Tracking the Children

Jul 1, 2006 12:00 PM

There is nothing more important to parents than the safety and wellbeing of their child, and across the country, schools, churches, local communities and state and federal agencies are implementing policies and practices to help improve child safety measures.

While many of these procedures involve old-fashioned common sense, there is a growing reliance on technology to provide a safe environment — such as using security cameras on the streets, metal detectors in the schools or capturing and storing visitor information at public or private facilities. These security precautions become even more valuable when integrated into an overall first alert plan.

City facility builds on existing technology

Such is the case with the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Santa Clara in California's Silicon Valley, which coordinates the leisure services for more than 107,000 local residents. The department has chosen to protect children with the PassagePoint visitor management software from STOPware, a Brady People ID business. The system was installed at the city's Youth Activity Center (YAC) campus, including a 20,000-square-foot facility, a skateboard park and a teen center. A photo ID system was already in place, and the new software, integrated with the ID system, enabled the department to verify, capture and store all entry and exit information from the facilities into a unified system.

“Tracking our participants is important — especially when they are minors,” says Rose Partolan, office manager for the Santa Clara Youth Activity Center. “Parents want to know where their children are and with PassagePoint we are able to tell them immediately if the child is on site and which program he or she is checked into.”

It has been a series of continual upgrades at the YAC, as attendance has grown and security has become essential. Originally, photo ID cards were produced manually (instant camera photo with information typed onto a card and then laminated). When participants entered the facility, they surrendered their cards, which were then filed alphabetically in a box and returned when the participant exited.

“The process was labor-intensive and not very efficient,” Partolan says. As the volume of participants grew to over 1,500 in the database, with approximately 250 participants a day at the three facilities, the YAC took its next step by implementing a computer check-in ID system.

Improved control and access

With the new computerized system, registered participants were issued a card that included a barcode with a unique ID number. To gain entry to one of the three sites, someone swiped the card through the reader at one of the check-in points. Exiting was the reverse procedure of swiping the card at an exit point or by clicking on a participant's name and then clicking on the “sign out” button. In the event of a lost or forgotten card, Partolan says participants could also be checked in manually by typing in a participant's name or unique ID number. “The card system sped up the entry process and allowed us better control to ensure that only Santa Clara residents are using the facilities,” Partolan says. Programs offered by the YAC include classes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers; after-school programs for elementary, middle and high school students; special events such as dances and live concerts for middle school and high school-age participants; and summer camps.

New software ties it all together

The computerized check-in system resolved the problems with entry and exit verification and sped up the process, but it still did not allow for a recorded or historical audit of who was coming and going, and when and why they were there. “If a child was late in arriving home and a parent called and wanted to know what time their teenage daughter had left the teen center, we could not tell them because we didn't know,” Partolan says.

PassagePoint software offers an integrated visitor management security solution including badging, Web pre-registration, photo capturing, directory link integration and access control integration. The upgraded system at YAC was designed and installed by a combination of YAC staff, Image Sales of Walnut Creek, Calif. (authorized reseller) and STOPware, and entailed integrating the registered participant list with the PassagePoint software. “The compatibility is what sold us on the system because we did not want to redesign or replace our existing photo ID system,” said Partolan. Using the bar-coded ID cards already in place, each entry and exit by a participant is verified, time-stamped and recorded in an easy-to-use database format, and because the three sites are networked, YAC staff can verify in real-time who is checked in at any given location. “We are able to tell parents if their child is currently on site, when and how many times they checked in, as well as when and how many times they checked out.”

Keeping track of vital Information

As a community-funded facility, analysis and reporting is a mandatory function of the administration and management of the Santa Clara recreation site, and the new software makes the task easier and more comprehensive. Partolan notes that attendance information on programs, events and individuals is reported monthly, and an audit can assess the success of programs and help the center respond more quickly to the needs of the community.

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