• Yes, the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks School Age Child Care program is licensed through the Maryland State Department of Education-Office of Child Care.

• The elementary school program is for children who are 5 years old by September.
• 1st of the school year you are registering for through 5th grade.
• The middle school program is for children entering 6th grade through 8th grade.
• All children must be toilet trained.

• Yes. You will receive the Parent’s Manual on your child’s first day at SACC. You will need to complete a receipt that acknowledges you received the manual. The manual is also posted on our website for your review.

• Parents will receive a monthly Parent Update that contains important information for the upcoming month. The Parent Update is sent via email and paper copies will be available at your child’s center.
  Each of our centers has a Parent Information Center that contains information specific to your child’s center.

• Your first contact would be with the Center Director. If your concern or question has not been answered to your satisfaction you may then contact the SACC administrative office at
  (410) 222-7856 and speak with the Child Care Supervisor. You can also contact us via email.

• Children are not permitted to bring snacks from home unless it is medically necessary (with a doctor’s note) or for religious purposes.

• Parents need to speak with the Center Director in advance. Our regulatory agency does not permit any food items prepared at home to be served or consumed in the center.

• All staff meets or exceeds the qualifications for their position as set by the Maryland State Department of Education-Office of Child Care. All staff completes a pre-employment criminal background check and drug screening. There is the required number of staff at each center who is trained in First Aid and CPR. There will also be staff available that are trained in medication administration and non-violent crisis intervention.

• Children are not permitted to bring toys, games, collectable cards, electronic, CD’s, CD players, Game Boys, I-Pods, MP 3 Players, etc from home to the center. The only exception to this rule would be if an individual center chooses to do a special “Toy from Home” day. If such an event occurs, a signed parental permission slip would be required.

• Children may not use, activate, or display their cell phone during SACC hours unless approved by the Center Director or designee.

• There is not a specific “quiet time” for children to do homework. The SACC program operates with various activity stations with homework being one of the activity stations. If children choose to do homework, staff is not responsible for reviewing for completeness or accuracy. SACC is not a tutoring program.

• Parents/guardians must go into the building to sign their child in for the morning program and out at the time of pick up each afternoon. Children are not permitted to sign themselves in and out of the program. Your child will only be released to the individuals you have authorized who is at least 13 years old. Any person who is unknown to the staff will be asked to provide a photo ID before your child is released to their care.

• SACC operates every day that school is in session for students. There is no SACC program on school holidays as posted on the Anne Arundel County Public Schools calendar.
• SACC operates on the scheduled early dismissal days. If school is scheduled for a 2-hour early dismissal then the SACC program opens 2 hours early and stays open until the regular closing time of 6:00 p.m.
  The inclement weather operations are as follows:

• Parents are encouraged to register with www.schoolsout.com to receive notification of emergency closings. The SACC office does not call parents in the event of emergency closings. If you have registered to get notifications for your child’s school; you also need to register to get notifications as they relate to SACC. SACC is listed as Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks School Age Child Care.

• Parents who have court awarded custody of their child must have the custody papers on file at the center. SACC staff must release a child to his/her natural parent unless custody papers are on file.

Written notification to the SACC Administrative Office is required when you are withdrawing your child from the program. A Withdrawal Form is available on our website for your convenience.

You will be responsible for payment until the SACC Administrative Office receives the Withdrawal Form. If you have already made payment and are requesting a refund the following must be adhered t

• A $25 processing fee will be assessed on all refunds
• 3 or more weeks notice, a full refund minus the process fee will be given
• less than 3 weeks notice, an 80% refund will be given minus the processing fee

If you made your payment with a credit card you will receive a credit to your account. If you made your payment by check, money order, or cash you will receive a refund check from the Anne Arundel County Office of Budget and Finance.

A monthly bill will be mailed to you. Payments are due by the 10th of the month for the following month.
Payments may be made online with a credit card or debit card. Open the "Register Online" link.

• Payments (check or money order) may be mailed directly t
  Anne Arundel County Office of Budget & Finance
  CASHIER’S OFFICE
  P O Box 6675
  Annapolis, MD 21401

Please contact the SACC Office if you would like mailing labels sent to you.

