Check-In & Check-Out Procedures

Contents Safety & Quality Guide

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Check-In & Check-Out is where we first meet guardians and campers leave with their story of the day. These times are critical to the perception of both guardians and campers regarding their experience.

Check-In

Check-In is our students’ (and parents’) first impression of us. It is important to welcome and greet everyone as they walk in the door or approach your group. This is especially crucial for guaridans trusting us with their children and for kids who don’t know who you are!

Greetings are also a crucial security procedure. If someone arrives who should not be there, greeting them right away will ensure you will be the first to identify and respond to them with positivity. This can help deescalate a potentially negative situation and will distance them from participants.

Remember Be friendly. Smile. Learn and use names. This is one of the only times guardians see you with their children.

Check-In Tips:

• Greet arriving participants with your name and request theirs. Let them know you’re happy to meet them or glad to see them again. Use their name again as soon as possible.
• Determine which group they are in, if necessary.
• If you are traveling that day, tell participants and parents where you are going. Again use their names frequently.
• Smoothly integrate new arrivals into the group’s activity-in-progress.
• Keep students engaged with sit-down circle activities that are safe, well- planned, and theme-related. Check with your Coordinator if you need ideas.
• Early in the program, provide fair experiences and avoid winner/loser games to prevent early drama.
• Keep volume down, a must in noisy locations.
• Set positive tone for the day.

Check-In Procedures:

• Check waiver release. Participants without one must have it filled out before program begins.
• Ensure student is on roster and has complete participant information. If they aren’t on roster, check with Coordinator for proper paperwork. Do not write their name on the roster without checking with your Coordinator first!
• Get legal names. Don’t use nicknames for Check-In.
• Check to see if participants have any personal gear that is breakable, valuable, or potentially distracting or hazardous (e.g. phone, camera, carving knife, etc). Make a plan with parent and participant for boundaries of its use and care, or politely request that the parent take it home for safekeeping.
• Ask the person dropping off for the names of all custodial, legal guardians of the child who could possibly pick up (grandparents, neighbors, babysitter, etc). Note these on the roster.
• Remind the person dropping off that all people picking up a child must be on our list and must show photo ID every day (yes, everyone; yes, every day).
• Double-check emergency contact phone numbers.
• Remind the person dropping off about program pick-up time.
• Clarify any medical or behavioral issues and notes.
• Identify medications that must stay with student (EpiPens, inhalers, insulin injectors, etc).
• Inform Coordinator of student medications.

Ask these questions of both Guardian and Camper to assure every child is well prepared:

1. Do they have a water bottle filled with water?
2. Do they have a lunch + snacks for the day?
3. Any allergies or medical information we should know?
4. Are they wearing sunscreen?
5. Are they ready for the weather (clothing, footwear, and gear)?
6. Do they have their Trackers Stick?
7. Does your child bring a wood carving knife? Is it safely in their backpack?
8. Who is on your list of authorized pick-ups? Will they have an ID?

Check-Out

Making a good impression during Check-Out is just as important as it is during Check-In. This is the final impression kids, adult students, and parents have of Our program. How you talk with parents and students during Check-Out influences the conversation they have after they leave us. A student’s emotional state when they leave will be their assumed emotional state for the whole day. A child who had the best day of their life at camp, but a dull Check-Out experience, may report it as the “worst day ever.”

Remember Follow all rules to send kids home with the right person, NOT a kidnapper.

Check-Out Tips:

• Greet the person picking up by name if you know it, if you don’t know it, greet them with your name and ask for theirs.
• Say goodbye to your students by name, and ensure they leave knowing you’re looking forward to seeing them next time.
• Keep students engaged with sit-down circle activities that are safe, well- planned, and theme-related. Check with your Coordinator if you need ideas.
• Provide fair experiences and avoid “winner/loser” games to prevent drama at the end of the program.
• If you play physical games during Check-Out, kids can get “wound up” just before parents arrive to get them. When they leave, we are no longer available to help de-escalate their experience.
• Keep volume down, a must in noisy locations.
• Remind adult participants and parents to fill out an evaluation form.

Check-Out Procedures:

• Photo Identification is Required from any adult picking up the participant for release. Name on ID must match name on roster. Acceptable forms of ID are:
  • Passport
  • State-issued driver license or ID card
• If the person picking up has no identification, notify the Coordinator immediately.
• If person picking up is not on approved pick-up list ALL these criteria must be met:
  • Call only the number listed on the original Registration to get additional pick-up names.
  • Do not release the student until you get approval from approved contact person.
  • Please Note The emergency contact person is not valid for updating approved pick-up.
• If parent calls in to update approved pick-up list, verify the phone number with caller ID or email. It must match the contact information on original Registration Form.
• Occasionally a parent may get upset about showing identification. Be polite while also being very clear that you still need to check ID for proper check-out procedures—even if you recognize the parent. Try the following statements:
  • “We’re like the airport, we ID everyone.”
  • “While I recognize you, I may not know every parent. Showing me your ID helps me be fair.”
  • “While I recognize you, asking for ID every time ensures that I never forget to ask.”
• If an individual is not approved for pick-up and becomes aggressive, notify your Coordinator.
• Return medication to guardian.
• If there were any behavioral issues or other incidents during the day that require anything other than positive observations, call your Coordinator to facilitate that conversation. Do not attempt to have any conversation other than positive feedback with a parent without your Coordinator present.

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Next Article Appropriate Interactions >>