Board of Directors Corner

Dear Community Members,

In response to recent resident concerns and in an effort to support a safe place to live, the Board of Directors and CTC Management would like to remind you of the community standards set forth in the resident handbook regarding the supervision of our children:

“Each parent or guardian is responsible for the appropriate supervision of minor children in your household and your guest's children....It is a CTC value to provide a friendly, nurturing environment for the children. With the many children that live at the CTC, there will be times when the kids “will be kids” and get into mischief. When these times happen, it is expected that parents and guardians will be responsible for their children's behavior, hold your child accountable for their behavior, and work with others to resolve any problem that there may be.”

From a legal standpoint, Minnesota state law requires that a caregiver not deprive a child of supervision appropriate to that child's age. Since this is open to interpretation, it is important to know and act accordingly with your own child's abilities, personality, and comprehension of age appropriate safety rules.

Is it safe for my child to stay home alone?

The University of Minnesota Extension has provided a very useful evaluation piece which might help you determine if your children are capable of self-care: If you don't have time to follow the link, know that there are recommendations for preparing your child on how to react to different situations, to be aware of and follow rules, to have basic telephone skills, and to possess particular home and personal safety skills.

What can I do?

If you witness particular incidents of dangerous behavior, please feel free and encouraged to address them immediately with the children involved, their parents or caregivers, and report your concerns to the CTC administration.

A unique benefit to living in a setting like our co-op is that we can look out for one another and have a venue to discuss issues that affect us.

Stay tuned for programming in partnership with the University of Minnesota Police Department on this topic.

Grace Bell
Board of Directors