The School District of Escambia County, FL
School-Age Child Care Guidelines
Revised July 2014
SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT
Malcolm Thomas
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Jeff Bergosh Gerald Boone
District 1 District 2
Linda Moultrie Patty Hightower
District 3 District 4
Bill Slayton
District 5
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Steve Marcanio, Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction
Linda Maletsidis, Director Elementary Education
Michelle Taylor, Director Workforce Education
Aisha Adkison, Coordinator School-Age Child Care
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Table of Contents
Glossary of Terms
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
A. Introduction
B. Program Background
C. Program Description
II. MISSION STATEMENT
III. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
IV. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
A. School Board and School Administration
B. School Principal
C. District Coordinator
D. Providers: Contracted Services
E. Program Directors: District Operated Services
F. Advisory Committee
V. Program Organization
A. Establishment and Renewal of Programs
B. Hours of Operation
C. District/Licensing Requirements
D. Subsidized Child Care Requirements
E. Eligible Students
F. Adult/Child Ratios
G. School Facilities
H. Staff Meetings
VI. Personnel Descriptions and Responsibilities
A. Program Director
B. Site Director
C. Caregivers
D. Substitutes
E. Volunteers
F. Training and In-Service Activities
G. Fingerprinting
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VII. PROGRAM OPERATION
A. Registration Procedures
1. Enrollment Records
2. Health Records
3. Medical Authorization
4. Student Insurance
5. Parent Information
B. Daily Program Operation
1. Activities
2. Weekly Activity Plan and Schedule of Activities
3. Arrival of Students
4. Attendance Policies and Procedures
5. Snacks
6. End of Day Dismissal Policies and Procedures
7. Transportation
8. Illness
9. Accidents and Emergencies
10. Student Safety and Welfare
11. Discipline Policies and Procedures
12. Materials and Supplies
13. Facility Evaluation
14. Program Evaluation
VIII. FINANCE
A. Fees
1. Late Fees
2. Cancellation of Service
3. Non Subsidized Clients
4. Subsidized Clients
5. Scholarship Clients
B. District Administrative Fee
C. Revenue Procedures
D. Audits of Financial Records
IX. Resource
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
1. Administrative Fee: an established amount of money collected by the School
District from each provider for non-subsidized and non-scholarshipped children
attending the program. It is based on a duplicated count of daily attendance for each
month or specified year-round period of days.
2. Attendance Report: enrollment and daily attendance records kept monthly for each
program site.
3. Caregiver: an individual responsible for supervising and working with groups of
children in the school-age child care program.
4. Child Care Standards: facility, personnel, and program requirements established
under Florida State Statues for operating child care programs.
5. Contracted Services: a program model where school-age child care programs are
provided by private firms/community agencies in schools through cooperative
agreements with the School District.
6. District Coordinator: a school district level administrator who coordinates the
school-age child care programs.
7. Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County: organization that handles child
care subsidies for school readiness.
8. Fee: the daily or weekly child care rate charged to parents/guardians for their
children participating in the school-age child care program.
9. FDC&F: Florida Department of Children and Families: the agency responsible
for site inspections and licensing procedures for daycare facilities.
10. Monitoring Instruments: forms that are used to evaluate sites, programs, and staff
for SACC guidelines compliance.
11. Program: the established procedures, techniques, and services provided to school-
age children during the hours the SACC program operates.
12. Program Director: in contracted services the agency’s designated person who is
responsible for school-age programs at all the agency’s school sites; in school
district-operated programs, the person on site works under the direction of the
principal and, as such, is co-responsible for the program.
13. Program Model: program design type for school-age child care programs.
Contracted services and district-operated are the two models used in the Escambia
County School District.
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14. Provider: an individual and/or community agency that provides school-age child
care programs in elementary and middle schools and centers through a cooperative
agreement with the school district.
15. Regular Clients: parents/guardians who pay full fees for child care services.
16. SACC: School-Age Child Care.
17. Scholarship Clients: When available, contracted programs provide adjustments in
fees, and district-operated programs offer a scholarship fee schedule for
parent/guardians who need financial assistance, but do not qualify for other
subsidized child care. Scholarships may be available for teachers/parents who
require no more than two hours of child care per day. In limited hardship cases, the
principal of a district-operated program has the discretion to determine the cost of
care to meet individual family needs.
18. School-Age Child Care: Programs located on school sites/centers that are designed
to provide enriching activities during before-and after-regular term school, summer
school, and year round term school and intercession hours for children of
working/school attending parents/guardians.
19. Site Director: an individual designated by the school principal or contracted
provider responsible for the supervision of on-site staff and the implementation of
the daily program for school-age child care at an elementary school or center.
20. Sliding Scale Fees: adjustments in daily and weekly child care fees for additional
children in the same family.
21. Subsidized Clients: parents/guardians who receive financial aid for child care
services by successfully completing the Early Learning Coalition’s financial
eligibility process.
22. Volunteers: individuals offering their services and expertise to school-age child
care programs. They are not directly responsible for any group of children.
