 As a facility manager, you might recognize this location as a fairly typical child care center located in GSA owned and operated space. You might be providing similar service already, or you could be looking ahead to a new child care center opening in the future. These are some mighty important GSA customers. Compared to your other tenants, these little folks have some rather unique needs. Other special needs mean special challenges for you, but there's good news. You have plenty of resources available. That's the purpose of this videotape, to introduce you to some practical tools and resources that will help you meet your little customer's special requirements. At the conclusion, we'll review the essential items you might need, and we'll tell you how to get further information and assistance. As you watch, who knows, you could begin to see things from a new perspective. Good morning. This is Sue. And Sue is a facility manager just like me, only in another place. And I want you to show her how wonderful you all are, because she's going to be visiting with us all day today. We're still building our facility. It's not finished yet. I can hardly wait. How do you like it here? Great. Well, listen, Sue and I are going to go meet with Miss Penny, and we'll be back a little later. Enjoy your morning, and we'll see you later. Children, I'm telling you, they're a lot of fun. You know, just having them around is one of the fringe benefits of this job. Oh, Miss Penny, she's the center director? That's right. Her organization is under contract to run the center. She supervises the childcare staff and runs the day-to-day operations. Listen, her office is just over there. Come on, I'll introduce you. OK. Sue will have a center in one of her buildings pretty soon, but they haven't selected a provider yet. That means she doesn't know who a center director will be, or how they'll even work together on a day-to-day basis. Fact is, I'm not sure how I'll find the time where I am. I'm spread pretty thin as it is. First thing to remember is, you don't have to carry all the responsibility alone. It all starts with service, service to customer agencies. In a GSA-owned or operated facility, three key parties share responsibility for child care centers in service to the agencies. The key parties are the GSA, the provider, and the board of directors. The facility manager and staff are key members of the team with three primary responsibilities, maintaining the physical facility and major equipment, ensuring the safety and security of the center and its occupants, coordinating and communicating with others involved in child care. This videotape will explore all of these responsibilities in greater detail a little later. Another key member of the GSA team is the regional child care coordinator who can supply specialized expertise on issues related to child care centers. The coordinator lives up to the job title by serving as liaison between other federal agencies, providers, boards of directors, and the GSA. And if differences should arise, the regional coordinator is the final authority on matters related to child care. The regional coordinator is a valuable resource. Most child care centers have a board of directors. Board members include representatives of the federal agencies that use the child care facility, representatives of participating non-federal organizations, and members from outside the federal government. Direct contact between the board and the facility manager is not very frequent. Most often, the board will relay facility issues by way of the center director. However, facility managers generally serve as advisors to the board on matters like equipment upgrades, renovations, and safety and security concerns. Once more, the facility managers attend board meetings periodically as an observer to keep aware of plans for special events, like an open house or a fundraiser. This helps the facility manager to coordinate calendar dates with other users and to allocate resources well in advance of the event. At a child care center, the provider employs the child care staff and operates the center. The GSA requires providers to meet professional early childhood accreditation standards. The provider employs the center director to supervise the center staff and to run the daily operations. On matters concerning the child care center, the director and the facility manager stay in regular contact to deal with concerns about safety and maintenance. Facility managers should expect to interact with the center director more than any other individual. When a center is new or when a new provider takes over, the director may need more frequent contact with the facility manager. Even informal contact can be helpful. As a matter of personal preference, some directors may seek frequent contact, others may not. Penny, what about the parents? Will I be spending a lot of time dealing directly with them? That's my job. Of course, if they have safety or maintenance concerns, I pass them on to Fred immediately. And I make it to board meetings every now and then, just as an observer, though, just to keep track of what's being planned. It all sounds pretty informal. Great if things are going smoothly. But if disagreements do come up, how do I know where I stand? I guess we didn't mention the agreements yet. For a child care center in GSA space, the three key parties are linked by three formal agreements or contracts that hold it all together. The Memorandum of Agreement establishes the working relationship between the government and the board of directors of the center. Sometimes the GSA will sign for the government. Sometimes the customer agencies will sign. The board selects a provider and awards an operating contract. This contract spells out in detail how the board expects the provider to operate the center. The license agreement is negotiated between the GSA and the provider. It defines the provider's responsibilities in running the center. Sue, let me give you a little tip. That license agreement is well worth reading. Those agreements have a direct impact on our work. Thanks for the advice, Fred. I'll be sure to read it thoroughly. It's really nice here, Fred. Well constructed and clean as a whistle. Congratulations. Well, thank you. But you know it's not all me. You know, Penny and her staff, they get a lot of the credit. They wipe down the furniture and the toys and the cribs and the appliances here. And the building services contractor, well they take care of the carpeting and the floor buffing and, you know, the trash disposal, you know, the real big chores. Sure. Ideally, the facility manager and the center director should conduct regular inspections