Who Should Be On Your Authorized Pick-Up List?
"Everyone you can!"
That was the suggestion of a family child care provider at my workshop in St. Peter, Minnesota this week.
She told the group that she asks all parents to be on the authorized pick-up lists of every child in her program!
I'd never heard of this idea before. She explained that it gave her great flexibility when a parent couldn't pick up their child or there was an emergency. Parents also put the provider's husband on their authorized lists.
She said that one day she fell and broke her leg while caring for children. After calling for an ambulance, she contacted her husband who took all of the children home.
I think including all parents and husbands on an authorized pick-up list is a wonderful policy. It should be voluntary, but I imagine that the vast majority of parents would want to participate.
Here are some other suggestions about establishing and managing your pick-up list:
Biological parents (or parents who have legal custody such as a guardian or adopted parent) have the right to pick up their child unless a court has taken away their rights. This means that a parent cannot prevent the other parent from picking up their child simply by leaving them off the authorized pick-up list.
I recommend that you meet everyone who is list on your pick-up list before they come to pick up a child. Make a copy of their driver's license so you (or your helper) will recognize them when they come later.
If the child needs to be transported in a car seat, insist that everyone on the pick-up list must be trained in how to properly install the car seat and buckle the child in.
You can take anyone off an authorized pick-up list if you want, with two exceptions. First, you can't deny the child to the biological parent (see the first bullet point). Second, you can't take someone off the list because of illegal discrimination (race, sex, religion, ethnic background, national origin or disability). This means you can take someone off the list for any other reason: an old boyfriend, an obnoxious grandmother, a person who you don't think is a responsible driver, etc.
I like this policy a lot. But, perhaps there are downsides to it that I'm not aware. What do you think of the idea of asking all parents to be on everyone else's authorized pick-up list?
Tom Copeland - www.tomcopelandblog.com
Image credit: https://winnie.com/place/new-creations-child-care-learning-center-saint-paul