23. Early Learning Coalition Child Care Subsidies (ELC): A non-profit agency
contracted to administer subsidized child care funds and to monitor FDC&F state
licensed child care centers.
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SCHOOL-AGE CHILD CARE GUIDELINES
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
A. Introduction
Major changes have taken place during the last four decades in the demographics
of families and children living in the United States. In 1955, sixty percent of the
households consisted of a working father, a housewife mother, and two or more
school-age children. In 1980, that family structure was only 11 percent of
American households. These changes in the definition of “family” have important
implications for educational policymakers. School districts have had to move
from the role of “deliverer” of education to the role of “broker” of multiple
services. Included in these services is the provision for before and after-school
child care programs.
B. Program Background
In 1984, an advisory committee was established through the efforts of the school
board. This committee, composed of members of various community agencies,
conducted a needs survey for school-age child care. Based upon the response
received, a pilot program, funded from a grant, was established at one elementary
school during the second semester of the 1984-85 school year. A non-profit
community agency was contracted to operate the program for the balance of the
school year. Positive evaluations of this program led to a decision to expand
school-age child care services to six elementary schools during the 1985-86
school year. This was accomplished through a competitive bid process, with three
community agencies/individuals successful in obtaining contracts. The program
has continued each year since its beginning in 1985 and currently 32
schools/centers are being served by before-and/or after-school programs either
through contracted providers or through school district operation.
C. Program Description
The School-Age Child Care Program operates under the sponsorship of The
School District of Escambia County. Twenty-one elementary schools and six
middle schools have programs administered by a contracted agency/individual
firm; five elementary schools have district-operated school-age child care
programs. A district coordinator assists in the overall operation of the programs.
Each site is operated under School-Aged Child Care Law, Chapter 65C-2208.
Individual employees are required to pass Level 2 criminal background screening.
Children attending the elementary and middle school are eligible for that school’s
program. Financial assistance for qualified parents is available through the Early
Learning Coalition of Escambia County. Programming and daily operating
procedures are established in accordance with district policy and FDC&F
licensing standards.
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II. MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of The School District of Escambia County is to support and provide for
the development and expansion of quality, affordable, and accessible school-age child
care services within the schools.
III. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Goals:
The School District of Escambia County supports the School-Age Child Care Program
as a viable and necessary service to the schools and to the parents and communities
they serve. The program is designed to enrich children’s lives educationally, socially,
culturally, emotionally, and physically, and to provide a safe and familiar setting for
school children during the hours before and after school when their parent(s) and/or
guardians are working or attending school. A variety of recreational, social, and
enriching activities, as well as, nutritious snacks and homework assistance, will be a
part of the daily programming.
The program shall meet the needs of the children by creating an environment that offers
a base of warmth and security, provided not only by hired staff for daily supervision,
but also by volunteers and community members with expertise who are recruited into
the program.
The program shall meet the needs of the children by increasing the opportunities for
peer and inter-generational interaction to supplement the nurturing provided by the
family through keeping the ratio of staff/children at or below 1:15 for children in
Kindergarten through Grade 5 and 1:10 for PreK children.
The program shall meet the needs of the parents by offering a safe, accessible,
affordable program that is school-based. The program shall also devise various ways to
communicate with parents about their child and the child care program through
representation on a school advisory committee.
The program shall meet the needs of the community by encouraging participation of
people of different racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds. It shall utilize existing
school facility space in an extended and flexible manner.
Objective:
The primary objective is to provide a safe and secure environment with enriching
activities for children of working parents, parents attending school, and parents in job
training and job seeking situations. Children determined by appropriate agencies to be
“at risk” and in need of child care are also eligible to be served by the program.
The primary student population for the program is children who attend an elementary or
middle school served by a school-age child care program.
IV. PROGRAM MANANGEMENT AND RESPONSIBILIES
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A. School Board and School Administration
Recognize and support the School-Age Child Care Program’s importance as an
ancillary service to the Escambia County Public Schools and communities in
which they are located.
B. School Principal
Provide space for the school-age child care program that does not impair normal
operations of the regular day program. The space shall be adequate to
accommodate the maximum number of students to be enrolled according to
licensing standards. (35 square feet per child)
Provide alternate space that is adequate to accommodate the maximum number of
students enrolled according to FDC&F licensing standards. This alternate space
shall be available for the SACC program on those rare occasions when the school
staff must use the designated SACC space. Provide forty-eight hours notice to
SACC staff when the program will need to relocate to alternate space.
Provide utilities and custodial services for normal use of the school-age child care
program.
Provide maintenance and other district services to enable the school-age child
care staff to operate according to licensing standards.
Provide access to designated areas for care of children who are ill until such time
as parents/guardians are able to pick them up.
Provide an office mail box labeled “School-Age Child Care Program” to help
promote efficient communication among school staff, parents, and district level
staff.
Assist the school-age child care staff in determining an accurate count of children
who are absent from the program by providing a daily list of students absent from
school before dismissal, students who have checked out and students who have
changes in transportation.
