Keeping the Church Nursery Safe

Churches providing nursery care have taken on increased responsibility for protecting the safety of children while their parents worship and participate in other activities. A safety check of your church nursery facilities should be a high priority. It should become a routine activity for those responsible for the nursery operation and completed at least twice a year.

Liability Exposures
One of the first risk management steps for every church with a nursery program is to review the current insurance policy to confirm that there is adequate protection in place.

The liability coverage provided under insurance policies for local churches usually includes bodily injury and medical payments. There may be separate policies or endorsements for vicious liability for physical or sexual abuse and for daycare centers. Check with your church's insurance agent to determine what is covered by your policy and at what limits. You do not want to discover an under-insurance problem in the event of a loss. You should also confirm that liability protection is afforded non-medical personnel who administer first aid to children and others who may be injured in the nursery or elsewhere at the church. An assessment of liability exposures is recommended for church nursery programs.

Evaluate your supervision, security, safety and sanitation procedures to assure yourself that you have taken the necessary preventive steps to avoid an accident or incident.

Adequate supervision of children in the nursery may be taken for granted and, if not properly maintained, may result in tragic consequences. Do you have a minimum of two nursery attendants on duty at all times, with a ratio of at least one nursery worker to every four children? Are your nursery attendants an appropriate age for this responsible assignment? At least one of the workers should be age 18 or older whenever the church nursery is in use. It is inappropriate to have older children and youth responsible for the church nursery.

Safety and Security
Security is as much an issue with church nurseries as in secular settings. Is your nursery located so that access from outside the church facility is regulated? Are the washrooms used by nursery attendants and children adjacent to or near the nursery? Is a phone readily available and is its location known by nursery workers so that emergency police, fire and medical personnel can be summoned quickly if necessary? Remember to post emergency phone numbers, including direct dial numbers, as an alternative to 9-1-1 service.

Are there measures in place to restrict the persons who pick up children at the end of worship or other event to only those authorized to do so? Your church does not want to contribute to unauthorized pickup, whether by a stranger or from a non-custodial parent or other relative. Many churches have implemented a sign-in, sign-out policy, utilizing matching identification tags for child and parent, to prevent children leaving with an unauthorized adult.

Children's safety can be enhanced by evaluating several concerns. Are all the nursery toys and furnishings in proper repair? Are the toys and equipment age-appropriate? Are toys, furniture and equipment stacked so that they will not become unstable and fall on children? Are children prevented from wandering off unobserved through entrance ways and windows? Are electrical outlets guarded, and fans and other electrical appliances out of the reach of children? Do cribs meet safety code standards, and are those that don't discarded?

Sanitation care of the nursery includes cleaning toys, furnishings and washroom facilities with a disinfectant on a regular basis; having proper disposal facilities available, and safe handling procedures in place, for soiled diapers; and having first aid supplies readily available for emergency use. These are just some of the aspects of church nursery operations that should be reviewed regularly.

Screening Nursery Workers
Parents and guardians who leave infants and toddlers in the care of church nursery workers expect that their children will have a safe and nurturing experience. Lasting impressions about the care given by church members are formed with the children and adults. The church's love in action is the desired impression, so every possible step should be taken to ensure that nursery time is positive. Workers are the nursery, as much as the setting, housekeeping, toys, activities and other children.

Local churches typically conduct minimum application, screening and supervision of their paid and/or volunteer nursery staff, a step so crucial to successful nursery operation. The enthusiastic acceptance the church historically offered to almost anyone willing to work with children is widely known both inside and outside the church membership. This has left many of our churches vulnerable to violation of the trust given to nursery workers by church leaders, parents and children.

Would physical discipline of toddlers be promptly dealt with as unacceptable? Are your nursery workers capable of responding to immediate first-aid needs should a child be injured? Is your nursery staffed by a person authorized to change soiled diapers, or who knows how to locate a parent when a change becomes necessary? Families and other church members need reassurance that only persons qualified to handle these and the other demands placed on nursery workers are assigned. It is crucial that you develop a policy requiring persons to formally apply for these important positions, and that the policy be implemented and applied consistently.

Responsible church leaders use the utmost care in screening volunteer and paid staff who will be working with children in the nursery. Some child abuse prevention specialists suggest that, as other professional child-serving programs and agencies implement more effective screening techniques, church programs will be an attraction to chronic child abusers.

