FAMILY SERVICE ORGANIZATION REOPENS WITH SAFETY IN MIND

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services reopened its buildings for youth programs, daycare and summer camp on June 29, after closing in March due to COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Marillac St. Vincent Family Services
Marillac St. Vincent Family Services reopened its buildings for youth programs, daycare and summer camp on June 29, after closing in March due to COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Marillac St. Vincent Family Services

Family service organization reopens with safety in mind

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services reopened its daycare, summer camp and youth programs on Monday, June 29, after being closed due to COVID-19.

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services was founded almost 100 years ago with the aim to end the cycle of poverty.

Marillac St. Vincent family Services, located at 212 S. Francisco and 2145 N. Halsted St., have been closed since March, when Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued stay-at-home orders.

Tracey Young is the senior director of early learning programs for Marillac St. Vincent Family Services. Young said three weeks into the quarantine, the organization assembled a task force, which included the CEO, COO, as well as managers from programs, operations, client services and family support.

The goal of the task force was to create a plan to serve all the programs and families that participate in those programs. The result was a 137 page “playbook,” with best practices and step-by-step plans to ensure health and sanitation procedures.

“The staff could see how we took their input to create this plan, but also to assure them,” Young said. She added, the plan is only good if it is implemented effectively. So, the staff also will participate in weekly reflection meetings to discuss what worked well, what needs to be worked on and what problems occurred and how to resolve them for the next week.

Safety protocols include a temperature check of everyone who enters the buildings and the completion of a health screening survey. There is also new signage to aid with the flow of traffic and spaces marked for social distancing, as well as hand sanitizer stations installed throughout the buildings.

Early childhood education and youth services had their classroom sizes reduced by 50 percent to ensure social distancing measures. Teachers in early childhood education and children, from 2-5, had to wear face coverings and masks.

Young said some of the major items discussed were making sure there was enough Personal Protective Equipment to last for three months; opening the building in phases, which would allow the organization to ensure health and safety practices worked before adding more children; controlling access to the building; and making sure the organization has the most accurate information from the CDC and Gov. Pritzker. Young said it has been great so far. “The children and parents were very cooperative, the socially distant interaction is very warm and communicative,” she said. “Parents are happy and feel safe. And, everyone is working as a team to ensure that everyone is healthy.”

Young said teachers wear disposable lab coats, foot covers, shields and masks. Children take off their shoes, upon entering the classroom and are given skip-proof footies. High touch surfaces are wiped down regularly. During lunch, children receive individual bag lunches and sit six-feet apart in areas marked with tape.

“Parents are leaving their most precious resources, their child,” Young said. “A lot of the children have little to limited language, so we had to ensure them the environment was safe in words and [in] actions,” she said.

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