together. They both realize that good maintenance contributes to a safe and healthy environment for the children. Something that reduces the risk of communicable diseases. When something isn't right, they review the situation and make sure the problem is solved. Cleaning is one of the most important issues for facility manager. Small children spend a lot of time on the floor, so a clean carpet is especially important to them. Choice of cleaning chemicals is an important consideration when children are around. Timing is important, too. Fred negotiated a service contract that not only gives carpets and floors a high priority, but also requires the contractor to work on them when children are not present. A good set of cleaning specs makes sure things don't fall through the cracks. Child care centers require a clinical level of cleaning. For instance, dirty diapers and similar waste are an unpleasant fact of life. At Fred's facility, the cleaning specs require the center staff to seal dirty diapers and plastic bags and place them in a special receptacle. The cleaning contractor empties the receptacle and takes the sealed bags to the dumpster. I'll be looking at cleaning specs a little differently from now on. What about equipment, procurement, for instance? Who bought all this stuff, and who decided what to buy? GSA bought some things, and the provider bought other things. GSA provides the basic fixtures, the built-ins, the appliances, and the furniture. And the consumables lack the curriculum materials and toys, strictly the provider's responsibility. Well, what about cribs or cots or baby buggies? Well, most of those equipment items are government furnished. That includes the playground equipment, the cots and cribs, the changing tables, the shelving and baby buggies. And even those tables and chairs are as small as those there. Now, if you take a close look, you'll see that it's marked government furnished items, or at least it better be because that's my job to make sure everything is marked in inventory. What about puzzles, games, decorations? Well, even those books over there. Strictly the provider's responsibility. Okay, so for the government furnished equipment, who decided what to buy? Well, first the director gets together with the regional child care coordinator, and they select the indoor and outdoor equipment. Then they submit the list to me, and I place the orders. Great, look at this work. When Fred needs an expert on children's equipment, he can call on GSA's regional child care coordinator. Right now, they are discussing procedures for removing disabled or malfunctioning equipment from service. If it's broken or not working properly, it's dangerous to children. They'll need to replace some of it with new equipment. That requires budgeting on an annual basis for new and replacement equipment. Most facility managers, Fred included, find it hard to cope with a constant barrage of procurement requests. That's why Fred tries to schedule his equipment purchases on an annual rather than monthly basis. In cooperation with the center director, Fred can use the annual cycle to streamline and simplify the procurement process. When a genuine emergency occurs, Fred has more time available to devote to it. What's more, the GSA Child Care Center design guide includes an equipment list. In the child care center, summer is generally a less busy period, perfect for installing new equipment or renovating the facility. That means that early spring is a logical time to start preparing for summer projects. When it comes to equipment maintenance, the facility manager is responsible for establishing a regular service schedule for cyclic items. In a child care center, GSA or the delegated agency maintains the administrative and office equipment, like copiers and telephones, but not the provider's equipment. So, if I had to boil it all down, I'd say the two most important things to remember about procurement, maintenance and repair would be one, as much as possible, work out a periodic schedule, avoid the ad hoc or crisis mode, and two, well, tap into outside expertise. Be aware of technical advances like the design guide and, when in doubt, consult with the regional child care coordinator. Well, so far we've been inside, but what about outdoor stuff like playground equipment? What's involved in a playground inspection? How about a look at a playground? Great. Okay, after you. Before purchasing, the facility manager and the regional coordinator check performance standards for playground equipment in the Consumer Product Safety Commission Handbook and a manual called Caring for Our Children. And when it comes to safety, good maintenance makes all the difference. Weather, hard use, age, and sometimes vandalism can create hazards where they didn't exist before. The safety checklist reminds the facility manager to review all these items. For example, one item on the list is resilient ground cover. If a child falls, you need a soft landing on materials such as wood chips, tire chunks, or sand. Over time, this stuff gets compacted, scraped off, blown, even washed away. So you check to make sure it's deep enough, not too compacted. That's right. And say if it's a surface that's been poured on like that, well, we check to make sure no cracks or seams have opened up over time. Well, I can see where a checklist comes in handy. Some of the equipment checks seem pretty obvious to me, but I'm not sure I'd think of inspecting the ground. Well, this ground cover, Sue, is part of the fixtures on the playground, so it's part of my responsibility. Now in the industry, this area is known as the fall zone. It's very, very important that we replace it or we replenish it as needed. OK, Fred, you've been lugging that bag around all morning and you've really gotten me curious. Someone's asking, what's in the bag? I thought you'd never ask, really. Take a look. It's an entrapment kit. Where'd you get it? Well, the regional childcare coordinators provide them to all the facility managers. Now, I use it to make sure none of the equipment has openings that could trap a child and maybe cause injury. Now that goes for here on the playground and inside the daycare center as well. Now see this template? We use this by Fred's checklist contains reminders about a variety of potential playground hazards. For instance, sharp edges are always dangerous. So are moving parts that pinch or crush. Broken parts or loose bolts can create new hazards. Some plants and shrubs are toxic to humans. They can pose a threat to little people who love to touch, grab, and taste. Common maintenance chores include repairs to frayed cables, loose ropes, and open S-hooks. Spaces