CCR&R’s: Why Texting is Essential to Your Emergency Communication Plan

No one can predict an emergency, but you can predict your response.

As a Child Care Leader in your State, child care programs and families look to you as a trusted resource.  They expect you to have the answers and to provide them at a moment’s notice, especially in a critical situation. 

Be disaster-ready and save valuable time by using a direct form of communication, such as text messaging to get vital information to the correct audience without delay.  With a 98% open rate, and the ability to send up to 400 messages/second, mass text message communication is the most efficient way to stay in touch before, during and after a disaster.

Whether it be an illness outbreak, natural disaster, severe weather, or an active shooter situation, having a solid communication plan is key. You can’t rely on making calls during a crisis as they may not go through quickly enough or at all.  Texting becomes exceedingly important in such situations.  Through a simple click of a button, you can send a message to everyone in your State, network, or service delivery area, within seconds.

When creating/updating your emergency communication plan, it is important to address internal as well as external communication. Emergencies require contact with countless entities.  Consider external notification such as child care programs, community members (e.g. law enforcement, other emergency services, public health departments, CCR&R), licensing, and the media.  Having a communication system in place that is capable of managing mass communication is vital. Texting is your solution!

Why StepAhead is Right for You?

At Step Ahead, we are proud to be different. We offer the most comprehensive and compatible communications platform designed specifically for Early Care and Education Providers and Nonprofit/CCR&R Organizations.  We offer a product that simple to use, flexible enough to handle multiple responses and uses shortcodes which have more bandwidth, require less signal strength, enabling priority  messaging. This allows users to communicate critical information with fewer interruptions during an emergency. 

How are CCR&Rs Using StepAhead?

Text message marketing for nonprofits has several relevant and effective use cases.

  • Illness Monitoring
  • Emergency Response- Damage Assessment
  • Post Training/Classroom Reinforcement and Technical Assistance
  • Just-In-Time Content
  • Improve Attendance
  • Market Services
  • Enhance Communication
  • Licensure Compliance
  • Customer Engagement
  • Mobile Giving