There is no other part of the day at a childcare facility as chaotic as drop-off and pick-up time, especially if most children arrive and leave at about the same time. Parents are in a hurry to get to work, children are distressed at being dropped off, and you need all hands on deck to prevent mayhem.
The threat of children being taken by an adult without clearance adds another level of stress. On average there are about 200 Amber Alerts issued per year. The highest percentage of those taken were of pre-school age.
You can create a calmer, more efficient way for parents to drop-off and pick-up their children safely by taking some time to plan, document, educate, and train parents, teachers, and administration. Once everyone is following the same process, and with a few modifications to your procedures, it can be a little less hectic in the mornings and evenings.
Create a Policy
The first step to introducing efficiency is for everyone to follow the same procedure.
- Develop a written policy for dropping off and picking up children.
- Include contingencies for additions to the list of approved individuals for each child.
- Have a clear process for dealing with non-custodial or dangerous parents.
- Schedule regular training with staff on the approved procedures.
Each and every parent should receive a copy of the policy upon enrollment with additional copies and reminders posted throughout the year.
The pick-up policy describes who can and cannot pick up a child from childcare. The information should be obtained at enrollment to show parents you believe in providing secure childcare and to alert them that unauthorized persons will not be allowed to pick-up.
Any modification to a pick-up list should be provided in writing directly to the child’s teacher. Do not accept an email or phone call to add a new pick-up person. Also, require photo identification if the child’s teacher has not yet met the new person.
Handling Disputes and Dangerous Situations
The policy should cover how to handle a variety of disputes and situations that may occur when a child is to be picked up.
- Require legal documentation if one parent states the other may not have custody of a child.
- Once in receipt of custodial documentation, develop a plan to comply.
- Immediately revoke all methods of access to the center by the non-custodial parent.
- Ensure teachers, administrators, and the custodial parent understand what will happen if the prohibited parent attempts to take the child.
- Develop a policy for whether or when to call the police.
The policy should also include what to do if a parent arrives and appears to be under the influence, has no car seat, or attempts to violate a protective court order. In all cases, keep the child’s safety in mind first without putting anyone’s life at risk. Establish procedures for tracking a child who has been illegally taken from the center.
- Take note of what the child is wearing.
- Get a description of the adult.
- Write down the make, model, and license number of any vehicle.
- Document which direction the car is headed when it leaves the facility.
Notify the police immediately to have an Amber alert issued if necessary. Even if it turns out nothing is wrong, better safe than sorry.
Improvements to Current Practices
Conduct regular traffic studies of your drop-off and pick-up lines by school personnel, volunteers, or police to see if there are areas for improvement.
- Do parents need to be educated about the drop-off and pick-up procedures?
- Would it help to stagger the times so that toddlers are handled before infants?
- Is it more efficient for parents to drive by and drop-off or park and walk their child to the door?
- Could you add a “valet” to the drop-off and pick-up, where a volunteer or staff member opened the car door to help the child in and out of the car without the parent leaving the vehicle?
- Can you encourage carpooling to decrease the number of vehicles entering your parking lot or drop-off/pick-up lanes?
- Would it help to change the striping or signage?
Almost any process can stand a little improvement. If the process began ad hoc and was never deliberately planned, it’s time to make some changes and write them down for all to follow. As your facility expands, you will need to revisit your procedures to mitigate future crowding.
Use Childcare Management Software to Help
Childcare management software with the capability to automate check-in and check-out will help immeasurably. In many childcare centers, check-in requires a parent or guardian to park, enter the building with the child, find the correct list, and sign the child in. In the afternoon, the reverse is performed.
As the number of children in your facility grows, the number of parents and lists grows as well. Instead of using a manual method, think how much more efficient it would be to allow parents to check in children using a mobile device, either at the front desk or the curb.
There would be no more hunting for the right list. In fact, the staff would no longer need print, monitor, and file the lists. If you currently use a valet system at the curb, electronic check-out would add a layer of security to the process. Everyone at your facility would have immediate access to the same information. There would be no reason for anyone not to be informed of a potential problem with a non-custodial parent or a new pick-up person.
Another advantage of automation is the ability to obtain childcare reports quickly in case you need to know when a particular child was picked up and by whom. The information could also be aggregated to give you a true picture of the traffic patterns in the morning and afternoon to help with decisions about restriping, creating staggered schedules, or changing to or from a valet or curb-side system.
If morning drop-off can be smoothly performed with a minimum of fuss, both parents and children will be happier in the mornings and afternoons would proceed without a hitch. The ability to electronically check in and out could even be used as a differentiator between your childcare center and others nearby.
Policies and procedures paired with the appropriate software create a calmer, safer environment for everyone.
