Child and Youth Services (Cys)

Child, & Youth Services (CYS)

Parent Handbook

Camp Walker, Daegu Korea

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CYS Mission & Philosophy

Customer Covenant

Confidentiality/ Non Discrimination/ Transgender Support

Open Door Policy/ Guidance for Addressing Concerns CYS Programs

Arrival/Release Procedures

Parent Central Services

Children with Special Needs

Eligibility Information

Fees, Charges, and Discounts

Vacation Policy

Income Tax Information

Program Orientations

Denial of Service Criteria for Illness

Health and Wellness Consultant

Medications Requirements

Other CYS Consultants

Program Closures

Meals, Snacks, and Family Style Dining

Celebrating Birthdays and Holidays

Child Abuse Training and Reporting

What Does My Child Need?

Breast Feeding, Diapers, and Formula

Discipline and Touch Policy

Guidance and Discipline

Exceptions to Policy

More on Youth Center

Transportation

Parent Advisory Board (PAB)

Non-smoking Policy

Medical Emergencies

Accidents

Emergency Closure

Parent Tips for a Quality Care Experience

Important Telephone Numbers at a Glance

Child Abuse Reporting Poster

CYS MISSION

To support mission readiness by reducing lost duty time due to conflict between parental responsibilities and unit mission.

Consistent and predictable services provided to eligible children and youth through a comprehensive framework consisting of Four Service Areas: Sports, Fitness & Health; Life Skills, Citizenship & Leadership Opportunities; Arts, Recreation& Leisure Activities; and Academic Support, Mentoring & Intervention Services.

CYS PHILOSOPHY

CYS programs in partnership with families, staff and family child care providers reflect the knowledge and understanding of the growth and development of their children and students providing memorable experiences which supports their physical, social, emotional and cognitive growth.

CUSTOMER COVENANT

Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) is committed to providing quality through service excellence to our Soldiers and Families commensurate with the quality of their service to our Nation. We understand that we create value for our customers through predictable, consistent and efficient customer focused service.

To that end, we promise our customer they will…..

· Always be respected & treated as individuals who are valued

· Receive a prompt and friendly greeting in a professional and courteous manner

· Experience aesthetically-pleasing facilities

· Receive timely, accurate and helpful information

· Be offered high quality products and services

· Have an opportunity to provide feedback

FAMILIES

Families are the first and primary teachers in their child’s life. We support Families in this role through a variety of services that address the specific needs of each family, to include formal and informal education opportunities. Communication between the child’s primary teacher and Family, as well as management and support staff, is critical and includes an open, honest exchange of ideas, concerns, shared decision making, and respect for cultural diversity. We encourage Families to share their culture, heritage and home language.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Only authorized CYS staff will have access to patron files. CYS is committed to protecting the privacy of patron information. Medical information concerning patrons is absolutely confidential under state and federal law and may not be discussed at any time with any person under any circumstance without a prior written release of information form signed by the parents.

Diversity/Non-Discrimination: In accordance with Federal Law, Title VII, the Department of Army, Child & Youth Services prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or associational preference in employment and in their program operations serving Soldiers, Families and the community. The Department of Army affirms its covenant to support and serve Family and MWR customers and employees.

Transgender Support and Right to Privacy: CYS facilities offer the availability of single occupancy bathrooms to any child or youth who expresses to staff the desire or need for privacy to handle personal bodily needs. CYS will attempt to make the same accommodations for children and youth when traveling away from the facility on field trips, but cannot guarantee that there will always be a single occupancy bathroom available for use. If you or your family have any concerns in reference to support services for your child’s needs, please contact the program Director or CYS Coordinator to assist you with working on a resolution to meet your needs.

OPEN DOOR POLICY

CYS program management and staff members are approachable and accessible to parents/guardians during the center’s operating hours. Parents/guardians can voice their concerns, complaints and/or compliments regarding their customer service experience. Parents are always welcome to elevate their concerns/compliments up the chain of command to the CYS Coordinator, and then on to the Director of Family and MWR as they feel necessary. Feedback on our services is always appreciated.