Meet with the district coordinator and provider or site director to review
procedures for registration, dissemination of information regarding the program,
school discipline policies, and general school and school-age child care program
operating procedures to ensure a successful and quality child care program.
Participate in semi-annual review of program and provide input for renewal or
selection of a program provider that will best meet their community’s school-age
child care needs. Discuss semi-annual review with district coordinator, provider,
or site director as needed.
In a district-operated program, the principal shall serve as the co-program
director.
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C. District Coordinator
Work with the Director of Workforce Education, principals, contracted providers,
district-operated SACC program staff, and other district staff, in facilitating
implementation and daily management of school-age child care programs.
D. Providers: Contracted Services
Individuals and/or community agencies selected to provide school-age child care
within elementary/middle schools are required to follow all stipulations contained
in their agreement with The School District of Escambia County and program
policies outlined in the “School-Age Child Care Guidelines” Handbook.
Each individual or community agency shall designate one person who will be
responsible for the operation of their school-age child care program and will also
work with the district’s coordinator in following policies and procedures
established for school-age child care in order to ensure quality programming.
E. Program Directors: District Operated Services
Program Directors for school-age child care programs operated by the district will
be directly responsible to the principal of their school. They will be expected to
follow all school policies, and policies outlined in the “School-Age Child Care
Guidelines” Handbook. The program director will work with the district’s
coordinator in following established policies and procedures established for
school-age child care in order to ensure quality programming.
F. Advisory Committee
The SACC Director will attend school advisory meetings. Members include a
principal, administrative staff, program staff, parents, and other community
persons.
The SACC Coordinator will attend community advisory meetings supporting
program improvement, staff development, evaluation, policies, and procedures.
The SACC Coordinator will prepare reports highlighting the school-age child care
programs.
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V. PROGRAM ORGANIZATION
A. Establishment and Renewal of Programs
Programs will be established at each elementary/middle school based upon requested
need from parents or school staff. The district coordinator will work with the school
in surveying the school population to determine the need for before and/or after-
school programs. The program model to be followed (contracted services or district
operated) will be determined by the principal and school district administrative staff.
Establishment of the program model will be a cooperative effort between the
coordinator and the school principal.
1. If the “contracted services” model is selected for a new school program, the
choice of a provider will be determined by the principal with assistance from the
school district coordinator, if needed.
2. If the “district operated” model is selected for a new school program, the district
coordinator will assist the principal with its development.
3. Annual renewal of contracted services will be based upon the principal’s
recommendation and the following criteria.
a. Semi-annual principal evaluation; annual report evaluation
b. Minimal performance scores on monitoring devices
c. District coordinator’s annual evaluation of contract compliance
d. Provider’s desire to continue services at program site
B. Hours of Operation:
1. Before-school child care programs will operate from 7:00 a.m. daily until the
beginning of the school day on days when school is in session.
2. After-school child care programs will operate from dismissal of school until 5:50
p.m. daily on days when school is in session.
Special circumstances identified and verified for a specific school may allow deviations
in beginning and ending times.
C. District/Licensing Requirements
The school district requires all school-age child care programs to operate under School-
Age Child Care Law, Chapter 65C-2208. Copies of current Florida Administrative
Code for (Chapter 65C-22) child care standards are available from the program
coordinator. The following items are of particular concern to this process.
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a. A specific area (cafeteria or other rooms) must be designated for use of the
program. Licensed capacity is based upon the size of the space provided; a
minimum of 35 square feet of usable floor space is required for each child.
b. The number of bathrooms to be available is dependant upon the licensed
capacity of the program. They must be accessible to the cafeteria or other
designated space and must remain open until the end of the program.
c. Fire extinguishers, emergency lights, and exit lights must be maintained and
in working condition. More than one exit must be provided for each room that
is used by the program, in addition to a working fire alarm system.
D. Subsidized Child Care Requirements
Each individual/community agency or school district operated program is required by
the School District to provide school readiness subsidies for child care to clients who
qualify for these funds. Subsidized child care funds are administered through the Early
Learning Coalition of Escambia County.
E. Eligible Students
1. All students attending school with a school-age child care program are eligible for
that school’s programs.
2. Students attending schools being served by a “magnet” school-age child care site
are eligible for that site’s program. In so far as possible, regular school bus
transportation will drop off eligible students at the program site.
3. Special-needs students attending an elementary school with a school-age child
care program are eligible to attend that school’s programs.
4. Special-needs students attending a self-contained center are eligible to attend that
center’s school-age child care program. Special arrangements may be made for
the student to be mainstreamed to their home school program after evaluation and
recommendation by administrative staff, parents, and program staff.
F. Adult/Child Ratios
The adult/child ratios are established by the School District as follows:
1. Regular school-age child care programs: 1 adult for every 15 students.
2. Special-needs school-age child care centers: 1 adult for every 4 students.
3. Regular programs serving special-needs students: a ratio lower than 1:15 shall be
established depending upon the requirements of the “special-needs” students in
order to participate in the program. This will be determined cooperatively by the
parent, provider, program director, principal, and district coordinator.
