Know

The key to a safe facility is monitoring. However, you cannot be in all places at all times. It is impossible to monitor your entire facility yourself. This lesson is designed to help you understand how your facility has been designed to prevent child abuse and neglect. Then it will introduce you to additional ways you can prevent abuse and neglect through closed-circuit television surveillance systems and monitoring access to your program.

How is Your Facility Designed to Keep Children Safe?

Child development and school-age programs operate in many different types of facilities. Your program might operate within a dedicated Child Development Center, in a renovated elementary school, a community center, or a variety of other settings. Regardless of floor plan or design elements, all programs share several key characteristics that protect children from harm. These features promote visibility and enable active supervision of children at all times (depending on the age and design of your facility, it may not have all of these features):

In Child Development Centers:

• There are windows in the doors to all rooms and areas used to care for children (except for adult and school-age toilet rooms), allowing activities in the room to be viewed from outside the room.
• There are vision panels between activity rooms and hallways to provide visual access.
• Doors on toilet stalls are removed, except for toilets used by children over age 5 and adults; or there are half walls that allow line-of-sight supervision for children under age 5.
• Walls around toilet stalls are reduced to half the normal height, if possible, to permit better viewing of toilet areas.
• Storage areas are designed so the hardware on the doors is operable from both sides. Doors on closets can be opened from the inside without a key. This prevents a child from being locked in a closet or storage area. In some programs/Services, vision panels are required in the doors for all storage areas.
• There are no draperies or blinds that obstruct the view into areas in which children receive care or areas where someone might take a child.
• There are sinks for handwashing in activity rooms rather than in toilet areas so children can be observed more easily.
• Diapering areas are separated from activity rooms by either half walls or walls with glass. Ideally, buildings are constructed with no walls between diapering areas and activity rooms to increase visibility of caregivers and children during diapering.
• Crib or sleeping areas are located in activity rooms. If the design of the building prevents this arrangement, crib or sleeping areas are separated from activity rooms by half walls or walls with glass.
• Concave mirrors are installed where needed to improve visibility.
• Rooms used for evening care are located near the front door so staff and families have easy access.
• Outdoor play areas are constructed so all parts can be viewed from inside the center and from outside the playground fencing. There are windows in the walls between activity rooms and outdoor play areas to permit viewing of both areas.
• Doors to storage areas are visible from the main building so they can be visually monitored by adults other than those on the playground.
• Play structures such as lofts and playhouses are built so that children can be viewed while at play in the structure.
• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems are installed, working properly, and allow staff members, managers, Trainings & Curriculum Specialists (T&CSs), and families to monitor program activities.

In School-Age programs:

• All program areas (rooms, hallways, parking lots, and outdoors spaces) are well-lit and visibility is good enough that staff members can supervise all spaces easily.
• Storage areas are designed so the hardware on the doors is operable from both sides. Doors on closets can be opened from the inside without a key. This prevents a child from being locked in a closet or storage area. In some programs/Services, vision panels are required in the doors for all storage areas. This prevents children from entering unsafe spaces with each other or an adult who means harm.
• Closed-circuit television systems are installed, working properly, and allow staff members, managers, T&CSs, and families to monitor program activities.
• There are no draperies or blinds that obstruct the view into areas in which children receive care or areas where someone might take a child.
• Concave mirrors are installed where needed to improve visibility around corners or into difficult-to-see spaces.
• Doors to outdoor storage areas are visible from the main building so they can be visually monitored by adults other than those on the playground.

Supervise & Support

Using Closed-Circuit Television

Closed-circuit television surveillance cameras can be a powerful tool in preventing child abuse and neglect. These cameras not only deter staff from inappropriate behavior, but they also can help protect staff from false allegations of child abuse or neglect. Despite the benefits, the use of video in programs introduces other potential risks related to privacy. It is important to comply with all regulations related to the use of closed-circuit television while mitigating risks to the privacy of children, families, and staff. Your installation programs might have specific guidance related to the use of closed-circuit television surveillance systems. Find out whether there are specific instructions or memoranda for your place of work (for example: Example CDC Parent Handbook)

There are several topics you must consider to maximize your use of closed-circuit television surveillance systems:

• Recording and regular monitoring of video: A closed-circuit television system is useless if no one views the output. Ensure that the video monitors are installed in a location where the management team can easily watch footage in real time or from recordings. Depending on your Service’s program's policies, the location should be accessible to families who request to view their child’s classroom.
• Sharing video: No footage should ever be shared with anyone outside of the organization unless specifically ordered to do so as part of an investigation. Ask about your installation’s program's policies related to (a) viewing recordings in real time and (b) footage that has been previously recorded in classrooms. In some cases, recorded footage is considered Government property, for exclusive use of the Government. Recorded footage may only be accessible to families or other individuals through a Freedom of Information Act request. In such cases, there would be specific steps you need to follow in preparation for or compliance with the request.
• Destroying video: Learn your installation’s program's policies for storing and destroying video. For example, on some installations video is maintained for 30 days and then destroyed. Video is only retained longer than 30 days if management becomes aware of circumstances (a claim or litigation) that might be impacted by the footage. This might vary across Services and installations, so check with leadership on your installation. If your installationIf your program does not have a policy on this topic, you can find a sample in the Apply section.

Restricting Access

Child development and school-age programs are busy places. It takes a large team to keep the programs running. Your facility has been designed to ensure that only authorized individuals enter the building. According to Koralek’s guide to preventing child abuse and neglect in center settings (1993), design features include:

• The reception desk is located so that the entrance can be viewed by reception desk staff.
• Centers have alarms on all exit doors, other than the main entrance and the kitchen exterior entrance, that do not open to a fenced area.
• One central entrance area serves all wings or modules. This reduces the number of ways to enter or exit the building.
• A system at the main entrance, such as a buzzer system, restricts entry to the building at night when only a few caregiving employees are on duty.

Those strategies simply help you control who enters the doors. How do you ensure that children are safe in the presence of authorized individuals? How do you ensure that those individuals share your mission to keep children safe? For individuals like regular teen and adult volunteers, contractors (e.g., someone contracted to teach a language class), nurses, and food service personnel, the answer is relatively simple. You must conduct standard background checks and provide adequate supervision.

For individuals like maintenance and delivery personnel, the answer is a bit more complicated. These individuals may be infrequent or one-time visitors to your program. However, they might have access to parts of the building where children are present. To ensure children’s safety, you must control access and monitor visitors at all times. Enforce your program’s sign-in and sign-out procedures. Check in with the visitor regularly. As always, ensure staff use active supervision strategies to monitor children and youth. When unfamiliar adults are working in the building, staff should adjust their supervision to keep children safe. For example, if maintenance is being performed in a school-age program activity room, the room might be closed to children or a staff member might stay in the room at all times.

Controlling access can be even more difficult if your program is co-located within another program (i.e., your school-age program is co-located in drop-in teen center). Remember, child abuse does not just happen at the hands of adults. Older children or teens can also target younger children. Staff supervision and “management by moving around” become critically important in these situations. Make sure staff members are aware of the risks and your expectations: develop written plans for supervising areas or groups of children, develop and communicate boundaries within the program (i.e., where are children and teens supposed to be and at what times), and move around the building frequently to make sure all plans are in place. Finally, educate the children about safety within the program and ways they can keep themselves safe. At the most basic level, teach children where they are allowed to go and when. Work with staff members and local agencies to develop curricula or teaching strategies related to personal safety. Topics might include being aware of your environment, recognizing risky situations, responding to risky situations, and finding an adult when you feel unsafe.