Are Your Kids Safe and Sound at School/Preschool?

Following tragic school shootings and other newsmakers where kids are taken from child care settings, many parents may wonder what school districts and day care centers are doing to ensure child safety. If you don't know, ask! Be on the look out for these safety measures and ask the following questions:

• Are there limited access entry and exit points throughout the building? Facilities should have a designated visitor entrance and check-in procedure. Keep in mind that these procedures are NOT intended to limit a parent's access to their child. Rather, these safety protocols are designed to make sure that staff knows at all times who is in their buildings and around children.



• Are all exterior doors locked (with the exception being the front main entrance, depending on the building's layout and size)? Some facilities have a safety keypad entry or buzzer system, while others are open with access only to a visitor's area. Remember, however, that someone who still wants to get in can often gain access by entering behind a parent who has just entered a code, etc., and then acts like any other parent. Another consideration is whether the exterior doors follow proper safety guidelines by allowing people to exit, just not gain entrance.



• Does the facility feature safety cameras, and are these monitored? Cameras can serve as a deterrent, but are less likely to be effective if they are not actively monitored throughout the day.



• Is identification required and are adults picking up kids required to be on an approved list? Even in-home providers with only a limited number of kids in care should have a plan in place on who is authorized to pick up a child. Parents should understand that this means that no exceptions will be made for a child's protection. Larger facilities should have a procedure in place in which parents picking up must present a photo i.d. and then the name cross-compared to an approved list (at least until workers personally know the parent). Providers have lamented that parents often become frustrated or even irritable at these procedures, because they are in a hurry or pick-up is delayed. However, in light of the tragedies that continue to impact our precious children, parents should not only support these safety protocols, but insist on them! That means parents might need to build in a few extra minutes to their day for pick-up in the name of safety.



• What type of safety plans are in place at my child's school?
Schools often house lots of kids, and as such, drop-off and pick-up times may have the potential for less control over who is entering and exiting a building. However, schools should have protocols in place. Examples of safety procedures include all teachers remaining outside with kids until a known and approved parent or adult checks a child out with a teacher; all parents coming into the classroom after school to personally get their child; or no kids being allowed to leave on their own (not always practical in communities where many kids are latchkey and walk or ride their bike home to an empty house). Some schools also give special identification tags (types vary) to approved adults, who must show that on their car or on their person. Access to schools during the school day tends to be more controlled because kids are rightfully in their classroom. Parents should ask about how visitors check in, how kids are supervised during outdoor play, and what happens if a staff member is uncomfortable about someone being in the building or playground.


• Are background safety checks conducted on staff and parent volunteers? While there is a cost to conducting a check, more and more school districts and early education centers are requiring background checks on all adults with access to children. Some facilities/districts foot the bill; others require parents to pay for a check to be conducted. Ask whether a check is done, if so, whether it is as state only or national check, and then how often checks are redone. If checks are not conducted, request that they be considered. While checks may not prevent all incidents from occurring, they do serve as a deterrent from a person with a criminal background or any kind from signing up to volunteer. (Police have cited that parents with a record of any kind are often embarrassed, and therefore reluctant to have a check done that may bring to the surface past offenses of any kind.)
  
  
• Are safety smarts taught to kids? Are there lessons planned for age-appropriate stranger danger, appropriate touch vs. privacy, and self-awareness tips, and are parents made aware of these teachings for approval and partnership? Kids need to learn these lessons, and an ideal way to teach them is through reinforcement and support at school and at home.



• Are safety I.D. kits offered? A growing number of schools and child care companies are offering child safety I.D. kits to parents. The kits typically are in the form of a laminated I.D. card that includes a child's name and physical description, picture, fingerprints, and contact information. Often, parents are asked to keep a lock of hair or baby tooth with it for DNA. If the school doesn't offer this, make your own and keep it current and in a safe place for immediate access.

If you've asked these questions and are uncomfortable or unhappy with the responses, you've got some choices to make yourself. First, ask whether the child care facility or school will review procedures and safeguards and consider making changes/enhancements that you feel appropriate. If not, be sure to listen as to the reasons why. (Some safety protocols may be to expensive to implement or may not comply with certain requirements.) In the end, you need to make sure you feel your child is in as safe of an environment as possible to prepare for the unlikely and unthinkable, but potential, event.