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G. School Facilities
1. Storage for Materials/Supplies:
Adequate storage on site for all mandatory materials and supplies, must be
available for daily programming. If a school is unable to provide a shelf, closet, or
other storage, the district coordinator will provide movable storage cabinets with
locks which will become SACC district property to remain with that school’s
program.
2. Telephone Procedures
Both incoming and outgoing telephone service is required according district
policy standards to be available at all times when the school-age child care
program is in session. An extension of the cafeteria telephone line or other
available telephone line will be installed by the district’s maintenance department.
If lines are not available, the district will provide a separate line for use of the
school-age child care program. The cost for installation and monthly service
charges for a separate line will be paid from district school-age child care funds
with the line belonging to the school district.
Operating procedures for use of the telephone are:
Only telephone calls of an emergency nature will be made by program
personnel (contacting parents or other authorized persons, seeking emergency
help, checking on child’s absences).
Students can only use the telephone in emergency situations.
Parents will be notified of the SACC telephone number and are requested only
to call to relay pertinent information regarding their child.
Telephone calls of an emergency nature must be allowed by program personnel
during all hours of the program.
Telephones will be disconnected and placed in a locked storage area each
evening unless special arrangements have been made with the school principal
for day use of the telephone line.
3. Maintenance and custodial services:
The School District will provide routine maintenance and custodial services to
the program site throughout the school year.
Program personnel will be notified in advance of custodial or maintenance work
that must be done in space normally used by the school-age child care program.
Notification shall be as early as possible so as to provide for an alternative
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location, allow for planning of daily schedules, and allow for parent notification
of a different pickup location (if changed).
Program personnel will be expected to maintain routine cleanliness in their
space; sweeping, cleaning tables, bagging all trash, placing trash bags in proper
receptacles, storing all equipment and supplies, and replacing any special
arrangement of tables (if required by the school).
Bathrooms are to be monitored daily before the program starts and at the end of
the program day to ensure that students have not caused any problems during
their use in the facilities. One toilet and one sink are required for every fifteen
children.
4. Use of school equipment:
Arrangements for use of school equipment (televisions, musical equipment,
playground equipment, etc.) will be made between the provider of services and
the principal of the school and at the discretion of the principal.
If the provider of services acquires and uses equipment of its own in the program
(televisions, and musical instruments) the school may provide secure storage for
this equipment while it remains in the school’s program.
5. Use of playground:
All children in the program participate in outdoor activities for a portion of the
afternoon. Outdoor gym equipment, tracks, baseball diamonds, basketball
courts, and other play areas should be made available for organized activities
and free play time.
Appropriate training shall be provided to each program site director and staff
annually in order to assure safe usage of playground equipment.
Licensing standards do not allow vehicular traffic in the areas where school-age
child care participants are playing. Where there is no fence to prevent vehicles
from entering the playground, arrangements shall be made to designate specific
areas for the school-age child care program and to prevent vehicles from
entering this space.
Dangerous areas on the playground observed by program personnel (broken
glass, cans, other debris) will be reported to the school principal.
6. Utilities:
The school will provide utilities for lighting, air conditioning, and heating during
the hours of operation of the school-age child care program.
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7. Building Security:
The school district shall provide a custodial worker on the school site during the
hours of the school-age child care program that will be responsible for locking
of the building at the end of the program day. Doors to the school building will
be locked after the day program; locked doors are not to be propped open.
All parents and other authorized individuals will use one door in or nearest to
the cafeteria for pickup of children. Program personnel will be responsible for
informing parents of procedures for entering and leaving the school building
and the appropriate doors to use.
Program personnel will familiarize themselves with the procedures to be used at
their school site for assuring that doors and/or windows in their area are locked
when they leave the program.
District procedures will be followed for dealing with unauthorized persons who
come on site during program hours. All individuals must identify themselves
and their purpose for being there. The authorities will be notified when
individuals have no legitimate reason to be on site and they refuse to leave the
premises when asked to do so.
8. Shared use of space:
Licensing standards for school-age child care sites require that a specific area be
designated for the use of child care programs. (35 square feet per child)
The school shall make available to the provider a calendar or other notification
of scheduled activities (PTA meetings, carnivals, voting, etc.) that will involve
use of or preparation of the cafeteria for the event. Alternative space shall be
assigned well in advance to allow for adequate planning of program activities in
accordance with licensing standards.
The provider of services shall be involved in cooperative planning with the
principal and staff for other programs that occur during school-age child care
program hours. These may include scouting, Camp Fire Kid’s Clubs, ball teams,
and other programs located at the school-site. The after school child care
children must be separated from other children.
H. Staff Meetings
Regular staff meetings with all providers and program directors will be held
quarterly with the district coordinator. Other program staff are welcome to
attend these meetings.