It is crucial that local churches begin to exercise more care in screening all who work with children and youth. Experts suggest that you use an application form to check the background, training and experience of individuals volunteering their services, and of those applying for paid nursery positions. The encouraged practice is to require all persons to submit an application for any desired position. The significance of any position is affirmed when persons wishing to serve must apply for the opportunity. It is essential to request information about current employment, previous church membership, previous volunteer work, qualifications and possible criminal record. It is appropriate to ask why individuals wish to work in the nursery.

References should be carefully checked and a written record of the process kept in the volunteer's file. Previous incidents or allegations that could disqualify them may be discovered. Nursery worker applications with criminal records, child abuse history of alcohol and other drug abuse problems should not be entrusted with the care of children.

Similar queries should be made of applicants for paid positions, although the type of questions that may be asked of persons applying for paid positions varies from state to state. Generally, applicants for paid positions may only be asked questions that are relevant to the position being sought. Application and reference forms used in your local church should be reviewed with legal counsel familiar with your state's employment laws prior to implementation.

Some local church members may resist the idea that all persons wishing to serve in the nursery be required to apply for the responsibility. "No one would ever harm any of our children" and "it's hard to get anyone to volunteer to work in the nursery as it is" are two commonly heard comments. Without a consistently enforced policy in place, a local church may find itself in the awkward position of attempting to respond to an applicant with a potentially inappropriate background to work in the nursery and, at the same time, having no assurance that others already working in the nursery are appropriately placed.

Document all of your personnel processes: hiring, probations, incidents and dismissals. Maintain your documentation with the full knowledge that others may read the records, so take care to include factual details, not speculative commentary. All employment and volunteer applications should be retained permanently, locked up and available only to properly authorized church staff and members.

Typically, personnel records for former employees should be maintained for three years after termination. However, information on church workers with children should be maintained for a longer period, given the statute of limitations on abuse or misconduct incidents.

Remember, those who work in your church nursery represent your church to others as much as the pastoral leadership, the quantity and quality of your ministries and missions, and the impression created by your buildings and grounds. Appropriate screening of nursery workers will go a long way toward developing an excellent church nursery that you can be proud of, and which parents will be pleased is available.

This article is courtesy of The United Methodist Property and Casualty Trust (PACT), www.umcpact.org.

Product Roundup

Jonti-Craft Cruiser Center
Jonti-Craft, Inc. has announced the addition of the Cruiser Center to its line-up of children's furniture. Using the Cruiser Center, little "cruisers" can learn to stand or practice walking by holding onto the top ledge, which features carefully rounded KYDZSafe edges.
* The top ledge also helps keep toys off the floor.
* The open storage is designed so youngsters can locate toys in this tot-sized center.
* The back features an extra-safe acrylic mirror so children can discover themselves in the mirror.
www.jonti-craft.com

QuietCall Paging System by HME Wireless
QuietCall enables parents to focus on the service with the knowledge that the childcare providers can alert them if necessary. Nursery staff can get in touch with a parent quickly and quietly without leaving the other children. This silent communication system has options including:
* Vibrate only
* Flash
* Text message
QuietCall Transmitter provides versatility and is easy for the staff to use. With up to two miles of coverage, large worship facilities can reach their parents. NTN Wireless is now HME Wireless.
www.hme.com

Parent SEEKER
The Parent SEEKER product line is provided by SEEKER Communication. The helpful sales consultants guide the churches in picking the right system for their church, either large are small. The SEEKER Paging Systems are used in children's ministries to assure parents that if their child needs them, the children's workers can notify them anywhere on the church campus. SEEKER's Easy Check In Software allows for additional security. The Web-based solution provides for:
* Speedy check in
* A variety of labels
* Ministry record tools
www.parentseeker.com

Busy Kids Diaper Changer with Stairs
The Busy Kids Diaper Changer with Stairs feature a 6.5-inch-deep plastic top that provides safe surfaces that stand up to rigorous cleaning. Eleven clear cubbie trays are included. It features convenient wall-mounted storage for diapering necessities. You can install it above the changing table for a complete changing station. Busy Kids has everything you need to furnish your church nursery, including:
* Tables
* Chairs
* Soft Play
* Storage
* Carpets
* Changing Tables
www.KidFurniture.com

Long Range Systems
Long Range Systems offers affordable on-site pagers designed to add another layer of protection to church nurseries.
* When parents drop their child off at the nursery, they're given an LRS numbered pager.
* If their child needs them during the worship service, the pager lets them know by silently flashing or vibrating.
* This system also helps ensure child safety because children are only released to parents carrying the correct numbered pager.
LRS also offers the Butler II paging system www.pager.net/rpn