Peace of Mind
Day care facilities are extremely essential in our daily life. It has been observed that approximately two-thirds of all children who are below the age of six years are mostly taken care of by someone who is neither their parents nor their legal guardians. Every day, the caregivers have the responsibility of helping the children overcome new challenges in discovering the happenings of the world around them. Therefore, a childcare that maintains professionalism is highly essential in the community setting, ranging from towns to cities. The demand for a good daycare is rising on a daily basis as many parents begin or rejoin the workforce. As stated by the Referral Agencies and National Association of Child Care Resources, about 65% of mothers in the United States, who have children below five years old, are active in the workforce.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Service, have the responsibility of protecting the safety, health, and the children’s well-being. They are also very concerned when it comes to children residing in the childcare facilities; they follow up by establishing statewide measures, which enhance the children protection and safety. The state has further regulated these facilities by the introduction of licensing program. This program is aimed at monitoring all the operations in these childcare centers. In making sure, that these childcare facilities are compliant with the stipulated measures, the laws and rules put across by the state of Texas must be observed (Weltman, 2008).
Childcare facilities have numerous childcare standards, which must be followed in enhancing its suitability to handle the children’s needs. An example of these standards includes; the safety practices. Physical supervision alone can never be a guarantee enough of preventing any injury or accident in the child care center. The surrounding of the childcare center should be free of all health hazards to eliminate any risk to the children. In order to guarantee the children’s safety, the day facility should install cameras in all the areas that are accessible to the children. The cameras should then be operated in a center position where the person in charge of the surveillance can monitor the children effectively. The cameras should also be located on those areas, which are considered a no-go zone for the children. Once this camera are erected in the no-go zones, any child who go astray and finds himself/herself there can be rescued before anything happens ( Lanier, 2005).
The childcare center must ensure that the children are also protected from other persons. These are people with questionable health or behaviors; Therefore, posing an immediate danger to the safety and the health of the children. Such people should not be allowed in to the facility when the children are present. To ensure that they do not get in to the facility, the installed cameras will help in noticing them before they get any closer to the facility, and the facility’s guards will restrain them for entering into the facility. People are not supposed to use alcohol or any other substance that one is not prescribed while still in the childcare facility. Most people in charge of these facilities, will always do so in the confines of secluded places putting the children’s safety at risk; therefore, the law should incorporate the services of a surveillance camera in their facilities so that such vices are ruled out.
The childcare facilities should also have chairs and tables that are easily cleaned and of reasonable height. These equipments vary in size for each age group. They must also be given the mat or cot where they can comfortably rest. In case of the non-walking children who are younger than 18 months, they should be provided with cots or washable mats. Cameras should also be installed in the resting places so that any emergency that could arise when the children are sleeping can be addressed. The outdoor equipments used in the childcare center must be safe for use by the children.
The space provided must be adequate to enable the caregivers monitor the children at any given time. The equipment’s scale, location, and design must be such as to fit the children’s body size and their simplicity of usage by the children. These equipments should be checked for exposed pinch, shear point, or crush to enhance the children’s safety. The facility should undergo a fire inspection practice before the issue of license of operation. Officers from the state always repeat this inspection after duration of a year. The inspection copies are kept for review during the next inspection (Lynn, 2006).
The state has a responsibility of ensuring that, just as other safety equipments are required, the absence of surveillance camera should mean that the children’s security is not fully tackled. The maintenance of these surveillance cameras should be catered for in the facility’s budget.
In conclusion, it is extremely vital that the safety of children in childcare facilities is taken into account. If any facility would lack the necessary security equipments, then it should not see the light of the day. The use of surveillance cameras in enhancing the security of the facility is of utmost significance. The work that a single camera can do while strategically placed in a single place, is more than five people can do in same place. It helps in securing the children’s safety from within the facility or without.
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