Child Safety

The Employee Child Care Centers are state licensed facilities and follow the Minimum Standards as set by Texas Health and Human Services.

Medication

All medication is to be brought to the center office in the original container and is stored in a locked box or cabinet. Medications must have current expiration dates and, in the case of a prescription, have been prescribed to the child in question. Medications must be administered according to label directions, including obtaining instructions from your doctor if your child falls into an age range for which the label states to ‘consult a physician.’ 

Food Allergies

The Employee Child Care Centers are peanut and tree nut free centers. Snacks and lunch provided by the center will not contain nuts, and we ask parents to please observe this regulation by ensuring that alternative snacks or meals sent from home do not contain nuts. A Food Allergy Emergency Plan must be completed on each child with any food allergy.

Safe Sleep Policy

All staff follow the safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for infants to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome/Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS/SUIDS). Infants are placed on their backs to sleep in a crib with a tight fitting sheet and mattress. No items may be placed in the crib with the child including blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, soft objects, sleep positioners, or pacifiers attached to a stuffed toy or attached to a pacifier clip. Swaddling and sleep sacks are not permitted. Infants who fall asleep in a restrictive device such as a bouncy seat or car seat must be immediately moved to a crib.

Safety Drills

Fire drills are practiced monthly. Fire exit plans and evacuation sites are posted by each exit door. Sheltering/Severe Weather Drills and Lock-Down Drills are practiced every three months of the school year. These drills involve taking shelter within the center to temporarily protect children and staff from situations such as a tornado or to help keep children and staff in place to protect them from a volatile person on the premises.

Staff Training

In addition to being CPR and first aid certified, all staff complete 24 hours of annual training in the core areas of child growth and development, guidance and discipline, age-appropriate curriculum, and teacher-child interaction, as well as preventing, recognizing and reporting child maltreatment. Staff who work with children younger than 24 months of age complete annual training to recognize and prevent shaken baby syndrome together with understanding and preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).