that may cause entrapment should be modified or eliminated. Usually if there's an obvious problem needing repairs, the center director tells me about it. But I like to check and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. How often do you inspect? Well, once a month I do a full walkthrough inside and out and I check the storage spaces, not just the occupied spaces. I'm evaluating cleanliness and safety. And I also drop in whenever I can to keep my eye open for obvious problems. Well, how detailed is the walkthrough? I mean, do you get out the microscope and take a really close look? Well, sometimes I do, especially if I've heard complaints or if I've noticed a problem that keeps coming up. But usually it's my evaluation then that I really go through the checklist in detail. Come on, let's head on back to the center. OK. Hi, how are you? Oh, there's a race going on here. I know. For Fred, the annual evaluation is a chance to reassess the cleaning service contract and the contractor's performance. And of course, he's evaluating the performance of his staff and himself. When evaluating safety and environmental factors, the facility manager should look at items such as the condition of fire and smoke alarms, the condition of extinguishers, sprinklers, and other fire suppression systems, the adequacy of fire safety and evacuation procedures. Fred, take me through that safety checklist of yours one more time. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for? I can mention a few hazards that seem to be the most common. First, there's right angles that make sharp corners for children. Builders and contractors just naturally think in terms of right angles. Sometimes you have to give them a little reeducation so that corners are rounded or redesigned. Next, there's electrical outlets and dangling cords, a big temptation. If children see cords, they'll pull them or swing on them. And all outlets that aren't pediatric plates should have safety plugs. And finally, you should watch out for climbable shelves and cabinets. Some of the children just love to climb on things. The facility manager ultimately is responsible for a host of safety related concerns, including regular fire and emergency evacuation drills held monthly, evacuation plans plainly posted with separate egress for children and adult building occupants, safe water temperatures, structural barriers to keep children away from kitchens and other off-limits spaces, reserving drop off points and pickup areas and ensuring their appropriate use. Hey, Sue, I want you to try something. See how different things look from down here. This is how the children see the center. Kind of changes your perspective, doesn't it? Hey, Fred, if I get down to a baby's level, this stain looks really huge. And little children spend a lot of time on the floor. That means I have to pay special attention to the condition of the flooring in a childcare center. In cold weather, adequate heating is a priority too. Neat trick, Fred. I really do see the customer's point of view from down here. Sure you do. And see all the rounded edges? At this height, sharp edges and corners could poke a child in the eye. And see that wall socket over there? See how suddenly it becomes more noticeable? Yeah, I don't normally pay attention to things like that. But from this viewpoint, I can see where it might attract a child's attention. Yep. Come on, Sue. Let's continue with the walkthrough. Okay. When it comes to children, I think you'd have to be pretty careful about security. Absolutely. Of course we don't want children wandering in and out, but nobody should be in unless they have authorization. Now security really includes two kinds of concerns. The physical security of the childcare center itself and background checks for personnel. Is the facility manager responsible for all of that? Well, it's shared. The Federal Protective Service works with us on security. Federal laws, including the Crime Control Act, require background checks and personnel clearances for all persons having regular contact with the children. This includes government employees, center employees, cleaning and maintenance contractors, and volunteer childcare workers. The law permits interim employment pending completion of the clearance, but workers may not have unsupervised access to children until clearances are final. Under the law, failure to pass the background check is grounds for dismissal. An employee from FPS accepts fingerprint cards of childcare staff and volunteers for processing through the FBI. For other contractor and GSA personnel, the facility manager forwards clearance paperwork to the FPS. A report is issued by FPS to the facility manager and center director, indicating the clearance status of center employees. I've worked with Federal Protective Service on security problems. They help out with our periodic security risk assessment. But before you open up the new childcare center, you should ask them to help update your security assessment. You want to make sure the physical security is up to spec. You're talking about barriers, locks, alarms, that sort of thing? Right. And plans, too. These center needs an evacuation plan and a set of contingency plans for various emergencies. It's another shared responsibility. The center director coordinates with me to develop the plans. That word coordinate seems to come up a lot in this job. You noticed. Well, it's true. For me, it all comes down to two key principles, coordination and communication. I coordinate with the center director and with the regional childcare coordinator and obviously, successful coordination depends on good communication. Fred, when we were out on the playground, you said I should remind you to show me a book. That's right. This will give you a rundown on what's available. Whenever you have questions that involve childcare facilities, you should be able to get some help from one of these sources. Great. If you need further help, contact the GSA Child Care Coordinator for your region. Take a look inside the tape box that held this video cassette. An inventory card is packed inside every box. Please take a moment to review your resources. If you are missing any items, this card will tell you where you can obtain them. When it comes to these special little customers, we owe them our best. Fred, thanks for the grand tour. It was a delight. You know, your advice is going to save me a lot of time in guesswork. It was my pleasure. I was happy to do it. You come back and visit us now, okay? Well, come and see our center when it's up and running. I'll be happy to do that. Say goodbye to Sue, kids. Goodbye, kids. Bye. See you later. Okay. Bye-bye now.