Releasing children to people other than parents
Our staff will only release your child to “persons authorized to pick up the child” as you have indicated on your registration form. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, a telephone authorization from you to release your child to another adult will suffice. Our staff exercise considerable caution when releasing a child. Please do not be offended if you or an authorized person is asked for identification when picking up your child, it is for the child’s protection. Persons picking up must be 16 or over for LAP to release your child.

In the event of a divorce or separation that provides custody of the child to one parent and not the other, it is the custodial parent’s responsibility to provide the center with a copy of the custody papers. If not, the center is required by law to release the child to either parent.

If you are late picking up your child
If you are not at the center by closing time, your child is continued to be cared for. However, a late fee of $15 for each 15 minutes or portion thereof will be charged to you. Payment is expected when the child is picked up. Cash Only - This payment will not be charged to your account, but go directly to the teachers who stayed later. If you have not picked up your child by the time the center has been closed for one full hour, and we are unable to contact either you or your emergency contact persons, we will assume that an emergency has occurred, and we will call the local police and the Child Protective Services to pick up your child to insure that he/she is properly cared for.

Notice of Withdrawal/Termination
Please give us a written notice of withdrawal at least 2 weeks prior to your withdrawal date. We reserve the right to charge you 2 weeks’ tuition following your withdrawal date if proper notice is not given. Absent credit cannot be used as notice for withdrawal. The Little Acorn Patch will work to meet the special needs of each child. However, we reserve the right upon written notice to the parent, to terminate any child whose need for special attention becomes a threat to the safety of other children or the staff at the center. If enrollment must be terminated in the middle of the week, we will refund a portion of the tuition fee, prorated on a daily basis. We will make every effort to give one week’s notice; however, we reserve the right to enforce immediate termination.

Our Confidentiality Policy
The Patch emphasizes the importance of protecting the rights and privacy of its children, their families, and its staff. The practice of maintaining the confidentiality of verbal information and written records is a basic ethical policy of the Patch. In conformity with this policy, only surnames of families or children’s first names are used in our monthly newsletter. Children’s first names are used to identify the child’s cot, cubby and art work.

The identity of children and their families may only be released in instances of professional necessity such as in child abuse or neglect, upon written request by parents to release school records to a third party, or upon verbal or written permission by parents to release information such as their telephone number and home address to other parents.

During the year you may wish to send birthday invitations, valentines, or plan for your child to socialize after school hours or on weekends with another child in your child’s class. If you would like a class list of each child enrolled in your child’s class as well as parent addresses and home phone numbers, a list will be circulated for you to sign. If you do not sign the list, your information will be considered confidential and will not be released.

Our health policies
We know that children in child care are susceptible to the transmission of germs. Prevention is an important key. Please encourage your child to wash his/her hands upon entering the center. Please follow the exclusion policy in your enrollment package and arrange for the child to be picked up as soon as possible if (s)he becomes ill at the center to prevent the transmission of illness.

Your child may return to the program with written permission from your physician, or upon being symptom-free for 24 hours. Please keep us up-to-date when immunizations are given so that we may keep a copy of these records on file. We are required by law to have physicals and recent immunizations on file in our center on each child enrolled.

If your child becomes ill at the center, recording a temperature of over 100° F, diarrhea, vomiting, or other signs of contagious disease, you will be called to arrange for your child to be picked up as soon as possible. The child will be separated from the other children until departure from the center. Please keep your child home the next day unless written permission is received from a physician to return to the center.

In the event of an injury or illness requiring emergency medical treatment, every effort will be made to locate one or both parents so that you may pick up your child. Should you not be immediately located and treatment cannot be delayed, the child will be taken to the emergency department of Fairfax Hospital Association by the Fairfax County Rescue Squad. The Authorization For Emergency Treatment form will accompany your child to the hospital so that treatment will not be delayed. If at all possible, a staff member will accompany the child to the hospital.

How we dispense medications

If your child is to receive any type of medication at the center, a medication authorization form, available at the front reception desk, needs to be completed and signed by parent or guardian. Should your child need medication to be administered for more than one calendar week, you will need to fill out a new form for each additional week.

For your at-home planning, medication is administered between 11 A.M. and 12 noon, and between 3 and 4 P.M.

Medication includes prescription medicine and over-the-counter medicines such as cough medicine, cough drops, eye drops, application for diaper rash, dry lips, or sunscreen. Prescription medication is refrigerated, as directed. All medications are kept out of the children’s reach.

To assist the staff, please make sure the medicine is labeled (child’s name, dosage, time of dosage).

If medication needs to be sent home each evening, please indicate your wishes on the medication authorization form. For medications which will need to be administered for a week or longer, you may ask your pharmacist to split the medicine into two portions so that your convenience one may be left at the center. Indicate on the authorization form that the medication is to remain at the center during the medication period.

Liquid medication is administered in a disposable, one-use plastic dosage cup, furnished by little Acorn Patch.

One further note: please hand the medication directly to the greeting staff when you arrive. Do not send your medicine in your child’s back pack or other belongings. When antibiotic treatment of any kind is to be administered during the day, a doctor’s note must be presented when the child is first brought in stating 1) what your child is being treated for, and 2) when your child is no longer contagious and may return to the center. Forms are available at the reception desk for this use. If it is impossible for you to secure a written note from your child’s doctor, a telephone call from your child’s doctor is needed before your child may return. The doctor’s office may speak with administrative staff on duty.

