Medical & Allergy Plan

How the Rainbow DJ Lab learns about each child's health needs, keeps that information private, and follows the child's own care plan in class.

Status

These policies were adopted by the Ras Tafari Inc. board on October 17, 2026. The Rainbow DJ Lab is proposed. It has not been approved by the Chicago Park District, no class dates are set, and no staff are hired yet. Nothing on this page is in effect until the launch checklist is complete. No class runs until every item is checked.

The short version

• You tell us about your child's allergies, asthma, medicines and other health needs on the Medical & Allergy form.
• If your child has a care plan from their doctor (for example, a FARE Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan, an asthma action plan, or a seizure or diabetes plan), you give us a signed copy. We follow that plan. We don't make up our own treatment.
• Medicines come in the original pharmacy container with your signed authorization. Rescue medicine (an epinephrine auto-injector or inhaler) stays within reach of the trained adult. Everything else is kept locked. See Medication Storage.
• Class time is food-free by default. No food is shared without parent permission.
• If epinephrine is used, we call 911 every time, and then we call you. See the Epinephrine Protocol.

What we ask you for

If a care plan or medicine is missing on a class day, the lead adult talks with you at sign-in before you leave. For a child whose plan calls for an auto-injector, the child does not stay for class without it. That isn't a punishment. We can't follow the plan without the medicine.

Before the season: the review

1. Stephen Henry (or the lead adult he assigns, once staff are cleared) reads every Medical & Allergy form.
2. For each child with a care plan, the lead adult meets or calls the parent to walk through it: the triggers, the early signs, what to do, the doses, and when to call 911.
3. Each adult who will be in the room reads the plans for the children in their class before the first class.
4. If there's a need we can't safely meet, we tell you honestly before your child attends, and we work on it together.

Who can see your child's health information

Medical and allergy notes are stored privately in the Lab's app and are only visible to coaches. They are never sent to a family's private link or to the in-room screens. (A family link shows only that family's own child. In-room screens, opened with the coach's expiring room code, show first names and last initials, stations, jobs and in-class activity, and nothing medical.)

During class, a signed-in coach's Safety now panel shows allergy, EpiPen, medical and custody flags for the children checked in, plus guardian phone and emergency numbers, so the adults in the room can act fast. If anything happens, the coach logs it in the app's incident log, which emails Stephen Henry: what happened, the action taken, whether you were called, and whether 911 was called. You're still told the same day by phone.

On class days, the adults in the room have what they need to act fast: each child's care plan and any rescue medicine travel with the trained adult in a closed bag or binder, never left out in view of other families.

In class: day-to-day

• Sign-in check (every session): the lead adult confirms with the parent that nothing has changed, and that any rescue medicine is present and not expired.
• Food: sessions are food-free by default. If an event ever includes food (for example, the Rainbow Showcase that families attend), families get advance notice of what will be served, and no child is given food without their parent's permission.
• Gear: controllers and headphones are shared. Kids wash or sanitize their hands at Drop In, and shared gear is wiped between groups. This lowers the chance of contact with allergens from someone's snack.
• Asthma and exercise: the Move Break is gentle, and any child can sit it out. A child with an asthma action plan has their inhaler within reach of the trained adult.
• Feeling unwell: a child who becomes ill is kept with an adult in view. We call the parent for pickup and follow the illness rules.

When something happens

What you'll be told

• Any medical emergency or use of medicine: a phone call as soon as the child is safe and 911 has been called if needed. You'll hear what happened, what was given and when, and where your child is (or which hospital EMS is going to).
• Written incident report: within 24 hours, for anything beyond a small scrape. See Incident Reporting.
• Minor first aid: told at pickup the same day.

What we never do

• Give any medicine, including over-the-counter medicine, without a signed parent authorization and the original container.
• Change a dose, or substitute our judgment for the child's plan or the prescriber's orders.
• Delay calling 911 to reach a parent first.
• Share your child's health information with other families.

Sources

• FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan: https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/food-allergy-anaphylaxis-emergency-care-plan
• Illinois Poison Center: https://illinoispoisoncenter.org
• American Red Cross, First Aid/CPR/AED training: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class
• American Heart Association, Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED: https://cpr.heart.org