A Systems Approach

Managing a child and youth program is challenging and complicated. Your program is a complex system comprised of many parts that are interdependent (people, facilities, resources). Each part contributes to the system’s overall purpose but no part can achieve that purpose by itself. Failure to achieve desired results is caused by a failure in the system.

A systems approach helps you find solutions to problems by looking for patterns and making adjustments based on feedback. For example, several times a week you have to send a staff member to cover ratio in a particular school-age classroom (problem). You could either continue to send someone to cover when the issue arises, or you could determine that a particular staff member is leaving early every Monday and Wednesday (pattern). Once you recognize that there is a pattern in behavior, the situation can be addressed in a more systemic way.

组织专家Peter Scholtes将系统描述为“在相互依存，相互作用和序列方面对现实的一般反射或习惯”。展示这是如何工作的，想想孩子在操场上。相互依赖的依赖性是位于地区以提供积极监督的工作人员;互动是工作人员与彼此互相沟通的工作人员，了解掉猴子酒吧的孩子的地位;在进入操场之前以及退出操场时，序列是面对名的头部计数。这个例子表明，在操场上保持儿童和青年安全的系统。

A lack of systems thinking is evident in your program if:

• Getting through the day is the norm instead of focusing on long-term planning.
• Blame prevails instead of focusing on the root causes of problems.
• 个人成就比关注实现计划目标更重要。

As a manager, you must recognize the importance of systems, implement effective systems, and think systematically in order to achieve results. The most important systems in your program are those that keep children and youth safe from harm.

创造合规文化

当家庭在您的计划中留下孩子时，他们期望在他们离开时完全挑选孩子。在日常工作中没有比保护委托人免受伤害所委托的孩子和青年更重要。你一个人不能让孩子和青年在你的节目安全;您必须依赖他人的承诺（员工，家庭和儿童）来做他们的零件，并有系统来监控与您的遵守情况PUBLIC程式安全法规和政策。但是，由您展示不安全实践的零容忍度。作为经理，你所说的和你所做的事情创造了一个关于保护儿童和青年免受伤害的计划文化。

Risk Management and Mitigation

As the manager, it’s your responsibility to manage and mitigate risks before they can pose serious harm. To do this, you need to ensure that a documented risk-management plan is in place and staff are trained in all aspects so it is executed to specifications.

As the manager you should have your staff conduct daily inspections using the playground safety checklist, classroom safety checklist, and facility checklist to ensure concerns are identified and reported. The concerns are recorded to document when the request was submitted and completed to ensure the risk was addressed. This proactive and collaborative process mitigates and manages risks before they can lead to harm.

There's an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The majority of childhood accidents and tragedies in this country could have been prevented. When you make the safety of children and youth your top priority and utilize safety systems, you and your staff become risk mitigators.

系统记录

One of the most effective strategies for minimizing risk is to maintain a record-keeping system that addresses collection, storage, access, release and disposal of confidential and nonconfidential information. Effective managers realize that this is so much more than paperwork; they realize that the effective management of information protects and even saves lives.

Your day-to-day work involves multiple record-keeping systems, from maintaining ratios to maintaining your facility. Refer to yourPUBLIC程式Standard Operating Procedures for specific instructions for each record-keeping system you use.

Here are a few general things to consider when it comes to record-keeping systems. It is common for schools to have nut-free zones even if there are only a few children who have allergies. Why? Because it eliminates the risk of inconsistent compliance to policies and procedures. The inconsistent application of safety policies and regulations negates the benefits of the entire system and increases the risk of harm.

记录保存有助于防止不合格的人伤害儿童。它保护儿童免受未经授权的人捡起药物的错误剂量。记录保存系统使员工和家庭通知有关具有特殊保健需求的适当行动。一个有效的系统使车辆能够正确检查，并确保操场和设施是安全的。

As a facility manager, you must have zero tolerance when it comes to employing people who are unfit to work with children and youth. You are responsible for ensuring that children are cared for by qualified personnel. It is administrative negligence if background checks are not processed timely or if results aren't read as soon as they are received.

Staff members need to exercise diligence when it comes to knowing who can and cannot pick up children and youth. Staff cannot be timid about asking for an ID to see if it matches a name on the pickup authorization form. If the person is authorized, they shouldn't mind showing identification.

