What Would You Do?

Tuesday, January 26th, 2021

You are a volunteer for a small organization. One day while volunteering in the children’s area, a man comes to pick up a child he says is his daughter. The girl runs to the door to greet the man; she is very excited to see him. However, the man did not drop her off before activities that morning, and you have never seen him. He also does not have the twin bracelet given to adults at dropoff. He tells you he has been out of town and came to surprise the child. Now you must decide whether to release the child to the man. What would you do?

Even though you work for a small organization, your organization has policies that are very clear. Whether you know the person or not, everyone who comes to pick up a child must present the “twin” bracelet that is presented to the adult when they drop off the child. Although in this situation the child seems excited to see the man, you do not know anything about the family situation. There could be a custody situation that you do not know about. In this situation, you should contact the person who dropped off the child that morning. If you can’t reach that person, a second option would be to contact the person on the Emergency Contact card. It is better to be safe than sorry.