crisis situation

Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

Critical Incident Preparation and Response Plan – SAMPLE

Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center provided this plan to NCA as a sample of suggestions and protocol for CACs to follow during times of a crisis. It is suggested that every CAC have a Crisis Communications Plan in place, and this sample can serve as a template for creating a customized version for individual CACs.

Sections of this plan include:

• Critical incident preparedness
• Human resources
• Facilities
• Media
• Information technology
• Finances
• NCA’s Critical Incident Reporting Requirements
• Community crisis information
• Critical incident response process
• Assessment
• Internal and external communications