Principals will be notified of each meeting and are invited to attend if needed, to
present information, seek solution of problems, or offer suggestions for
effective operation of the program.
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Other district staff will be informed of meetings and invited to attend.
VI. PERSONNEL DESCRIPTIONS AND RESPONBILITIES
NOTE: The following descriptions and responsibilities are intended as illustrations of
various types of jobs performed in the school-age child care programs.
A. Program Director:
1. For those programs with individual or community agency providers of
services, one person shall be designated as “Program Director” with
responsibility for the daily operation of each school program and to act as
liaison between the school district.
2. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: maintaining licensing
requirements at each site, developing and supervising the implementation of
daily programs, maintaining personnel ratios in accordance with district
requirements, providing initial and updated lists of program staff to principals
and district coordinator, providing all supplies, snacks, and equipment needed
in the program, completing and turning in to district coordinator attendance
reports for each month, providing communication to parents and school
personnel regarding activities, and attending regular staff meetings scheduled
by the program coordinator.
3. For those programs operated by the school district, the program director shall
be directly responsible to the principal for the daily operation of the program.
Responsibilities shall be similar to those in paragraph (b) above, with
appropriate assistance from the district coordinator as needed. Additional
responsibilities may be assigned by the school principal.
B. Site Director:
1. Each school-age child care program operated through contracted services will
have one person designated as “Site Director” who will be responsible for the
supervision of on-site staff and the implementation of the daily program.
2. Other responsibilities may include: registration and completion of all required
paperwork for each child in the program, dissemination of financial eligibility
information to all parents, maintain attendance records in accordance with
district requirements, maintain health records, accident, financial assistance
records, follow established procedures for the collection of fees from parents
and maintain accurate financial records; maintain adequate inventories of
supplies and equipment to determine need for replacement, and work
cooperatively with the district child care coordinator, school principal, and
staff to ensure the provision of a quality school-age child care program.
C. Caregivers:
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1. The number of caregivers employed in each program will be sufficient as
defined in adult/child ratios.
2. Caregiver responsibilities may include: assisting the Site Director in planning
the programs, providing appropriate supervision for assigned groups of
children, carrying out daily routines such as taking attendance, collecting
money, distributing materials, assisting with snacks, directing arts and crafts,
assisting with homework and outside activities, caring for children when they
become ill, contacting parents when necessary, and assisting the Site Director
with special activities of enrichments when necessary.
D. Substitutes:
The program director will maintain a list of qualified substitutes for employment in
each program. The district coordinator will give names of possible substitutes to each
program director from contacts made with the district office. Any substitute will be
screened according to the Level 2 screening requirements.
E. Volunteers:
Volunteers must meet the following screening requirements:
Complete a volunteer form and his/her name must be checked against the sexual
predator website:
http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/homepage.do
Site directors should take the completed form to the principal and the principal’s
designee will run the volunteer’s name through the above website. The site director
must wait until the volunteer has been cleared and accepted before allowing him/her to
assist with the SACC program.
Volunteers shall not be directly responsible for any group of children without a staff
member present. At no time shall they be directly in charge of children.
The use of volunteers from within the community, especially those already assisting
with the regular school, will be encouraged. The coordinator of volunteers for the
school district will be asked to assist in obtaining individuals with special skills to work
as volunteers in various programs.
F. Training and In-Service Activities:
Training will be provided for all members of school-age child care staff. This will
involve an initial 40 hours of training to become certified as child care workers and 10
hours of update training each year thereafter. At least one adult staff member per 15
students, with a minimum of two per site, shall be certified in First Aid, CPR, and
Heimlich maneuver. As enrollment increases, the number shall increase
proportionately.
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In-Service training in various topics will be made available to school-age program
personnel during the school year. The coordinator will establish topics on the basis of
communicated need and interest from providers or program staff and based upon
available components.
All personnel will be requested to participate in training to serve students with special
needs. Each program site will be expected to have one individual who has been trained
in developing and adapting program materials and activities for these students.
G. Fingerprinting:
Fingerprinting information can be found online at
http://www.escambia.k12.fl.us//humres/director.asp
Fingerprinting cost for district employees is $55.00 and $105.25 for
contractors.
The district Fingerprinting Credentialing Office can be reached at
(850) 439-2641 or (850) 430-7450.
Program Directors (contractors) must keep a copy of the employee notification that
states the employee passed the Level 2 screening process. This documentation should
be kept in the employee personnel file.
