Author: Kay Henry

Hygiene, Safety, and Security Resources
for Church Preschool Programs
(Compiled by Kay Henry. Updated in 2008. Any commercial products or services listed are provided as information only, with no personal endorsements. To add resources to this list, please contact ekayhenry6630@ecewb.com. )
HOTLINES
—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Response Hotline: 888-246-2675.
—Consumer Product Safety Commission Hotline: 800-638-2772 or www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Call or log-on to report a dangerous product or product-related injury.
—Child Abuse Hotline: 800-522-3511 (state line in Oklahoma)
—National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-4-A-CHILD. Available 24 hrs. daily in 140 languages.
—Poison Control Hotline: 800-222-1222. Nationwide number rings to center nearest caller.
HEALTH AND HYGIENE
—American Academy of Pediatrics, www.aap.org. Provides helps, including “Parenting Corner” with material on children’s health topics; free children’s online health newsletter; & “Visual Pediatric Infectious Care Pak,” including Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools for $160.
—BabyCenter.com & ParentCenter.com. These online websites provide free articles on baby & young child health, development, & safety issues (member of Johnson & Johnson companies). The Johnson & Johnson website is www.jnj.com; provides product info & resources, including bulk ordering info on variety of parenting booklets.
—Caring for Our Children–National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 1509 16th St. NW, Washington DC 20036. $35 + $6.50 s/h; 800-424-2460; www.naeyc.org.
—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333; 404-639-3311; www.cdc.gov. Provides A-Z lists of dangerous agents (including lead poisoning), diseases, & other threats; natural disaster preparedness; health promotion resources, etc.
—Child Health Alert Newsletter, P.O. Box 610228, Newton Highlands, MA 02461; 781-239-1762; www.childhealthalert.com. $29 for 10 issues annually. Evaluates latest developments affecting health & safety of children. Selected back issues on website, as well as info on “hot topics.”
—Child Welfare League of America, 440 1st St. NW, 3rd Floor, Washington DC 20001-2085; 202-638-2952; www.cwla.org. Provides support for the protection & welfare of children, as well as free online newsletter and e-bulletins. Call 800-407-6273 for catalog and product orders.
—DrGreene.com, 9000 Crow Canyon Rd., Suite S-220, Danville, CA 94506; 925-964-1793. Provides free info on numerous childhood health & developmental issues. Dr. Alan Greene, a pediatric expert, went online (first website of this nature) with his public service website in 1995.
—Healthy Young Children: A Manual for Programs, 2002 Edition, ISBN 1928896065. National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1509 16th St. NW, Washington DC 20036. 800-424-2460; www.naeyc.org. Covers prevention of infections & injuries, responding to emergencies, etc.
—LifeWay Church Resources, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234; www.lifeway.com/childhood. Website provides archived articles (free) on numerous issues, including hygiene policies, screening procedures, preschool space guidelines, dangerous plants, summer safety, etc. Order publications from website, or call customer service, 800-458-2772.
—Model Child Care Health Policies, Revised 2002, National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1509 16th St. NW, Washington DC 20036. $11 + $5 s/h; 800-424-2460; www.naeyc.org.
—Teaching in Christian Weekday Early Education, Pamela Boucher compiler (Nashville, TN: LifeWay, 1999) $16.95, ISBN 0767390792. Training manual for individual or group study. Chapter 16 provides guidelines on hygiene, safety, & security.
—Zero to Three, National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, 2000 N St. NW, Suite 2000, Washington DC 20036; 202-638-1144; www.zerotothree.org. Promotes policies & research for preschoolers. Offers A-Z parenting info, publications, etc. Provides helps for military families.
SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS
—American Association of Poison Control Centers, Inc. 3201 New Mexico Ave., Suite 330, Washington DC 20016; 202-362-7217 (adm. number); Hotline: 800-222-1222; www.aapcc.org. Important source for fact sheets, prevention tips, teaching aids, & location of area poison centers.
—American Red Cross, www.redcross.org. Contact local chapter for first aid products, safety posters, & Adult/Infant/Child CPR & First Aid training class schedules, as well as HIV/AIDS Fact Book. Log-on to www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/supplies for fact sheets.
