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| Our Center | Meals | Rates | Coupons | Policies |
One Hour Minimum Stay, Ages 2 to 12 years old, socks required. Gimme-A-Break is a state licensed drop-in childcare center. The center is open six days a week and is staffed by personnel that is trained in CPR/First Aid and has experience with children. The center does not provide transportation.
All personal belongings and clothing should be clearly marked. We do ask that no personal items be brought into the center. Any personal items left at the center will be put into lost and found and donated after one months time.
The center offers several activities for your child’s development. Each child will be provided with experiences which encourage self-esteem and positive self-image, social interaction, self-expression and communication skills, creative expression, large and small muscle development and intellectual growth. There will be active and quiet activities, individual and group activities. Some of the activities include crafts, story time, painting, circle games, movie theatre, Lego area with ramp, dramatic play area with stage and lights, karaoke, kitchen play center and video games.
Snacks are provided each morning, afternoon and evening. Check with the director for the exact times. If your child will be at the center over mealtime, a sack meal must be provided. It must provide one-third of the child’s daily food requirements. The sack meals will be stored appropriately and must be ready to serve. No microwavable meals. If a meal is not left and the child is there over a mealtime, the parent will be called and asked if they want us to feed them a sandwich and juice. There will be a $4.00 charge for this service. No gum or hard candy is allowed in the center.
On your child’s first visit to Gimme-A-Break, you will be asked to complete and sign a registration form which will be kept on file. For each subsequent visit, we will have a daily check-in card that must be filled out for that day only. Your child will then receive a bracelet with their name, cubby number and a password that you have given the center. There are no contracts to sign. You bringing your child to our center is strictly on an hourly basis. Payment is due when the child is picked up. No refunds will be given. When picking up your child, they will only be released to the person noted on the daily check-in card or to an authorized person on the registration form. WE HAVE TO BE NOTIFIED IN THE EVENT A DIFFERENT PERSON WILL BE PICKING UP YOUR CHILD AND THIS PERSON MUST EITHER BE ON THE LIST OR KNOW THE PASSWORD SET UP BY THE PARENT AND HAVE PICTURE ID. Please understand this is done solely for the protection of the child. If this criteria is not met, the child will stay at the center until an authorized person is able to pick them up. The charges for each visit are calculated to the nearest minute with a one hour minimum charge. Payment is due immediately upon picking up the child. There will be a late charge of $1.00 per minute per child past closing time until they are picked up. This charge will start when the parent is five minutes late to allow for a few minutes difference in our clocks and will go back to the hour of closing once the parent if over five minutes late. There will be a $40 service charge for any returned checks.
The State of South Dakota requires that the center receives a record of your child’s immunizations on your next visit to the center and these must be kept up to date. Medications may only be administered with the written consent of the parent or guardian. Medications must be kept in their original container with the original label showing directions for use, the expiration date, the child’s name, and the physician’s name. A drug container without a label or with an illegible label is not permitted. Medications will be stored in a locked container, which is inaccessible to children. Medication requiring refrigeration must be placed in another nonabsorbent locked container and labeled medications. Do not bring a child who has had a fever or has vomited in the past 24 hours. If a child becomes sick during the day, the child will be separated from the others and the parents will be contacted to pick up the child. The staff will administer aid to minor cuts and bruises when applicable. In the event of a medical emergency, your child will be transported to an appropriate medical facility by ambulance if the emergency source deems necessary. The child will be transported at the expense of the parents. Parents must sign the medical emergency release on our registration form. A thorough record will be kept of any accidents and entered into our accident log. If a child or staff member contracts a communicable disease, all parents of exposed children will be notified as well as the Department of Health.
All staff members and volunteers are required to read and sign a statement which defines child abuse/neglect and states reporting requirements. Any staff member who feels that a child in this center may have been abused/neglected is required by law to immediately report to the Director who will inform the Department of Social Services or law enforcement agency. The Director must then ensure that the alleged abuse/neglect will not recur, pending investigation. Protection will be provided if it is felt that the child may be in immediate danger by temporarily suspending him or her until the investigation has been completed. Continued employability of any staff member or volunteer involved in an incident or child abuse/neglect will be evaluated. No staff member nor volunteer will have a substantiated report of Child Abuse/Neglect.
Fire drills are held four times a year and tornado drills are held once a year. Emergency evacuation drills are practiced each year. In case of emergency evacuation, children and staff will follow plans posted at the center. For fire evacuation, children are instructed to use exits as posted and proceed outside and away from the building as directed.
Children will be expected to handle themselves in a socially acceptable manner. Any discipline will incorporate positive guidance, redirection of energy and setting of reasonable limits. Any peer pressure as a discipline measure and any humiliating or frightening form of punishment is prohibited. For all the children’s safety, children who are exceptionally aggressive towards other children or staff will be asked not to return to the center until there is a significant improvement in their behavior. We do require that each child be able to play independently and without extra assistance by the staff. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin or sex.
In the event your child is involved in an accident while at our center and requires medical attention, our insurance covers any amount that your own insurance will not pay, up to $1,000.
Gimme-A-Break will report changes of circumstances which may affect our ability to comply with licensing rules, i.e. new program location, building renovations/remodeling, suspected in-house child abuse/neglect, ownership change or new Director.
All childcare supervisors are of 18 years of age. All secondary childcare workers are at least 14 years of age and are under direct and constant supervision of an adult. Our director, the person who plans and implements the program, has the appropriate degree and experience to do so. Any volunteers used to fill staff member positions meet the requirements for the position filled.