Child Guidance Procedures

1. Child Guidance Procedures Overview

2. Performance Standard • 1304.52 (i) (1) Grantee and delegate agencies must ensure that all staff, consultants, and volunteers abide by the program's standards of conduct. These standards must specify that: (iv) They will use positive methods of child guidance and will not engage in corporal punishment, emotional or physical abuse, or humiliation. In addition, they will not employ methods of discipline that involve isolation, the use of food as punishment or reward, or the denial of basic needs.

3. “South Plains Community Action Association, Inc. recognizes the earliest years can set the stage for lifetime emotional well-being, social skills and competencies or can be the basis for social-emotional problems in later years.” -Child Guidance Procedures, p. 1 We are responsible for shaping the future!

4. Conscious Discipline Framework • Feeling safe, connected, and loved in the community of a “school family” promotes positive behaviors. • The power to control oneself and one’s reactions comes from within. • Teachers are able to consciously model positive behaviors and discipline strategies. • Conflict is inevitable in any classroom and provides opportunities for children to learn new skills and coping strategies. http://beckybailey.com p. 1

5. General Information for Parents • There is no single right or best way to raise a child. Parenting is the hardest job there is and no parent should expect to be perfect at it. Just do your best and your child will be fine! • Clear, consistent expectations and boundaries are vital for every child’s development. • It is normal for children to experience a wide variety of emotions. They need to know it’s okay and be taught how to appropriately express those emotions. p. 2-3

6. Dual Language Learners • Refers to those children who learn two or more languages at the same time. • SPCAA Head Start/ Early Head Start embraces all people and cultures. We will do what is needed to accommodate dual language learners and their families.

7. Purpose of Child Guidance Procedures • Is to provide some helpful information and practical suggestions for working with children and managing behaviors, both at home and in a classroom setting • Is NOT to cover every possible situation that may come up • It is a requirement that SPCAA HS/ EHS staff and parents read the Child Guidance Procedures thoroughly and sign the appropriate page upon receipt p. 4

8. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: Child Guidance Guidelines Discipline must be: • Individualized and consistent for each child; • Appropriate to the child’s level of understanding; and • Directed toward teaching the child acceptable behavior and self-control. A caregiver may only use positive methods of discipline and guidance that encourage self-esteem, self-control, and self-direction, which include at least the following: • Using praise and encouragement of good behavior instead of focusing only upon unacceptable behavior; • Reminding a child of behavior expectations daily by using clear, positive statements; • Redirecting behavior using positive statements; and • Using brief supervised separation or time out from the group, when appropriate for the child’s age and development, which is limited to no more than one minute per year of the child’s age. p. 5

9. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: Child Guidance Guidelines There must be no harsh, cruel or unusual treatment of any child. The following types of discipline and guidance are prohibited: • Corporal punishment or threats of corporal punishment; • Punishment associated with food, naps or toilet training; • Pinching, shaking or biting a child; • Hitting a child with a hand or instrument; • Putting anything in or on a child’s mouth; • Humiliating, ridiculing, rejecting or yelling at a child; • Subjecting a child to harsh, abusive or profane language; • Placing a child in a locked or dark room, bathroom or closet with the door closed; and • Requiring a child to remain silent or inactive for inappropriately long periods of time for the child’s age. p. 5

10. Behavior Observation Procedures • Discusses the NEW form used at grantee sites to document behavior and how to complete the form • Pay attention to extreme changes in child’s mood, behavior, play, etc., and document with the Behavior Observation Form • Remember: If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen! • After 5 Behavior Observation Forms: • Complete a Mental Health/Disabilities ICOPA (Individualized Child Outcome Plan of Action) • Refer to MH/D with parent’s permission using Mental Health & Disabilities Referral Form p. 6

11. Positive Discipline & Guidance (NEW) “SPCAA Head Start & Early Head Start uses an approach to discipline and guidance that emphasizes respect for each child, developmentally appropriate expectations of children’s behavior, and the use of positive discipline and guidance strategies… Discipline concerns are handled by staff in a way that encourages children to solve problems and develop a sense of inner self-control. Children are given authentic choices and the opportunity to be an active part of decision-making in their environment, thus fostering a sense of personal responsibility.” p. 7

12. Positive Discipline & Guidance • Staff can use a variety of positive discipline and guidance methods, including: • Planning ahead • Setting realistic expectations • Providing positive choices of what the child can do instead of telling them what they can’t do • Modeling • Helping children deal with feelings through words, pretend play, breathing exercises, and/or use of a “safe place” • Helping children understand the consequences of their actions, and use problem-solving skills to develop solutions • Encouraging children’s growing sense of independence • Acknowledging when children show self-control • Helping children refrain from dwelling on mistakes, so they can learn to move on p. 7-8

13. Time Out • Should be no longer than one minute per year of a child’s age • Is most effective when used infrequently and combined with other discipline methods • Should not be carried out in a threatening manner p. 9

14. Developmental Red Flags • Vision • Often squints, tilts or turns head to look at angles • Frequently rubs eyes or complains that eyes hurt • Hearing • Attention during music or story time is often less than 5 minutes • Turns the same ear towards a sound s/he wishes to hear • Social-Emotional/Mental Health • Over-reacts to unexpected stimuli (loud noises, sirens) • Does not play group games, like hide and seek, with other children by age 4 • Motor • Unable to balance on one foot for a short time by age 4 • Hands are shaky or clumsy when doing fine motor tasks p. 10-11

15. Developmental Red Flags • Speech • Is not using at least 50-100 words by age 2 • Cannot repeat common rhymes or TV jingles by age 3 • Does not follow simple verbal directions • Cognitive • Cannot answer simple questions about a story by age 3 • Does not give reasonable answers to such questions as “What do you do when you are sleepy?” or “What do you do when you are hungry?” by age 4 • Child Abuse/Neglect • If his reports of home life appear “too good to be true” • Nervous or extremely affectionate with one parent • Health/Chronic Disease • Yellow, blue, or very pale color • Continuing ear infections p. 12-13

16. Child Guidance Procedures • Mental Health Referral Procedures- p. 13-14 • Mental Health & Disability Referral Procedures- p. 15-16

17. Naptime Procedures • Child-staff ratios are to be maintained at ALL TIMES • Naptime should be no longer than 90 min • Children are NOT forced to sleep, close eyes or cover head • If a child refuses to lie down, s/he will be provided with a quiet place to play and activities to help him/her relax (this is not cause for a Behavioral Observation Form) • Offers of candy or stickers are bribes and do NOT help children develop self-control p. 17-18

18. Toileting • Children will NOT be denied access into the program as a result of whether or not they’re toilet trained • Teachers and parents will collaborate and agree on a toilet training strategy • Toileting facilities are modified to be inviting and developmentally appropriate • SPCAA HS/EHS will provide necessary diapers, wipes, etc. • Parents should provide change of clothes • Remember: Children develop at different rates! p. 19

19. Child Guidance Procedures • Staff are to read and sign page 20 • Original goes in TDFPS folder • Copy is sent to HR • Parents read and sign page 21 • Original goes in Child’s Brown Folder • Copy is given to parent/guardian

20. Questions? (806) 792-8815 Jennifer Crookham jcrookham@spcaa.org Blanca Herron  bherron@spcaa.org Leigh Wells  lwells@spcaa.org