Counting Children Clause Samples

Counting Children. It is important that throughout the day, Head Start staff Scan and Count all of the children in the program/center. The ECKLC website has a lot of great resources to provide guidance on Active Supervision and Counting Kids. No child should ever be left alone or unattended. (NOTE: The difference between alone and unattended. Alone is when there is not adult supervision present. Unattended is when an adult may physically be present but is not actively supervising and does not view of a child.) A protocol for Counting Kids means that:  Staff are always able to account for the children in their care.  They continuously scan the entire environment to know where everyone is and what they are doing.  They count the children frequently.  They are especially vigilant during transitions (i.e., when children are moving from one location to another). All Head Start programs shall develop written procedures to ensure the proper accounting of children throughout the school day. This includes but is not limited to: 1. Developing a Counting Kids process for each center within the program. a. How are children counted (e.g., by name, placing hand on the head, asking children to count off, buddy system, etc.)? b. Who is accountable to ensure children are counted? c. How does the center/program respond if a child is “missing” after a count is completed? d. How frequently are children counted? e. How is counting captured (e.g., documentation)? 2. Ensuring proper ratio of staff during transitions (e.g., bathroom, playground, cafeteria, etc.), which are the most vulnerable times in which children are not counted. 3. Identifying a person in each center to monitor the process and ensure consistent compliance.