Our biting policy
1. First we give immediate comfort and care to the bitten child.
2. After we have cleaned the wound and the child is comforted, we explain to the biter that he hurt the other child when he bit him., show him the bite mark and tell him, “You may not bite!”
3. We then gently remove the biter from the group temporarily, but do not embarrass or humiliate him. If the biting problem continues and proves to be a problem for the classroom the following steps are taken:
4. We will keep a staff person within arm’s length of the biter at all times to stop the biting action as soon as it becomes apparent that it will occur.
5. Children usually bite due to frustration or stress. We study the environment to see what leads up to the biting incidents. We try to change the environment to lessen the frequency of incidents.
6. If we can find nothing within the environment to cause the continued behavior, we will ask for an appointment with the parents to discuss possible solutions to the problem.

If, even after studying the child, talking with the parents, and following the steps outlined above, the problem continues to put the other children at risk, we may ask that the child be removed from the center until the child is evaluated and, if necessary, counseled for the aggressive behavior.

Our discipline policy
Our goal at Little Acorn Patch is to provide each child with the skills necessary to solve conflicts in a manner that is appropriate and with regard to others’ feelings. We have developed a teaching style, which in partnership with the children, uses problem solving vocabulary to help them identify and resolve problems, and to understand how different solutions affect themselves as well as others. We believe that by beginning these skills early your child will:

1. Be able to recognize a problem before it escalates into a physical confrontation;
2. Be able to offer ideas to solve the problem, and
3. Choose the best possible resolution for everyone involved.

Time-out will only be used as a cool down period when a child is unable to work through the problem solving steps. This is simply a time for the child to calm down until (s)he is ready to re-enter a group activity.

Attendance/Picking up and dropping off
In the interest of safety, always walk your child to and from the center. Please leave your child in the care of a staff person before you leave each day. In addition, you must escort your child to his/her class area at the time of arrival. Classroom activities begin between 8:30 and 9:00 A.M. If you know your child will not be attending for the day, please give us a call as early in the day as possible. Our telephone number is (703) 822-0803. If you need to pick your child up before your usual pickup time or during nap time, please give us a call beforehand so that your child will be ready for you when you arrive.

Our food policies
The Little Acorn Patch provides a breakfast, morning and afternoon snacks, and lunch at no charge for the children enrolled in the full time program. Breakfast is served between 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM. Midmorning snacks are available at approximately 10 AM. Lunch begins
serving at 11:30 A.M. and mid-afternoon snacks are served following nap. All meals and snacks exceed the national standards established by the Child Care Food Program of the USDA. It is Virginia State law and the policy of Little Acorn Patch that no unauthorized food items be brought into the center, except as noted below.

Celebrating birthdays
The morning teacher celebrates each child’s birthday. If you would like to assist in the celebration, here are some helpful hints: To arrange a day for the celebration, please check with your child’s teacher. She will tell you the number of children to plan for. Cookies or ice cream are suggestions. To avoid potential allergic reactions, outside food is not allowed unless prearranged with the front desk staff. Please help us keep the party low key. Do not send in favors such as noise makers, hats, balloons, prizes or presents for the children. Of course, you are welcome to join in your child’s birthday celebration. Picture taking is certainly encouraged.

Transportation/field trip policies
Blanket permission for these walking trips is given on the registration form. Teachers will give you notice of these trips on the daily lunch/nap slips or watch for a notice posted at the reception area. Little Acorn Patch does not own a bus or a van nor do staff transport children by private automobile. In the event that the children are taken on field trips that are not within walking distance, a commercial bus will be chartered. A certificate of insurance from the bus company will be on file at the Patch prior to the field trip. An adult to children ratio of 1:5 is maintained for all transported field trips. Parents are always invited to accompany the children to help make the trip safer and more enjoyable. Parents may feel free to bring along cameras to record the event.

SAFETY RULES FOR FIELD TRIPS
1. Children and staff stay together as a group.
2. Each teacher is responsible for her class.
3. Each child will wear a name tag with his first name, name of school, and phone number of the school - prepared by the child’s teacher.
4. During the transported field trip, if a child cannot respond to rules, he will be assigned to one adult alone.
5. An adult will accompany a child to the rest room.
6. A minimum of two adults will always remain with the group.
7. Children must dress appropriately for the trip.

Our snow closing policy
We will try to open our center as soon as possible on snowy mornings, as we do not parallel the Fairfax County Public Schools closing or late openings. However, If Fairfax County schools are closed and roads are extremely hazardous, please call the center to determine if we are open. On questionable mornings, several parents may be trying to call at the same time. In this instance, the phone may sound busy; a “busy” phone does not necessarily mean we are open. Wait a few minutes and try calling again. In general, you may expect that if the Fairfax County public schools and the Federal government are closed, The Little Acorn Patch will also closed. During the day, if weather conditions become hazardous, we will remain open until the last child has been picked up; however, because of commuting problems which usually occur, it is suggested that you make arrangements to get your child home as early in the day as possible. The government closes during the day, we will begin to call parents for pickup. A staff person will remain at the center until all children have been picked up.