HUTTO — In an effort to enhance safety, City Council approved requiring background checks and drug testing for employees under age 18 who work in the municipality’s park programs.
Adult employees were already meeting these requirements, but minors require parental consent for the testing by state law. The new ordinance means minors who do not get approval from a parent or guardian for testing will not be hired.
“It’s optional. They don’t have to do it.
But we also have the option not to hire that person if they won’t,” said Mayor Mike Snyder at Thursday’s council meeting.
The Texas Human Resources Code exempts Hutto’s recreation programs for elementary school children from becoming licensed as child care centers, provided the city has adopted a municipal standard of care. That standard must cover crucial areas such as staff-to-participant ratios, minimum staff qualifications and health and safety standards.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department operates several youth programs, including
some designed to care for children while school is out and parents are working. These include Winter Break Camp, Spring Break Camp and Summer Camp.
The city frequently hires high school students to help during these sessions.
Criminal background checks, a Sex Offenders Registration Program database search and illegal substance testing had already been required for adult camp employees.
Council enforced the stronger restrictions for minors by changing the wording of the standard of-care ordinance from stating that criminal background checks “may” be performed on teenage employees to “shall” be performed.
Additional amendments to the parks department youth program rules included removing the proof of residency for enrollment, requiring first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation certifications for all program employees, mandating that participants wear closed-toed shoes and adding a requirement to notify parents immediately if a child leaves the program site without authorization.
