Please provide input on the following draft of a revised Unattended Children Policy:
The Arapahoe Library District welcomes and encourages children to visit the Library, use its resources and attend library programs. Staff members are available to help and support children; however, the Library does not act in loco parentis (in place of parents), is not responsible for children who are unattended, and cannot provide short or long-term child care. The Library is not responsible for any consequences of parents, legal guardians, teachers, or caregivers who do not fulfill their responsibilities.
The Library will adhere to the following guidelines concerning the care and behavior of children.
1. Children under the age of five (5) and children who are unable or unwilling to care for themselves may not be left alone in the Library and must have adequate supervision while in the Library.
2. Children age five (5) and over who can understand and follow the Patron Code of Conduct and who can care for themselves are allowed to be in the library unattended. They should have contact information for someone who can assist them in an emergency.
3. Library staff will attempt to contact a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver when
· an unattended child is involved in a situation that is potentially harmful to the health or safety of the child or to others;
· the behavior of an unattended child disturbs other patrons and has caused staff to ask the child to leave the library;
· a child is frightened while alone in the Library;
· an unattended child is left alone at the Library at closing time.
4. If a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver cannot be reached, Library staff will contact law enforcement to take charge of the situation.
5. Library employees are not permitted to transport children away from Library facilities.
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I'm concerned about #2: children 5 or over who can understand the patron code of conduct & who can care for themselves. Most 5-10-year-olds will tell you they can take care of themselves, but if you've spent time in a children's area, you'll notice their attention span is limited. And far too often, they don't have emergency numbers or no one answers the phone when they call. Even though it's stated that a caregiver will be contacted if a situation is potentially harmful to the health/safety of the child, that doesn't address the problem of parents dropping their little ones off at the library and leaving them for 8 hours while they go to work. I'd like to see that covered in a statement about how long a child may be left unattended.
ReplyDeleteI think that behavioral issues should be left to the Patron Code of Conduct and that this Unattended Children Policy should deal with just the safety of the unattended child. (The policy already states that children who can follow the Code of Conduct can be in the library.) I believe staff would prefer some sort of age guidelines younger than 12 but older than 5. I also believe it's too difficult to set a firm age because maturity levels differ so much for the same age. I would suggest a compromise of something like this, which sets an approximate age but allows wiggle room for different situations: 1. Children under the age of approximately eight (8) and children who are unable or unwilling to care for themselves may not be left alone in the library and must have adequate supervision while in the library.
ReplyDeleteA bullet could be added to the other bullets in #3 to specifically address these children younger than approximately 8 who don't appear able to care for themselves: #3. Library staff will attempt to contact a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver when: an unattended child appears to not be able to care for him or herself.