—Federal Emergency Management Agency; 800-480-2520; www.fema.gov/areyouready. Provides preparedness info on earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, mudslides, tornadoes, wildfires, etc.; article, “Helping Children Cope with Disaster.” Online 8-hr. course, “Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools,” is available @ www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is363.asp.
—Handbook for Public Playground Safety, 1997 Revision, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington DC 20207; 800-638-2772; www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf; print free. Also, “Public Playground Safety Checklist,” www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/327.html.
—Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, JPMA Public Information, 15000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054; 856-638-0420; www.jpma.org. For free brochure, “Safe and Sound for Baby: A Guide to Baby Product Safety, Use, and Selection,” send self-addressed, stamped envelope. Brochure also available @ www.jpma.org/consumer/SafeSoundBabyBrochure.
—National Weather Service; www.nws.noaa.gov. Provides current weather, forecasts, & warnings by state, county, & city locations. Also provides weather safety recommendations. (Check your local TV station website for availability of severe weather email alerts & area school closings due to weather.)
—Pedicraft Crib (metal-frame crib with safety features), LifeWay Church Sales; 800-622-8610; www.lifewaystores.com/churchsales. Request catalog at 800-448-8032.
—PerfectlySafe.com, on-line source for Safety First Choke Tester, $2.95 each (designed by CPSC to check toy choking hazards), www.shop.store.yahoo.com/perfectlysafe/choketester.html. Child safety products at Perfectly Safe, 700 Whipple Ave., North Canton, OH 44720; 800-898-3696.
—ReadyAmerica, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 800-BE-READY; www.ready.gov. Provides most current recommendations on emergency preparedness, including natural disasters, nuclear blasts, explosions, radiation, & chemical/biological threats. Also provides emergency kit suggestions.
—VaccinePlace.com. Provides info on vaccine safety; link to CDC for immunization schedules.
SECURITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
—Law and Church Newsletter, Center for the Study of Law and the Church, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, AL 35229-7015; 800-888-7303. $10 yearly for quarterly newsletter, $2 charge for past issues. (In 2008 newsletters will become available free online; web address pending.)
—National Alert Registry, 2607 S. Woodland Blvd., #309, DeLand, FL 32720-7001; 386-736-3881; www.nationalalertregistry.com. Provides zip code search capability to identify sexual offenders in communities, based on requirement of Megan’s law for sex offenders to register with local police departments. $10 fee per sex offender/address list in zip code area searched.
—Nexus Solutions, P.O. Box 165, 3440 Youngfield St., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033; 888-639-8788; www.nexus-solutions.com. Security products include the following:
(1) Good Shepherd Program: Tools to Protect Your Church by Preventing Child Abuse, $208.95. Includes handbook, model policy manual, background check info, training helps, etc. (Some insurance companies provide premium discounts if this program is used.)
(2) SafeScreen: Screening and Selection Tools for Personnel Managers and Volunteer Coordinators. Starter kit, $65, includes handbook & 5 applicant packets (file folders with application, release & consent, interview notes, reference checks, W-4, I-9, etc.)
(3) Nexcheck Background Checking Services for Volunteers and Employees. Cost per report ordered. Five levels of checks available: identity verification, address history, statewide criminal history, sex offender registry check, national criminal database history.
—NLS Specialties, Inc., P.O. Box 1897, Kennesaw, GA 30156; 770-422-7867; www.nlsspecialties.com. Sells “Kiddie Keepers” security tags & other systems, including stickers, cards, bracelets, and tokens. Also sells emergency evacuation backpacks, diaper bag tags, smocks, custom imprints, etc.
—Oklahoma Baptists Protecting Children: A Plan for Protecting Preschoolers and Children in Oklahoma Baptist Churches, Phase II, Preschool/Children’s Ministry, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, 3800 N. May, Oklahoma City, OK 73112; 405-942-3800, ext. 4648; www.bgco.org. This 16-pg. booklet available on the website or on a CD & includes info on child abuse prevention policies, church response to abuse allegations, criminal history checks, sample employee & volunteer application forms, consent form, etc. Other booklets also available on CD & cover childhood hygiene, safety, security, policy guidelines, etc.