Here are some management practices that support a systems approach:

• Read and thoroughly understand yourPUBLIC程式Standard Operating Procedures.
• 了解你的命令链。
• Know how to access government websites that provide electronic updates of regulatory requirements, such as signing up for alerts from the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
• Utilize technology to support compliance-monitoring efforts.
• 利用电子机制跟踪合规监控和更新儿童和工作人员的文件。
• Meet regularly with your program team to update program safety policies and practices when regulatory changes are made and seek input from staff, families, and stakeholders.
• Communicate regulatory changes to staff and families immediately in writing.
• Provide training to staff and families when changes in standards are announced.
• Use time at staff meetings to review the effectiveness of policies and procedures or issues related to compliance; use if-then scenarios to identify potential issues and solutions.
• 创建一个风险管理计划，该计划识别疑虑和不合规，监测过程，纠正措施和时间表的议定书，以解决非符合人数。
• Address issues immediately and implement systems to ensure they don't recur.
• Continue to learn about management principles and apply new approaches in your day-to-day work.
• Maintain an electronic tracking system for the submission and results of background checks.
• Maintain a record-keeping system that addresses collection, storage, access, release and disposal of confidential information.

正在进行的专业发展

作为设施经理，您有责任确保工作人员填写并展示所需安全培训的能力，以便预防或应对伤害和疾病。参考你的PUBLIC程式list of required trainings.

急救and CPR

Your staff must be certified in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Most likely, first aid will be administered to at least one child or youth each day while in your program. Children and youth are active, and even when safety systems are in place, injuries will occur.

无论伤害的类型如何，您的员工都知道该工作的必要条件，因为这些是将定期使用的技能。同样重要的是确保工作人员随时可以获得完全库存的急救用品。紧急情况不是时间在寻找物资时运行的时间。参考你的PUBLIC程式requirements for first-aid kits.

No one ever wants to be in an emergency situation, but everyone wants someone who is trained if an emergency arises. There are many ways to keep on top of required trainings; the important thing is to use a method that works for you.

Inappropriate Guidance and Discipline

You need to make clear to your staff that inappropriate discipline will not be tolerated and that if it occurs, dismissal may be the only course of action. What is appropriate and what is not should be addressed during orientation and on an ongoing basis both by you and your trainer.

您需要在持续的基础上向您的员工传达，以便他们必须认识到他们的限制，如果他们接近突破点，他们需要召唤帮助。如果工作人员看到另一名员工开始失去控制，那也是如此。没有干预，压力可以升级到一个涉及的每个人都受到伤害的虐待情况。

While there are specific safety training requirements for staff, it's also important that there be ongoing professional development related to safety practices. The following are topics that should be offered on a regular basis to ensure that staff members are up-to-date with safety standards and procedures.

安全睡眠和肚子时间实践

关心婴儿的工作人员需要正在进行的培训，加强婴儿的睡眠地位是生死攸关的问题。在过去的几年里，从婴儿死亡综合征（SIDS）中死亡的婴儿人数发生了显着下降，部分原因是回归睡眠努力。在将婴儿放在背部睡觉时，可以存在员工阻力，但它无法容忍。有互联网演示文稿是您可以用来推动主题的重要性的伟大信息来源。值得重复的是，警惕的监督对于保持婴儿安全在睡眠和肚子的时间内是至关重要的。

Responding To Injury and Illness

提供关于如何应对伤害和疾病的持续培训，协助工作人员记住您的PUBLIC计划的政策. Knowing what to do when reduces the risk of further injury and the spread of disease. This topic will be covered in greater depth in the Healthy course.

施用药物

虽然本课题将在健康课程中更详细地探讨，但了解与施用药物相关的安全风险非常重要。根据医学研究所，每年医院都会出现400,000名可预防的毒品伤害。即使用过培训的医疗专业人员管理药物，也会发生这些伤害。想象一下，您的计划受伤的机会，在没有医学培训的工作人员管理的地方。

To administer medication correctly, it's imperative that you have systems in place to ensure that the right children get the right medicine at the right time. Any misstep can have life-threatening consequences.

Management Practices That Support Training and Ongoing Professional Development

The chart below summarizes your key responsibilities when it comes to ensuring that staff members receive and are competent in required training and ongoing professional development.

Systems Matter