Tips for Supervisors Who Monitor On-Site and Off-Site Programs

• Keep a record. Document your supervision visits. Include information like your arrival and departure times, which youth and parents were present, and a summary of the information collected. Provide staff with feedback about visits.

• Vary your observation times. Do not develop a predictable pattern of observation. Drop in at different times each day. Occasionally leave and come back immediately.

• Arrive before staff. Check punctuality and the routine that staff follow to prepare for the youth to arrive.

• Survey the physical environment. Is this a suitable location for the activity (e.g. size of area for number of youth, ability to supervise all areas used by youth, landscaping that may inhibit supervision)?

• Watch activities. Are they planned and organized? Are the staff actively involved? Ask to see the schedule of activities and compare with what is actually going on at a given time.

• Observe bathroom and locker room activities. Observe bathroom and locker room activities to ensure that the staff are complying with the established policies and procedures.

• Observe Interactions.