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Question:
What is the correct volunteer to child ration when supervising elementary students? Does the law require we have a specific number of volunteers?

Answer:
This is a common question among youth ministry leaders. Having an adequate number of supervisors is critical for protecting children, and for reducing the ministry's exposure to liability in the event that one of the children in their care sustains an injury or other harm. Failure to comply with a state-mandated adult-to-child supervision ratio can potentially be considered "negligence per se" if a child is injured when too few supervisors are present. This means that, from a legal perspective, the burden of proof shifts from the injured party proving that the ministry was negligent, to the ministry having to prove that inadequate supervision did not contribute to the injury. This is likely to be an uphill battle that can result in a costly judgment against the ministry.

Unfortunately, obtaining the exact number of workers that you'll need for each age group is not a simple task. The appropriate ratio of workers to children varies not only with the age of the children, but from state to state, and in some cases down to the local community within states. The US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics has a page on Child Care Workers, indicating that the supervision ratio varies with the age of the children, but that this is likely to be governed by state and local regulations: bls.gov/oco/ocos170.htm. The general trend is that the older the children being supervised, the fewer adult supervisors will be required. But specific regulations can vary widely.

When determining appropriate ratios for a specific jurisdiction, there are a number of web sites that offer assistance. Daycare.com has a list of state licensing standards for day care facilities for all fifty states (daycare.com/states.html), including both center-based and family child care venues, as well as contact information for state regulators. Though these standards may not apply to all operations that a given ministry might want to conduct, they should provide good guidelines for what generally constitutes a reasonable supervision ratio. While this is a good place to start, to be certain that your ministry is meeting the various adult/child supervision ratios that apply in your location, you'll want to consult with a local attorney.

It's never ideal to place a single supervisor with children, regardless of the number of children being supervised or the ages of the children being watched. This is for the protection of both the children being cared for, and for the protection of the adult supervising. Sometimes, even the best plans for adequate supervision can go amiss. If a scheduled supervisor becomes unavailable, consider combining classes or taking other steps to avoid having a single worker oversee children, keeping in mind the need for an adequate adult/child supervision ratio as outlined above.

For more information on "best practices" in ministry child protection, the attached links to Brotherhood Mutual resources may be of interest.

http://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/safetycentral/articles/navart26.htm

http://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/safetycentral/legalAssistance/QAAnswer8.htm

Note: Neither ChurchSafety.com nor it's sponsoring organizations or contributors have any connection or control over the web resources offered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or Daycare.com, and cannot guaranty the accuracy of the information contained on these web sites.

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