CHARGE Syndrome Foundation - Conference 2009: Childcare Information and Policies

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9th International CHARGE Syndrome Conference

Childcare Information and Policies

Childcare Information

We are happy to be able once again to provide childcare during the program session times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Only children who have registered in advance will be allowed to participate in childcare. The childcare registration is a separate registration process and is available online. If you prefer a hard copy of the registration, please call our office at 1-800-442-7604. Additionally, you must register your child in person with the childcare company, Corporate Kids Events, at the hotel before your child can enter childcare. There will be registration on Thursday from noon until 6:00pm and on Friday from 6:30am until 9:00am and 4:00-6:00pm. We encourage you to register your child on Thursday if at all possible to speed up the process on Friday morning.

There will be increased structure in the childcare areas this year. Each family will be given a complete schedule of the events in childcare. You can view a sample of such a schedule from another conference below. Ours may have totally different activities, but will have the same level of structure.

Sample Childcare Schedule from Corporate Kids Events (PDF, 14.2KB)

Two Options for Childcare Area This Year

We are pleased to announce that, in response to requests and feedback from earlier conferences, we have two options this year from which you can choose in the childcare area, Camp Discovery and Camp Explorer. Parents may choose either camp for any child. Camp Explorer will have more structure and a lower staff to child ratio for those parents who think their children would benefit from such an environment. There will be time when participants from both camps will be together for certain activities. There will be a Sensory Room through which all campers will cycle and which will be available on a limited basis if campers need a space/time to calm down.

Sibling Workshops

By popular demand, we will again have three SIBSHOPS conducted at the conference. These are workshops for the siblings of individuals with CHARGE. In the SIBSHOPS, children 8-13 years of age have the chance to talk with each other about what it means to have a brother or sister with CHARGE. The SIBSHOPS will be conducted by a group from the Tennessee School for the Deaf. Each year, the children who participate in these workshops give them the highest possible ratings. If you want your child to participate, register your child early; attendance is limited to 12-15 per workshop. Youth and young adults who are 14 years or older can participate as Junior Leaders. They need to register as well; there are positions for three Junior Leaders for each of the three workshops.

Childcare & Youth Services Policies

The CHARGE Syndrome Foundation provides childcare and youth services at the conference as a support for parents to enable them to attend program sessions. It is not meant to be an instructional setting, but "sitting" with children with some added structure. The Foundation does not provide one-on-one support in childcare although it is available for an additional fee ($138.00 per child) arranged directly with the childcare company no later than June 15, 2009.

In response to family feedback from previous conferences, two childcare settings will be available at the 2009 conference in order to provide options for families. One camp will have more structure, a lower staff to child ratio and a sensory room for families who believe their child will benefit from greater structure. Parents will choose which camp they prefer for their child and if a change is necessary at the conference, the childcare company will do everything possible to accommodate the change. Siblings can remain together and age group assignments within each camp will be made based on the input of the parents and not on the chronological age alone. Some activities will occur with the two camps together.

Other guidelines are as follows:

Parents must pre-register their children with Coroporate Kids Events. Online registration is available from the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation web site.
Parents must register their children at the conference at the scheduled times as outlined in the conference program schedule.
There will be no medical care in the childcare area. Parents are responsible for all medically related activities including, but not limited to, medication administration, tube feedings, suctioning, etc.
No one-on-one sign language interpreting will be available in childcare; however, there will be some staff who sign in order to facilitate communication with children who sign.
No food will be brought into the childcare area in order to avoid any food allergy complications. If snacks are needed, parents may take the child outside the childcare area for the snack.
Diapers will not be changed by staff for children above the age of 4 years. Parents will be called to the childcare area to change diapers for children older than 4.
Childcare providers (nurses, aides, etc.) brought by families, who intend to stay in the childcare area with the child, will need to go through the same background check procedures as all childcare staff and volunteers.
People who are not registered with childcare may not enter the childcare area. Nametags are required to be worn by anyone entering the childcare area, including parents/caregivers, etc.
Siblings can be grouped together if requested by the family. Additionally, siblings may enter childcare to check on their sibling as long as parents have indicated that is okay when registering the child at the conference.
Anyone picking up a child from the childcare area will be required to present the security tag they were given when their child entered the childcare area. There is only one tag per child so if someone different is picking up the child, they will need to pass the tag to the person who is picking up the child.
Parents are required to stay on the hotel property and be reachable.
Parents must be on time to pick up children.
If children become disruptive and affect the quality or safety within the childcare program, parents will be asked to remove them from the childcare area. No fee refunds will be given.
The fee for childcare applies whether the child stays the entire time or is a drop-in participant.

Parents, sibling, relatives, other caregivers, etc. must adhere to all of the above guidelines. These guidelines are designed for the safety and program integrity for all participants in the childcare program.