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Unattended Children
An unattended child policy protects the safety of children in public library spaces while making clear that the responsibility for that safety relies primarily on their parents or guardians, not library staff. It provides age thresholds for where, when, and how a child may be unaccompanied in the library building in addition to expected behavior of the child. A library’s unattended child policy may be embedded within the library's patron behavior policy or it may be a standalone policy.
Recently, libraries have begun to include language in their unattended child policies addressing the needs of vulnerable adults as well. The goal of these policies is to make clear the limited (if any) care the library can provide and to protect patrons of any age who are unable to fully care for themselves.
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Self-Audit
Review your unattended children and vulnerable adults policy to determine whether it:
- Clearly states the library staff’s responsibilities and procedures for interacting with an unattended child or vulnerable adult.
- Clearly states parent/guardian responsibilities when bringing children or vulnerable adults to the library or when those individuals are in the library unattended.
- Identifies a clear delineation between the responsibilities of parents/guardians when their child is in the library and the responsibilities of library staff. States that library staff may not act in loco parentis, or in place of a parent.
- References the library’s patron behavior policy and makes clear that all patrons are expected to follow that policy, regardless of age.
- Provides a procedure for library staff to follow regarding unattended children when the library closes.
- Specifies the age(s) at which a child can be in the library unattended, attend an age-appropriate library program without a parent/guardian present, or serve as a guardian for a younger child.
- Is written in ‘plain language’ that is easy for patrons and staff to understand.
Key points you may want to include in the policy:
- Distinct policies and expectations for children of different ages
- Distinction between unattended children in the library building at large and unattended children at an age-appropriate library program
- Definition of who qualifies as a vulnerable adult and how the policy applies to those individuals
- Any limitations regarding adults without children using children spaces and resources
- That library staff will do their best to use reasonable judgment when estimating the age of children
Related Procedures
To assist in maintaining the safety of children and vulnerable adults, train your staff in the use of your procedures for the following situations:
- Presence of unattended children on library premises after the building is closed – Provide guidelines for attempting to contact the child’s parent/guardian or contacting law enforcement regarding an unattended child. Library staff should never transport unattended children off library property.
- Requests for information on the location of individuals in the library, including truant or missing children
- Consequences for children and parents/guardians of children who have violated the unattended child policy or behavior policy
- Requests for access to library records for minors – Reference the library’s privacy policy and/or explain the rights of custodial parents and guardians for minors under age 16 versus minors age 16 and over according to Wisconsin law
Sample Policies
We’ve collected some sample unattended child and vulnerable adult policies for you to review as you work on your policy. Visit the Public Library Policy Resources WISELearn Group for more discussion, or consider uploading your library’s policy for discussion or as another example for the library community to learn from.
What’s next?
In May, our Policy of the Month club will focus on meeting room policies. Visit the Public Library Policy WISELearn group to share your policies for discussion!
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