Original Date of Issue: December 15, 2021
Revised

I. Introduction

Delaware County Community College (DCCC) is committed to providing a work and educational environment that facilitates safety for those present in the teaching and learning environment. DCCC also values its employees and students and recognizes the importance that families fulfill in the lives of employees and students. The purpose of this policy is to address and outline the circumstances under which minor children may be present in the workplace or classroom.

DCCC has zero tolerance for child abuse and has adopted a separate Policy on Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting. Please refer to that Policy 7.16 for information regarding how to report suspected child abuse.

II. Definitions

Minor Children - individuals under the age of 18.

Enrolled Minor - an individual under the age of 18, who is an enrolled student at DCCC.

Non-Student Minor Child - a minor child who is not enrolled at DCCC.

Parent -Any employee, adult or student who has responsibility for a Non-Student Minor Child, while on DCCC property regardless of the employee’s or student’s relationship to the child.

III. Policy

Generally, Minor Children (unless Enrolled Minors) are not allowed in the workplace or classroom and must be under the immediate supervision of a Parent/legal guardian elsewhere on the College campuses. Non-Student Minor Children are permitted to participate in events sanctioned by the College or in college-sponsored educational activities.

Non-Student Minor Children shall not be left unattended or unsupervised while on DCCC property.Such unattended or unsupervised Minor Children may constitute an endangerment to the welfare of a child, resulting in the notification of appropriate authorities (i.e., supervisor, Security).

The College assumes no liability for any injury incurred by Non-Student Minor Children who are unsupervised or unattended while they are on DCCC property.

Exceptions to this general rule include:

a. Enrolled Minors.

b. Brief visits accompanied by Parent, e.g., an employee brings his/her child, grandchild or other minor relative to introduce that child to co-workers, provided the employee supervises the child(ren) at all times during the visit.

c. In the event of an emergency, and if there are no other alternatives, Parent employees may have children present in the workplace for brief periods of time provided the Parent obtains the immediate supervisor’s prior approval, at the supervisor’s discretion. Similarly, in the event of an emergency, and if there are no alternatives, at the discretion of the instructor, students who are parents may have children present in the classroom for brief periods of time provided the Parent obtains the instructor’s prior approval. Such arrangements are only to be temporary in nature and may be granted only in circumstances where the employee and supervisor or the student and instructor have considered and satisfactorily addressed the factors set forth in the paragraph below.

The exceptional circumstances under which Non-Student Minor Children may be brought into a particular workplace or classroom setting should be established in a discussion between the employee and supervisor or the student and the instructor, respectively, taking into account the following factors:

a. Whether the Parent is willing to accept full responsibility for the Minor Child at all times, including the Minor Child’s safety, for any damage to property or injury to persons that is caused by the child’s presence, other disruption or interference with workplace or classroom activities.

b. When considering the presence of Minor Children on campus, the extent to which the Minor Child’s presence in the workplace or the classroom creates a potential danger to the Minor Child or exposes the department and DCCC to liability. Safety is a primary concern for Parents, supervisors, instructors and DCCC.

c. The extent to which the Minor Child’s presence in the workplace or the classroom poses a risk of breach of confidentiality with respect to information in the workplace or classroom.

d. The extent to which the Minor Child’s presence in the workplace or in the classroom disrupts or has the potential to disrupt the work or classroom environment and/or creates an atmosphere that is not conducive to achievement of the specific goals and objectives of the workplace or classroom.

e. The parent student or employee must agree to supervise the child at all times and agree that he/she will not leave the child with another individual on campus.

f. Such other factors as the supervisor or instructor deems appropriate.