01.07.04 - Filing Procedures

Filing Procedures Policy Number and Last Update
(01.07.08/11-2020)

Keep files two (2) years old and older in a secured storage area for the time periods specified by law. Use a card to hold the place of a file that an employee removes from the cabinet. The card should show the name of the employee and the date it was removed, to be crossed out when the file is returned to its place. Always shred any files that are no longer needed.

Component and Administrative Files

General files for every component should be kept in alphabetical order by subject, in each coordinator's office. These include all records required by the monitoring system and the HSPPS, e.g. records of meetings, consultant reports, correspondence, resources, etc.

Personnel Files

Keep together in a locked cabinet. Have a list of approved personnel to access HR files in front of files. Use a hanging file for each staff member with separate folders that contain:

  1. Current application or intent to return letter.
  2. Appointment letter with position and wage (yearly)
  3. W-4 and Illinois Withholding Allowance forms (updated yearly if needed)
  4. Three (3) letters of reference
  5. Copy of educational qualifications (once)
  6. Signed Job-Description
  7. Orientation Checklist (once)
  8. Immunization record
  9. Background check
  10. Authorization taking and using photographs and videos
  11. Standards of conduct, signed annually
  12. Confidentiality statement, signed annually
  13. Verification of receipt of personnel policies
  14. Sample signature, annually
  15. Acknowledgment of mandated reporter status
  16. Child Guidance Procedure
  17. Emergency contact information, updated
  18. Proof of personal vehicle insurance, yearly
  19. Cell phone, drug and alcohol, and smoking policy, signed yearly
  20. Copy of TB and physical examination (within 6 months prior to date of hire and every 2 years thereafter)
  21. Disciplinary actions
  22. Staff training survey
  23. Requests for training
  24. Individual staff development plan
  25. Performance evaluations, probationary and annual
  26. Staff training record

The following are required by either state or federal law, and must be filed separately from personnel files, in a locked cabinet. Always shred files that are no longer needed.

  1. Form CFS 508, report of person employed in a childcare facility
  2. Form 718-E, employees or volunteers of child care facility - fingerprinting
  3. Declaration form for prospective employees
  4. Form I-9 and 2 forms of identification, employment eligibility verification

Child and Family Files, Current Year

File in a central location, alphabetically by the last name of the family. Use a separate accordion or hanging file for each family (it is highly recommended to use colored folders as listed below) labeled with the family's last name containing separate folders for each of the following sections:

Enrollment Forms File

I. Family Consent and Authorizations Folder (Blue)

Certifications and Signatures-forms should also be filed in the order listed:

  1. Eligibility Application form
  2. Child Application Form / HS Eligibility Verification
  3. Emergency Contacts/ Bus Authorization to Pick-Up
  4. Late Pick-Up Policy
  5. Short-Term Exclusion and Readmission Policy
  6. Topical Medication Consent Form
  7. Authorization (Medical care and medication / others)
  8. Authorization to Release Information
  9. Child Guidance Policy
  10. Intoxicated /Impaired Child Pick-up
  11. Notification of the use of pesticides
  12. Enrollment documentation checklist
  13. Parent/Guardian Consent for Screening and Exams
  14. CACFP-infant-formula-food-waiver-67-90 / Child and Adult Care Food Program.
  15. DCFS-Application/Record of Child Information
II. Family Income Supports (Blue) (secured-only accessible to approved staff)

Income verification-files must contain copies of at least one type:

  • Form 1040 - copy of all forms and attachments as submitted to IRS
  • W-2's
  • Pay stubs totaling yearly income or last pay stub with gross yearly income listed
  • Employer letter stating earnings
  • Employment and Income Verification
  • Income Chart  - to recreate yearly income
  • Description of Reasonable Effort - if none of the above were available

Agricultural work verification-files must contain at least one type:

  • Current Pay stub - to verify place of employment
  • Employer letter - verifying employment

Child & Families Services File:

I. Child Health Folder (Red)
  1. Child Health History
  2. Nutrition questionnaire
  3. Initial Physical Exam form and Screening forms
  4. Documentation of subsequent Well-Child Exams
  5. Dental Exam and Treatment form
  6. Growth Charts
  7. Daily Medication forms
  8. Accident reports
  9. Parent Notification of Screening
  10. Treatment and Assessment results
  11. Individual Release Information Form
  12. Progress notes

Previous Year's Progress notes, History, Exam, Screening, Treatment reports, Accident and Medication reports should be attached to the back of the file, with the year marked.

II. Child Education Folder (Yellow)
  1. Development Screenings
  2. Behavioral Screenings
  3. Developmental Assessment Reports
  4. Teachers' Home Visit
  5. Parent Conference Reports
  6. Child-Absence documentation
  7. Field Trip Permission slips
  8. Bi-weekly Notes, if any
  9. Notes
III. Child Disabilities Folder (Green)
  1. Parent Permission for Evaluation
  2. Parent Consent for Special Services
  3. Notification of Educational Rights of Students with Disabilities
  4. Diagnostic Reports Part I, II, III, and Diagnostician's Narrative
  5. IEP/IFSP Notification to Parent of the Meeting
  6. Progress notes
  7. Correspondence and other documents.

Files should be organized, and if the child has more than one diagnosed disability, each file should have sections with all parents' consents, all data required, all information related to the diagnosis, including the diagnostic forms, IEP/IFSP from the current and previous years, progress notes, bi-weekly staffing notes, correspondence, and all other records.

IV. Family Services Folder (Pink)
  1. Family Assessment
  2. Family Tracking form
  3. Family Partnership Agreement
  4. Parent Training survey
  5. Parent Contact Logs

Child and Family Files, Previous Years

Previous years' information should be stapled together by year, by component, by family, and by child, behind the current year´s information. Additional years information should be kept in a separate drawer but in the same cabinet as the above material. File alphabetically by last name. When a family has not returned for two full seasons, these files may be stored elsewhere in a secure place. Family files should be shredded after 5 years of not participating.