- Write and enforce a policy regarding the care of children, indicating who may serve as volunteers.
- Assign additional volunteers if using the bathroom requires a child to leave the nursery.
- Use a practical physical process to identify a child with his or her parents, such as matching tags, pagers, or photos.
- Obtained signed releases from parents to allow siblings or grandparents to pick up a child from nursery.
- A church nursery coordinator should assign volunteers to each nursery and approve all substitutes. All nursery workers should be known by the nursery coordinator.
- Install videocameras to record who enters and leaves the nursery or the church.
- Use cell phones, walkie-talkies, or a panic button to alert ushers or church officials if there is a problem in the nursery.
- Lock outside doors near the nursery during the church service.
For more resources on nursery safety, visit www.thebanner.org and scroll down to the September news stories for the appropriate links.