VII. PROGRAM OPERATION:
A. Registration Procedures
1. Enrollment Records:
All children to be enrolled in the school-age child care program must be
officially registered by parents/guardians at the program site. Parents must sign
a Parent/Guardian Agreement Form and the Enrollment Form. Copies will be
kept by the Site Director. Information that must be stated on the enrollment
form is:
a. Child’s name (as registered in school)
b. Age/birth date
c. Parent(s) or legal guardian
d. Address
e. Grade/teacher
f. Home phone and business phone of parent(s)/guardian
g. Child’s medical doctor/phone
h. Medical problem/emotional problems
i. Contact person(s) in case of emergency w/phone/address
j. Authorized list of person or persons allowed to pick up child/children
from school-age child care program (including those not allowed to pick
them up)
k. Special information regarding custody in case of single parents
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l. Signature of parent or guardian
m. Fee schedule
2. Health Records:
Registration forms and procedures shall be required to include information
regarding:
a. Special health considerations that may prevent active participation in
outdoor activities, sports, running, and being outdoors in the hot/cold
weather. Licensing requires that all children be provided outdoor physical
exercise, games, and group activities.
b. Previous illness that may prevent full participation in program activities.
c. Food allergies or special dietary concerns.
d. Physician’s or health department releases for communicable diseases, lice
infestations, or other illnesses that may be spread in the program.
e. Physical limitations to be considered when participating in the program.
f. Emergency medical treatment release in case of series injury or illness.
3. Medical Authorization:
Medications are to be administered in accordance with FDC&F Public Health
Guidelines and the Escambia County School Board policies for administering
medication to students.
4. Student Insurance:
Parents will be encouraged to purchase student insurance to cover the hours the
child participates in the school-age child care program.
5. Parent Information:
Upon registration parents/guardians will be provided information on the school-
age child care program. This information will include but need not be limited to:
a. Daily program operation.
b. Discipline policy.
c. Fee schedules, including registration and late fees to be charged.
d. Refund policies.
B. Daily Program Operation
1. Activities
a. Provide supervised indoor and outdoor play.
b. Provide homework time with assistance from staff and/or tutors.
c. Provide nutritious drinks and snacks.
d. Provide arts and crafts activities to stimulate creative experiences.
e. Provide quiet time for reading, games, drawing.
f. Provide storytelling, puppetry, drama, and music experiences.
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g. Provide organized group activities.
h. Provide programming with the school staff to enhance daytime activities.
i. Provide special needs such as tutoring, therapy, as requested by school
staff.
2. Weekly Activity Plan and Schedule of Activities:
A planning sheet will be posted at the program site showing weekly or monthly
activities and the approximate time and location these activities will take place. Each
Program Director will be encouraged to plan monthly themes for at least six months in
advance, utilizing resources available from the district coordinator, parents, teachers,
and other agencies involved in monitoring school-age child care programs. Sharing of
ideas and material will be encouraged at quarterly staff meetings.
3. Arrivals of Students:
a. Appropriate areas (such as the cafeteria, hallways, or assigned rooms) will be
designated where students participating in the program will meet on a daily basis
directly preceding or following the conclusion of their regular school day.
b. Procedures for safe and prompt arrival of students who are scheduled to participate
in the program will be determined at each school with the principal and staff.
c. Table activities will be organized for students while roll is being taken or until other
school activities in the arrival area are completed (bus unloading/loading, parent
drop-offs/pickups, or walkers dismissed).
Accurate attendance procedures will be developed at each program site to determine the
status of students who are absent or late arriving to the program.
Immediate contact will be made with the office prior to bus departure to check records
of those students who are absent or who have checked out of school for the day. It is
recommended that daily absentee reports be placed in the Site Director’s mailbox
before dismissal for use in determining who should be present or absent.
Teachers who want students to assist them in their classrooms or participate in after-
school activities must submit a request in writing to the Site Director prior to the
beginning of the school-age child care program in order to avoid attendance problems.
A sign-out/sign-in book will be maintained for all students who are assisting a teacher
in the classroom. The written request from the teacher will be attached to the book.
Students who are to attend other activities during the hours of the program (sports,
scouting, etc.) must have a written request from the parent. All students will be signed
out and back in by personnel from these activities.
Responsibility for care of the student will be with the personnel from the other activity
until the student is picked up by parent/guardian or returned and signed back into the
school-age child care program.
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4. Attendance Policies and Procedures:
a. All parents will indicate on the enrollment form the number of days their child(ren)
is to participate in the program.
b. Any changes in attendance patterns must be submitted by the parent in writing to
the classroom teacher and this information forwarded to the Site Director either by
placing in mail box or hand delivery before the start of the program.
c. If a student is sick or injured and will be absent for several weeks, this information
should be relayed to the Program Director or Site Director in order to maintain a
space in the program.
d. Daily attendance will be maintained on a monthly attendance report.
5. Snacks:
a. Snacks and a drink are provided as part of the weekly fee.
b. Students are required to eat their snack on site during the time allotted. Those
students being picked up early may be given a drink and snack prior to leaving.
c. Efforts will be made to meet all dietary or parent requests regarding the type of
snacks furnished. Licensing standards require snacks that meet nutritious
standards according to USDA Food Guidelines.
d. Snacks may be provided through the school district’s Food Services Department.
Those programs utilizing this service will have fees determined from monthly
attendance forms.
