‹ AvísameFamily emergency plan: what to set up before you need it
Updated October 20, 2026
A family emergency plan answers four questions before anything happens: who picks up the children, who you call first, where the important documents are, and how your family finds out you are okay. Write it down, share it with the people who will act on it, and keep it where they can open it. Avísame is a free app that keeps that plan sealed on your phone, opens it only for the people you choose, and lets your family check in with each other every day.
What to put in the plan
Who picks up each child from school or childcare, with a second person if the first cannot.
Who your family calls first, and their phone numbers written down, not only saved in a phone.
Where birth certificates, passports, immigration papers and medical information are kept.
A lawyer or legal aid organization you trust, and their number.
Any medicine someone takes every day, and who knows the doses.
How each person lets the others know they got home.
If a family member could be detained
Advocacy and legal groups publish free family preparedness plans for immigrant and mixed status families. They advise knowing your rights, arranging childcare ahead of time, keeping documents together, memorizing important numbers such as an A-Number, and knowing how to look up a detained relative with the official ICE online detainee locator. Talk with an immigration attorney or an accredited legal aid organization about your own situation.
Avísame does not give legal advice and does not track or report anyone to any agency. It helps a family keep its own plan and stay in touch.
How Avísame helps
Emergency Plan: sections for children, contacts, documents and instructions, sealed on your phone. Each section opens only for the people you choose, and Avísame cannot read it.
Daily check-ins, with Plus: set a time, like home by 9 PM. If nobody hears from you, Avísame asks you first, then tells the people you chose.
Buzz: one tap asks your Circle for help, with where you are.
Live location, only with the people in your Circle, and off with one switch.
English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Free to start.
Questions
What should a family emergency plan include?
Who picks up the children, who to call first, where the important documents are, a trusted lawyer or legal aid contact, daily medicine, and how each person tells the others they are okay.
Is there an app to keep a family emergency plan?
Yes. Avísame keeps the plan sealed on your phone and opens each part only for the people you choose. It also has a one-tap request for help to your family, always free, and daily check-ins with Plus. You can start free.
Can Avísame read my plan?
No. The plan is encrypted on your phone before it is sent, and only the people you allowed hold the keys to open it.
Avísame is not an emergency service and is not legal advice. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
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