Parents are always welcome to visit their children at CDC, SAC, and YC programs. We strongly encourage families to share their culture, heritage and home language within our programs and classrooms. If you would like to share any of these experiences or activities with us, please notify your child’s teacher or the Center Director to assist in arranging this opportunity. These opportunities enrich the lives of all children in our programs and allow them to experience the diverse cultures and traditions of our community. If you would like to spend a mealtime with your child, please plan in advance with the Room Lead so the cook will know how much to prepare to insure enough portions for the children. If you would like to become a regular volunteer in any of the programs you will have to first undergo a full series of background checks which must be returned with no derogatory information. When you do visit, you will be expected to interact with your child as they learn through play in their room environment.

CYS PROGRAMS

Daily Admission/Release: Arrival Procedures: Under no circumstance will a child/youth be released to any person who is not authorized to pick up the child/youth. Positive control of child/youth will be maintained at the classroom level.

Upon entering the CYS facility, parents/designated representative will swipe their child into the Child Youth Management System (CYMS) at the front desk before proceeding to their child’s classroom. Under no circumstance will the parent/designated representative move beyond the front desk without first swiping in. After swiping in at the front desk, the parent/designated representative may proceed to the classroom. Upon entering the classroom, the parent/ designated representative will sign the child in, annotating his/her name, date, time and signature.

School age children may be swiped in by their parent/designated representative or the child/youth will key their personal identification number (PIN) into CYMS and the parent/designated representative will then sign the child/youth in, as above.

Curtesy Calls for Unplanned Absences: CYS has a policy to contact parents with a curtesy call to check in on all families of regularly enrolled children that have an unplanned/ unexplained absence for that day. The CDC begins their calls at 10am and the SAC begins calling directly afterschool to ensure that no child misses transportation to the center. These calls are our way of ensuring that all is well with you and your family and allows for us to make changes to our schedules and notifications as necessary based on the information that you provide us.

CHILD RELEASE PROCEDURES

Anyone using a CYS program is required to have two local child release designees. Please make sure you talk to these trusted individuals and ensure they are willing to accept this responsibility. It is important to explain this to your child so they will not be frightened. We advise you to be careful about selecting the entire group of designees from your unit as it is likely that you may be deployed or otherwise detained together. If you are not available, they also may not be available. CYS program staff will only release your child to individuals listed on these forms. A picture ID is required of anyone, other than visually recognized parent, requesting release of a child to them. Children may not be released to other children or siblings under 13 years of age. Children cannot be released to unauthorized individuals by telephonic request from parents or release designees. These procedures are essential for the safety of all children enrolled. Please ensure your CYS program is updated on current information regarding emergency contacts and release designees which must be in writing from the parent.

At the end of the day, parents/designated representative will swipe their child out of the Child Youth Management System (CYMS) at the front desk before proceeding to their child’s classroom. Under no circumstance will the parent/designated representative move beyond the front desk without first swiping out. For those individuals that are picking up that are not easily identified as a release designee, the admin at the front desk will ask for photo id and will match the information with the release information posted in the CYMS database. Upon confirmation, the release designee will be given a release slip to provide classroom teachers to be allowed access to the child. After swiping out at the front desk, the parent/designated representative may proceed to the classroom. Upon entering the classroom, the parent/ designated representative will sign the child out, annotating his/her name, date, time and signature. This time also provides a prime opportunity to check in on your child’s day with the classroom teacher.

School age children may be swiped out by their parent/designated representative or the child/youth will key their personal identification number (PIN) into CYMS and the parent/designated representative will then sign the child/youth out, as above.

Middle School/Teens (MST) youth participate in an open recreation program, which means they are allowed to enter and depart the facility without a parent/designated representative. Middle School students and Teens will swipe themselves in and out each time they enter or leave the facility.