• Payments may also be made in person at any of the Cashier Office locations: Arundel Center, 45 Calvert Street, Annapolis; Cashier’s Office North, 7320 Ritchie Highway; or Heritage Complex, 2664 Riva Road

• The reason it may have a different number is that your child’s information was entered differently than it is on your statement. It should be entered the same as it was on your monthly billing statement or the way it was entered when you originally registered.
  If you originally put your child’s middle initial you should do the same or it will create a new account. Example - John E Smith not John Smith

• Once online, please check to see if your child’s participant number is the same as what is printed on your bill. It could be that the information that you have entered does not match up with what we have in our system.
  Please note that whenever you visit your account your participant number should always be the same. If not please contact the Child Care office at (410) 222-7856 x1 for assistance.

• Once you register online call the Child Care office at (410) 222-7856 x1 so that an office staff member can assist you with changing the start date.
  You may register up to 2 weeks prior of the start date wanted.

• Because this is your child’s first time in our program there is a one-time $25 non-refundable registration fee. The rest of the month of April will be a prorated fee and the payment window is now open for the next payment to appear.
  Please remember that all payments are due on the 10th of the month and you are always paying a month ahead. You will pay this month for next month’s service.

• Whenever the online system asks for participant information it wants your child’s information. Please enter your child’s name and not your name.

• If your payment is not received by the due date the SACC Administrative Office will send you a late payment notice. There is a $25 late fee on payments received after the due date. If payment is not received by the established date, your child may be suspended/dismissed from the program until your account is current.

• An early registration period for children currently registered in the program opens on the 4^th Monday of March. Early registration information will be made available to all parents of children who are currently registered. A special registration period will be announced for siblings. Children must be enrolled on an annual basis and your account must be current.  Registration opens to the general public on the 2^nd Monday in April beginning at 8:00 a.m.

• If you are registering for a School Age Child Care program at a school other than your child’s home school, the school must approve the out of area request prior to registration to SACC. Contact the school office for the Out of Area Request form.

• All of our child care centers close at 6:00 .m. A late pick up fee will be assessed, at the rate of $3.00 per minute, for every minute after 6:00 p.m. The center/school clock is considered the official time. Your late pick up charges will be added to the next monthly billing statement. Parents are encouraged to have a back up plan in place if you are not able to pick your child up on time. Recurring lateness offenses in one school year may result in your child being suspended/dismissed from the program.

• An ADA accommodation request requires a two-week prior notification to the SACC Administrative office. The parent(s) must participate in a conference with the SACC Administrative staff before your child can attend. The purpose of the conference is to gather as much information as possible regarding your child so an effective plan can be put in place. Accommodations can be made to meet the needs of an individual child in many cases, however, all children will be required to meet the “Expectations of Children Enrolled in SACC” and refrain from behaviors that threaten the safety of themselves, other children or staff members.

• The Medication Authorization Form and Addendum with a current photograph of your child must be submitted if your child requires prescription medication or over the counter medications while at SACC. SACC staff may not be involved with the use of nebulizers, G-tubes, catherizations, insulin or Glucagon administration. An additional form, Permission to Apply Over-the-Counter Creams and Ointments, requires parental authorization for sunscreen, chapstick, and other external applications. See the Parent’s Manual for complete information regarding medications.

•  If the necessary intervention and/or medication is not provided to the School Age Child Care program, your child may be removed from the program until the requirements are met. We recommend that you get an additional inhaler that can be kept at SACC. If you do not intend to supply SACC with an inhaler, you must sign the statement on your child’s Emergency Card. As with all medications, the inhaler will be made available for the parent to pick up on the last day of SACC.

• Every child has the opportunity to be successful in SACC with the safety of other children and staff being our primary concern. The following list of expectations is not an all-inclusive listing. There may be some additional site-specific expectations.
• • Engage in appropriate group interactio
  • Stay within the designated area or where directed by staf
  • Follow the schedule and participate in daily activitie
  • Function without disruptive behavior in a supervised environment of 1 staff to 15 children
  • Comply with staff requests and instructions

• Parental involvement is an integral component of your child having a successful experience in the SACC program.
  Parents can expect the following from the SACC program:
• • Quality and safe care for their children
  • Service of value and consistency
  • Courteous and professional treatment at all times
  • Honest information pertaining to their child
  • Foster positive peer and child/staff relationships to create an atmosphere that children enjoy
• Parents may:
• • Visit the center at any time
  • Receive a copy of all documents signed
  • Request accommodations on behalf of their child and work with staff to obtain the best results in meeting their child's needs
• Parents should:
• • Be courteous and respectful to staff and children
  • • Parent’s unreasonable treatment of the staff, including inappropriate airing of complaints, use of language that is inappropriate for School Age Child Care, intimidation (physical or verbal) of the staff may result in the child being dismissed from the program
  • Communicate concerns or problems to staff as early as possible