6. End of Day Dismissal Policies and Procedures:
a. Parents/Guardians will be informed that they are expected to enter the building to
pick up and sign out their child. No child will be released to person(s) not
authorized in writing by custodial parent and on file with the program.
b. Persons who are not known by the staff will be asked to show identification.
c. Specific procedures for picking up and dismissing students will be developed at
each school site for the school-age child care program. These procedures may
address, but not be limited to, items such as designated arrival and departure
locations, procedures for children released to walk home, procedures for
dismissing on days with inclement weather, and early release of individual
children.
d. No child will be allowed to ride the bus or accompany another child home unless
the school has been notified in writing or by telephone and the message passed on
to the Site Director prior to the start of the program.
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e. Parents/guardians will be informed of “late pickup” policies at the time of
enrollment in the program. These include the following options:
When a child remains after the end of the program period, attempts will be
made to contact the parents/guardians or individuals listed as emergency
contacts on the enrollment records.
If a child remains after 6:30 p.m., and no emergency contact has been made the
Site Director may contact the Sheriff’s Department at (850-436-9630).
The abuse hotline is 1-800-96-ABUSE. It may become necessary to call this
number if a parent or emergency contact can not be found.
In no case will program staff transport the child to any other locations.
Late fees, as outlined by each provider, will be charged for all late pickups. If
these fees are not paid, the child may be subject to dismissal from the program.
7. Transportation:
Transportation is not offered by the programs. Parents are responsible for transporting
their child(ren) at the end of the program.
8. Illness:
For children who became ill while attending the program parents will be contacted to
pick up the child. Until the parent arrives, the child will rest in a quiet area under the
supervision of a staff member. Under no circumstances will the child be permitted to go
home alone.
9. Accidents and Emergencies:
a. Emergency contact information must be provided by parent(s) guardian(s) and must
be on file with the program. Should a child be injured all effort will be made by the
staff to contact the parent(s) or guardian(s) for specific instructions regarding action
to be taken. If parent(s) or guardian(s) cannot be reached, the person(s) designated
by the parent(s) or guardian(s) as the emergency contact will be notified. If
designated person cannot be reached, the Site Director will take necessary action.
b. This action on the part of personnel does not obligate the provider, personnel,
school, or school district to assume financial responsibility for the treatment of the
child.
c. For every accident, emergency, or incident that occurs an Accident Report must be
completed by the Site Director and turned in to appropriate school personnel.
10. Student Safety and Welfare:
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The child care program has a phone number at each site which parents should use to
call in case of emergency. All official school board procedures relating to safety and
emergencies will be followed. It will be the responsibility of the site director and
district coordinator jointly to advise program staff of school board policies relating to
safety and emergency procedures. This will include, but not limited to, instruction on
handling emergencies, evacuating procedure, fire drills, severe weather procedures and
supervision of children at all times. Under no circumstances will students be left
unsupervised at any time.
11. Discipline Policies and Procedures:
a. All official School Board and FDC&F policies relating to discipline will be
followed.
b. Discipline procedures used in each program will be approved by the principal and
be in accordance with school policy.
c. The program’s discipline procedures will be provided to parents upon registration.
d. Students who continuously exhibit behavior such as extreme disruption, running
away, fighting, violence, foul language, or biting will not be allowed to continue
participation in the program. Program site administrators will record such
incidents and confer with parents or guardians concerning the possibility of
removal from the program.
e. School-age child care program administrators may request information
and assistance from school staff with any discipline problem before
dismissing an individual from the program. This may include information
regarding behavior that may be caused by emotional problems, trauma, medical
problems, or information regarding special techniques that are being used
with the student during the school day.
12. Materials and Supplies:
The program director will be responsible for providing appropriate and sufficient
quantities of materials, supplies, and equipment necessary for each program’s
staff to implement the daily activities as listed on the weekly plan of activities.
13. Facility Evaluation:
Each school-age child care program and site will be evaluated on a regular basis as
follows:
The district coordinator may use a monitoring tool to evaluate sites and if
problems with facilities are noted, the appropriate school site personnel will be
notified so the problems can be corrected.
On a daily basis, the site directors will work with principals and school site
maintenance to insure facilities meet standards.
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14. Program Evaluation:
a. Annually, or more frequently if needed, the district coordinator may use an
abbreviated FDC&F form to monitor licensing requirements and/or to determine
if corrections have been made for previous citations.
b. Semi-annually by the school principal; at the end of the first semester and prior to
the end of the school-year. These evaluations will be returned to the district
coordinator and filed.
c. Annually through parent evaluations.
d. Information from these evaluations will be used as part of the process for
determining annual renewal contracts with individuals or community agencies for
the next school year.
VIII. Finance:
A. Fees
All fees charged in the school-age child care programs will be established by the
school district’s administration staff and must be approved by the School Board.
Child care fees are paid by the parents/guardians directly to the provider of
services. There will be an annual registration fee for each child enrolled in the
program. Weekly and daily rates are determined by pre-designated number of
days of attendance. Providers of services may not exceed the established weekly
or daily fees. The current rates are available from the child care coordinator.
