Sunday, October 30, 2011

Reporting Accidents and Incidents


What kinds of accidents and incidents need to be reported to parents? The simple answer is "everything". Anything that might cause a parent to have a question about what happened needs to be documented. A very simple injury or incident can suddenly become a big deal if a parent thinks we are not being honest with them about what actually happened.

Obviously, if a child is injured in our care, our first job is to care for the injured child while still providing proper supervision to the other children. But, once the child is cared for, the next priority is making sure that the child's parent knows exactly what happened and how our staff cared for their child.

As soon as the situation is settled, an Accident/Incident Report must be completed. Delaying a report can cause staff to forget important details.

An Accident/Incident Report must be:
  • Filled out completely as soon as possible; delays can cause staff to forget details.
  • Objective, not subjective. Include only what was directly observed.
  • Signed by the staff member who observed the accident or incident or observed the injury on the child.
  • Reviewed and signed by the Center Director or designee.
  • Properly shared with parents. (Does the parent need to be called or can you notify them of the injury or incident when they pick up their child?)
  • Filed in the child's file for future reference.
Handling accidents and incidents properly can help keep small occurrences from turning into major situations.
Misty

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