Child Development Center. (CDC) is located in building 223 is accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood programs (NAEYC). We offer full day, part-day and hourly care for children in rich and stimulating environments where children can develop motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills through a balance of exploration and planned curriculum. Learning activities are designed to support the natural development of children and include individual, small group and large group experiences.

CDC Location

Building 223

0530-1800 Mon thru Friday

Closed on Federal Holidays and some Korean holidays

(http://daegu.korea.army.mil/ you can see USAG approved holidays and training holidays for all CYS programs)

Telephone: 764-4834 from a local cell 050-3364-4834

Full-Day Care. Childcare services offered for children ages 6 weeks – 5 years that meet the needs of parents requiring childcare on a regularly scheduled daily basis (5 to 12 hours per day). Hours of operation for USAG Walker are Monday through Friday.

Part-Day Pre-school Programs. A Part-Day Program is offered for pre-school children 3-5 years. Part-Day fees are prorated for the school term and therefore monthly payments remain the same throughout the school term regardless of the number of days in attendance for the month.

Strong Beginnings Program. The Army Strong Beginnings Pre-K is a program designed to prepare children to be successful to enter school. Curriculum focuses on the social, emotional, and physical development of children; equips them with basic academics and “Kindergarten Classroom Etiquette” skills to enhance “school readiness.”

Children who will be entering Kindergarten the following fall (4 years old prior to 1 Sep) are eligible to attend Strong Beginnings Pre-K.

Strong Beginnings operates Monday through Friday from 0830-1130, with full time wrap around care for families who need care during the hours of center operations.

The Strong Beginnings Pre-K program follows the DODEA American School calendar. This means when DODEA is closed so is the Strong Beginnings Classroom. For families enrolled in Full time wrap around care, care for school out days (teacher work days, winter break, spring break etc.) will be provided for your children however they may be combined with another classroom depending on ratios. For Part Day Pre-K children care for school out days will be provided at the cost of hourly care.

Part Day Programs are billed semi-monthly, and they get billed the same amount on the 1st and 15th of every month even though there are breaks in some months and none in others. The Fees were set up this way so as not prorate every month differently, it is taken in consideration all the breaks and holidays and distributed evenly so the households pay the same every. Families are not paying for the time when school because the Army took that into consideration when they came up with the fees. This is why you are charged the same amount when your child is not here during breaks (e.i. Winter break, Spring Break, and days out). If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you

School date closures are available on the DODEA school website: http://www.daegu-un.pac.dodea.edu/

Hourly Care Program. Childcare services offered for children ages 6 weeks – 12 years that meet the needs of parents requiring childcare on a drop in basis (up to 20 hours per week in the CDC and 8 hours a week in the SAC program). Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 0800 – 1700. Reservations can be made up to two weeks in advance or same day. Fees for hourly care are $4.00 an hour and must be paid at the end of the day. Hourly care spaces are offered in 30 minute increments, on a first come, first served, space available basis.

Before school K- 6th grade(CDC Walker), After Kindergarten at CDC. Meets the needs of parents requiring childcare on a regularly scheduled daily basis (2 – 12 hours per day).

Building 223 Camp Walker CDC Hours of operation for kindergarten are:

0530 – 0800, Monday through Friday

Closed on Federal Holidays and some Korean holidays

(http://daegu.korea.army.mil/ you can see USAG approved holidays and training holidays for all CYS programs)

School Age Center. (SAC) is located in building 257 and is accredited by the Council of Accreditation (COA). Through partnerships with groups such as: 4-H, CHARACTER COUNTS!, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), we help children learn to work with their strengths, interests, and each other, to feel good about themselves, and to grow as individuals. Programs are offered in the core areas of leisure, recreation, and the arts; sport and fitness; life skills, citizenship and leadership; and mentoring and support services.

Building 257;

Hours of operation Monday – Friday