Parent makes payment during week of services rendered or no later than the
following week unless a previously arranged payment plan has been established
in writing, and approved by the site director and principal.
1. Process for dealing with parent who fails to pay the SACC weekly or
daily fee as specified in the parent agreement/handbook.
If the situation warrants, the decision may be made to schedule a meeting
with parent, principal, and site director with the goal of receiving payment
and keeping children in the program. (If the family meets the criteria, a
scholarship may be an option for some families.) A copy of any plan
developed for the parents to bring accounts up-to-date should be filed with
the family’s financial account record. It should specify payment
expectations, any related penalties, and a deadline date for paying all child
care debts. Parents will receive written notification of any late fees. If this
fails, send a Notice of Cancellation of Services to the parent.
Any deviation from these procedures needs to be dated and explained in
writing on a document page that is on file with the appropriate family
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account sheet. Site director coordinates with the principal as dictated by
the situation.
2. Process for dealing with parents who have received a notification of
cancellation of services and children that have not been re-enrolled but
the children still show up for child care.
Return the children to the office---they are no longer enrolled in this
program. Parents or other adults eligible to transport these children need
to be notified to pick the children up at the school office as soon as
possible since the school day is over. If all fails, call appropriate law
enforcement officers: county deputies or city police.
3. Non Subsidized Clients:
These are students who do not require or are not eligible for subsidized child
care assistance. Rates are established as follows:
Full-time fee for 3, 4, or 5 day’s attendance. Reduced fees for additional
children from same family.
Daily fee for 1 or 2 days attendance. Reduced fees for additional
children from the same family.
4. Subsidized Clients:
These are students who qualify for full or partial child care financial assistance
through the Early Learning Coalition. Eligibility is determined by the Early
Learning Coalition with notification given to the school program where the
students will be enrolled. Those who receive partial assistance are expected to pay
the difference in the weekly or daily rates to the program. No registration fee is
charged to the subsidized student(s). A partial registration fee may be charged to
the partial pay students.
5. Scholarship Clients:
Students who do not qualify for full or partial financial aid but require some type
of assistance may be “scholar shipped” by providers of services, if they are able to
do so, based upon information given to them by the parents or guardians. The fee
to be paid will be determined individually at each program site.
B. District Administrative Fee:
The School District will charge contracted individuals or community agencies
providing service in the school-age child care program an “administrative fee” for
each non-subsidized student in the program. The fee will be based on a
“duplicated count” obtained from each month’s attendance report. The attendance
reports will be turned in to the district coordinator within ten calendars days after
the end of each month. Administrative fees will be calculated from these reports
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and turned in to the District’s Accounting Department. From this information
invoices will be sent to each provider.
C. Revenue Procedures:
In district-operated programs, the collection of fees from parent or guardians will
follow established procedures for the school-age child care program. This will
include the use of the following forms:
1. Individual Account by Family
2. Report of Monies Collected
D. Audits of Financial Records:
The School District will have the responsibility to review financial procedures
used in the school-age child care programs. This may include, but is not limited
to, review of parent fee records, attendance records and concurrent administrative
fees, invoicing and collecting procedures, records for the administrative fee, and
documentations of subsidized students’ attendance.
Procedures for Asset Custody and Bookkeeping Functions (for District-
Operated SACC Programs)
Process for submitting revenue and receipts to school bookkeeper from
SACC staff
1. Revenue from the school-age child care program will be given to the school
bookkeeper in a timely fashion, i.e., no later than the next school day
following the day fees were collected.
2. On the day the revenue is submitted to the bookkeeper, a receipt will be given
to the site director for all monies (cash, checks, etc.) in the deposit bag.
3. After the bookkeeper makes the deposit, a copy of the timed dated deposit slip
will be given to the site director.
4. The site director will verify that the deposit was made in a timely manner, i.e.,
within one week of submission by site director or appropriate school-age child
care personnel, and that it agrees with the receipt.
5. Principals check monies collected and deposited into the internal accounts
with comparison to attendance on a monthly basis.
6. The district child care coordinator will gather, monitor, and test related
documentation to perform reviews of site records. The district child care
coordinator will monitor monthly reports.
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7. Monthly statements printed for the principals, site directors, district child care
coordinator, and budgeting department.
All required forms to be used in School-Age Child Care Programs are
available from the District Coordinator’s Office. The SACC Coordinator is
Aisha Adkison.
Her contact information is as follows:
Office phone: (850) 469-5305
Fax: (850) 469-5640
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Resource List
Aisha Adkison
Escambia County School District
School-Age Child Care Coordinator
(850) 469-5305
Fax: (850) 469-5640
Bill Threadgill
Escambia County School District
Human Resources Specialist
(850) 429-2914
Fax: (850) 469-6264
Roger Thompson, Licensing
Florida Department of Children and Family Services
(850) 595-8142
Fax: (850) 595-8511
Bruce Watson
Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County
(850) 595-5402
Dian Baldock
Child Care Services, Inc. OWCC
(850) 833-9336
Fax: (850) 833-9344
