Hopefully you haven't already fallen asleep after reading the title of the post! Policies and procedures are so tedious and so easy to ignore they often remain at the absolute bottom of the to do list. I would imagine that for many KidMin creating and maintaining policies aren't even on a to do list.
Before I get too carried away with myself I think it's important to define what policies and procedures are. Policies are rules you have in place to prevent actions from happening (i.e. background check to maintain the safety of kids). Procedures are actions that must be followed in the case a certain event happens (i.e. fire escape route). Some examples of policies and procedures are: Having a fire escape plan, a lock down plan, an allergy plan, a diaper changing plan, a bathroom break plan etc.
Why are they necessary? Policies and procedures exist to keep you, your volunteers, your kids, your parents and your church safe. Policies and procedures are like insurance - you have to have them, but you never want to deal with them or use them.
What do you do with them? Have a boring meeting! Woohoo!! Who doesn't love boring meetings?? A great time to slip in updated policies and procedures is in volunteer and parent meetings. You don't have to go over every single one word for word, but it is important that you sum up what each of them are so everyone is on the same page. After everyone knows what they are and how they work you can shelf them. They are there just in case. They are a passive part of your ministry, operating in the background to make sure everyone is safe and on the same page. I suggest you dust them off once a year and look over them to make sure they are still up to date
I encourage you to revisit your policies. Take an afternoon and go to the coffee shop to review/update/creat your policies. They will make your life much much easier in the end!
Let me know what you think! Do you have policies? If so, what policies do you have? Do you not have policies? If so, why not?
We are working on instituting a lot of this stuff. We have a background check system starting soon. Most of our volunteers are parents and grandparents so we haven't really NEEDED the background checks but we want to have the system in place and have our regular helpers already checked so that as new people come in we don't look untrusting but we still can check them out for safety sake.
ReplyDeleteWe are installing windows in all classroom and office doors here soon too so that is definitely an enhancement. I am terrified of speaking to kids in my office because you can't defend yourself once something is said, true or not.
In a small rural church, do you have suggestions on what to do as far as check in and check out. We haven't had any incidents, but we would like to have a procedure for it so that everyone knows what's going on and hopefully, we never do have an issue. Thoughts?
We currently use KidCheck. It's a computer based program to check kids in. It also tracks the attendance, which classrooms are full, and the volunteer to child ratio among many many other things. I believe we have the premium edition which is $480 a year, or $39.99 a month. Go to www.kidcheck.com to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI would also recommend getting a premium membership to kidology.org, there is a boatload of good stuff there about security, and every other children's ministry question you'll ever have.
For what my opinion is worth, I would suggest implementing a number system for check in. For example, when Mom and Dad bring Logan in for church write a name tag for Logan with the number 37 on it, and give Mom and Dad a permanent badge with the number 37 so they can pick Logan up at the end of service. We had parents give us the badge back and we kept them during the week. That way they never had the same number twice, and we didn't have to keep buying new badges.
This prevents custody battles and confusion from happening. Dad may want to pick Logan up, but if Mom has the tag then he is not allowed. I am a huge stickler when it comes to name tags - even if I know that child goes with that parent they HAVE to have the badge to get their child.
Hope that helps...