Skip Navigation

Academics, Service, and God's Word

Family Service Hours

Family Volunteer Hours Handbook and
Mandatory Reporter Guidelines

 

All families are asked to donate 26 volunteer hours to Trinity Lutheran School. The categories in which families can earn hours vary. A list of approved activities is available in the school office. All volunteers that work with or around the students are required to have a background check completed annually. Drivers must undergo an additional driving record check. Both checks must be completed before volunteer work may begin. The fees associated with these checks for 1 member of each family will be paid by the school. Additional volunteers are responsible for the fees. Volunteer - $10  Volunteer/Driver - $28. A running list of approved volunteers/drivers will be maintained by the school office.

Parents, grandparents, and guardians of students may contribute to the 26-hour requirement. Service hours run from June 1 through the last day of school in May. The following will be given a maximum total of 26 hours for each position:  coaching staff, school board member, and Trinity Booster officer. A $100 fee will be added to a family’s total tuition at the beginning of their payment plan. Upon completion of the 26 hours, a credit of $100 will be rolled over for each year that the requirement is met. The credit may be used towards the 8th Grade graduation fee. Annual hours required may be adjusted for families with late enrollment.
 
Volunteering for 8th Grade class trip fundraisers does not count towards the Family Volunteer Hours.
 
Trinity Lutheran School is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all students and volunteers who participate in the school activities.  We pray that the school will be a place to experience God’s love through relationships with His people.
 
For the purpose of this handbook any parent, grandparent, and/or guardian who is fulfilling their required family service hours will be referred to as volunteers.
 
 
Family Service Hours Guidelines
  • Volunteers are expected to be free of any convictions of child abuse (sexual, physical, and/or emotional).
  • Volunteers are expected to sign in each time they provide service at school.
  • Volunteers are expected to observe the practice of “two adults per child” at all times so that no one is alone with a child or the children. (The “two adults per child” includes the teacher supervising a volunteer).
  • Volunteers are expected to report immediately to the supervising teacher, and/or the administrator, any observed inappropriate or abusive behavior. 
  • Volunteers are expected to discuss only with the supervising teacher or the administrator any situations that occur which are observed.  Other volunteers or parents are NOT to be informed of these situations.  Strict confidentiality is important in order to establish an atmosphere of trust.
  • Volunteers, who are not feeling well, are expected to excuse themselves from working with the children until they are feeling better.
  • Volunteers are expected to call the school office or the teacher when they are unable to make their volunteer times.
  • Volunteers are expected to clarify their next scheduled visit time before leaving the school
  • Scheduled volunteers are subject to background checks.  It is the policy of Trinity Lutheran School that all volunteers are required to have background checks.
  • Scheduled volunteer names are annually shared with the Board of Education.

 

Be Informed - Physical and Behavioral Indicators of Child Abuse

The following list of physical and behavioral indicators of child abuse needs to be evaluated in the context of the child’s environment.  The presence of these symptoms alone is not necessarily diagnostic of abuse.  These lists are examples and are not all-inclusive.
 
Physical Indicators
Bruises and welts on the face, lips, mouth, torso, back, buttocks, or thighs in various stages of healing.
  • Bruises and welts in unusual patterns reflecting the shape of the article used (i.e., electric cord, belt buckle, or in clusters indicating repeated contact.
  • Bruises on an infant, especially facial bruises.
  • Cigarette burns, especially on the soles, palms, back, or buttocks.
  • Burns – patterned like an electric element, iron, or utensil.
  • Rope burns on arms, legs, neck, or torso.
  • Bite marks.
  • Loss of hair.
  • Fractures of the skull, nose, ribs, or facial structure in various stages of healing; multiple or spiral fractures.
  • Difficulty in walking or sitting.
  • Subdural hematomas, retinal hemorrhages, internal injuries.
  • Pain or itching in the genital area
  • Venereal disease, especially in pre-teens.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Consistent hunger, poor hygiene, or inappropriate dress.
  • Consistent lack of supervision; abandonment.
  • Unattended physical or emotional problems or medical needs.
  • Speech disorders, lags in physical development, ulcers.
  • Lacerations or abrasions to the mouth, lips, gums, eyes, or external genitalia.
  • Asthma, severe allergies, or failure to thrive.
  • Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing.
  • Bruises, bleeding, or infection in the external genitalia, vaginal, or anal areas.
  • Frequent urinary or yeast infections.
  • Substance abuse – alcohol or drugs.
  • Unexplained (or multiple history for) bruises, burns, or fractures.
  • Positive test for presence of illegal drugs in the child’s body.
Behavior Indicators
Wary of adult contacts, lack of trust, uncomfortable with or threatened by physical contact or closeness.
Behavioral extremes such as aggressiveness or withdrawal.
  • Overly complaint, passive, undemanding behavior; apathy.
  • Extreme aggression, rage, to hyperactivity.
  • Poor self-esteem, self-devaluation, lack of confidence or self-destructive behavior.
  • Afraid to go home; frightened of parents.
  • Alcohol or drug abuse.
  • Delinquent, runaway, or truant behavior
  • Poor peer relationships; shunned by peers.
  • Unusual interest in or knowledge of sexual matters, expressing affection in inappropriate ways.
  • Lack of emotional control, withdrawal, chronic depression, hysteria, fantasy, or infantile behavior.
  • Excessive seductiveness or promiscuity.
  • Suicide attempts.
  • Destructive, antisocial, or neurotic histories for a given injury.
Mandated Reporters:
What Does The Law Require? The law is entitled the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The law states that a mandated reporter who has reasonable cause to believe that a child known to him or her in his or her professional capacity may be an abused or neglected child must make a report to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
  • Who Is A Mandated Reporter? All employees of a school are mandated reporters. All school volunteers who volunteer with direct contact with children are mandated reporters.

 

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
 
Child Abuse Hotline
1.800.25.ABUSE (1.800.252.2873)
217.524.2606
Outside of Illinois
1.800.358.5117 TTY