—Protecting Our Church and Children: What Church Leaders Must Know, Preschool & Children Ministry, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, P.O. Box 1107, Cary, NC 27512-1107; 919-467-5100 ext. 5646; www.ncbaptist.org. Print 32-pg. booklet free from website, or order for $10. Includes info on safety, security, hygiene, policies, sample forms, etc
—Protection Series (free booklets on liability risks), Church Mutual Insurance Co., P.O. Box 357, 3000 Schuster Lane, Merrill, WI 54452; 800-554-2642; www.churchmututal.com. Series (via mail or printed from website) include child abuse prevention, fire safety, playground safety, transportation, etc. Free sample screening & consent forms (from Joy Melton’s book Safe Sanctuaries) also on website, as well as Reducing the Risk II Kit @ reduced cost of $18 (non-customers).
—Reducing the Risk II Kit, Your Church Resources, P.O. Box 37018, Boone, IA 50037-0018; 800-222-1840; www.churchlawtodaystore.com. Cost is $49.95 (while copies remain) for DVD, book, & training manual on screening, hiring, & supervising workers. New resource Reducing the Risk III available March 2008, $149.95, for resources & web access.
—Safe Place: Guidelines for Creating an Abuse-Free Environment (with CD-ROM), Marv Parker (Christian Publications, Inc., 2002) $19.99, ISBN 0875099793; www.christianpublications.com. Provides employee/volunteer screening procedures & forms, infectious disease policies, etc.
—Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Child Abuse in the Church, by Joy Melton (Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 2004) $13, ISBN 0881772208. Outlines strategies for church-wide plan to recruit, screen, & hire workers; includes sample policies & forms.
—Sexoffender.com, P.O. Box 91162, Anchorage, AL 99509-1162. Provides links to each state’s free offender data base. Code Amber Child DNA ID Kits available for parents to order for $8.95 + s/h.
(Or, you may do your own Google search by entering, for example, “Oklahoma sex offenders”; this connects you to the free sex offender data base for that state-–or any other state you designate.)
—Shelby Systems, Inc., 51 Germantown Court, Suite 300, Cordova, TN 38018-7277; www.shelbyinc.com. Security software module, “Chek-in,” features touch screen check-in, bar coded ID badges read by slot or hand-held readers, networked check-in stations, management of info on each child (name, allergies, feeding, sleeping, parent info), etc. Requires significant hardware.
—Staff Screening Tool Kit, 3rd Edition, by John C. Patterson (Washington DC: Nonprofit Risk Management Center, 2004) $30, ISBN 1893210189. Address for NRM is 1130 17th St. NW, Suite 210, Washington DC 20036; 202-785-3891; www.nonprofitrisk.org. Website provides archived articles & e-newsletters free to nonprofits. Variety of web seminars available for a fee.
—United States Investigation Services (USIS), 800-331-9175, ext. 2420. Contact person, Patricia Charon, email patricia.charon@usis.com. LifeWay Christian Resources has negotiated background check services with USIS for all SBC entities at discounted pricing structure.
—Weekday Early Education Administrative Guide, by Bob Couch & Lois Gamble (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 2000) $19.95, ISBN 0663003964. Comprehensive guide includes policies & guidelines for safety, security, & hygiene, along with sample employee screening forms, etc.
All states provide day care licensing requirements with hygiene and safety provisions. For example, in Oklahoma, the following is available:—Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers, Revised 1/05, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, OKDHS Pub. #84-08. Obtain this from any county DHS office or from DHS, Div. Of Child Care, 2400 N. Lincoln Blvd., P.O. Box 25352, Oklahoma City, OK 73125; 800-347-2276; www.okdhs.org. (Contact appropriate agency in your state to order similar resource.)

One Day Training Conference Plan Kay Henry, Writer

One Day Training Conference Plan Health and Safety...for Church Preschool Programs, Item 2a,b,c,d
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