Parents and guardians want their kids to be safe, but they may not want to wait for 10 minutes to drop off or collect their children. UCare Check-in ensures that families are welcomed and looked after; quickly and painlessly while also giving parents and guardians peace of mind about their children's safety. Check-in also gives churches the ability to manage staffing levels and promptly communicate with parents.
From the left navigation bar, click on Check-in.
The Check-in page provides three options to check-in families; this help article shows how and why to use check-in options.
Tip: For multi-site churches, tap on Areas to restrict which campus information is available during check-in.
Assisted Check-in
Assisted Check-in helps families check in quickly and securely, allowing them to print name tags, add new families or update details. Typically, staff and volunteers should assist families in ensuring families are not accessing others' information.
Opening assisted check-in shows a list of today's meetings (i.e. classes). The first step is to select the meetings to make available for check-in.
If a label printer is connected or a remote print station is available, label options display under each category. This allows different label designs for each category or turns off labels on specific categories.
The current device can be published as a remote print station if a label printer is connected. Check the Register as print station option and enter a unique print station name to enable this.
Once the required options are selected, tap Start.
- See the troubleshooting guide if a printer is connected, but the print options are not available.
- See supported devices for a list of the label printers compatible with UCare.
- If a Brother label printer is connected, select the type and size of tape in the printer.
Searching for families
After starting Assisted Check-in, the search page opens. Enter the household name, a member's name, or number, or scan their check-in key tag to find an existing family.
Tip: Enter a full phone number to find families; alternatively, partial first or last names can be searched. If only one household matches, it loads immediately; otherwise, tap on the desired household name.
Suppose a new family needs to check in; tap New household to open a form for quick entry of the family's details.
Tip: Admins can go to Settings > Forms and set a custom form to replace the default new household form. By using a custom form, churches can set required information and follow-up automations.
Fullscreen
To avoid questions about UCare and create a more focused experience, click the fullscreen button in the top right of the page to hide the main UCare interface.
A pin code first needs to be confirmed to enter Fullscreen, and the same code needs to be used to unlock Fullscreen.
Household check-in
Once a household is selected, check off the children and other family members checking in. A dropdown box appears under each selected person; it will have regularly attended classes set. If needed, choose additional meetings and times.
Tip: To have classes set based on age, gender, etc., create search groups for each class and a meeting for each search group. That way, the current meeting for matching search groups is auto-selected.
Printed name tags include the selected meeting times, allergies, other medical info, and the child's name.
Sometimes a child has additional items that need a label, for example, a backpack. With a label printer connected, set the number of labels required.
When a new family member or a friend needs to check in, tap New person to open a form for quick entry of their details. To edit a family member, tap … options next to their name and then tap Edit details.
Tip: Admins can go to Settings > Forms and set a custom form to replace the default edit person form. By using a custom form, churches can set required information and follow-up automations.
Tap "Add a check-in tag or barcode", then scan the new key tag or barcode to assign a family member a new key tag.
Before completing Check-in, select which parent (or guardian) is checking in the child to include the parent's details on each child's nametag. Staff and volunteers can quickly make contact in an emergency by having the parent's contact info.
Tap Check-in to complete the Check-in process.
Note: It may take a few seconds for the check-in to show on other pages in UCare.
Updating profile photos
When adding a new person or updating an existing person's details, tap on the current photo or initials to see the new, edit and delete photo options. The edit option crops the image to better fit a person's face.
Tip: On phones and tablets, new photos are captured by tapping New picture to open the device's camera.
How to check out
Enter the household name, a member's name, or number, or scan their check-in key tag to find an existing family. Alternatively, type or scan the code on the security tag.
Select the people to check out before tapping Check-out and releasing them from the church's care.
Note: It may take a few seconds for the check-out to show on other pages in UCare.
Tip: Selecting the person collecting each child is important to ensure only approved people collect children. Meeting attendance reports include the person who collected each child.
Self Check-in
If you prefer to use Check-in stations, Self Check-in allows churches to let families check themselves in. This option does not allow families to check-out but allows for faster, unassisted, multi-station check-ins. This check-in method allows fewer staff or volunteers to assist or oversee the process.
Opening Self Check-in, like Assisted Check-in, will display the scheduled meetings. You can select the sessions you want to make available for Check-in and click Start. This will bring up the PIN screen.
Since Self Check-in is largely unassisted, UCare adds this security feature to protect people’s information. Once a PIN has been set, the Self Check-in screen will open. The PIN must be entered to exit Self Check-in, keeping the rest of UCare inaccessible.
Once a PIN has been set, the Self Check-in screen will display.
Unlike Assisted Check-in, Household or People’s names cannot be searched in Self Check-in, which prevents people from viewing Household information other than theirs. Families can search for their profiles by phone number or by searching or scanning their barcode number.
Once the Household has been located using a phone number or Barcode, families can select the people being Checked-in. A dropdown will appear once a person has been checked, allowing them to choose the Meeting they are checking in to. When this has been selected, they can choose who is checking them in and click Check-in to finalize the process.
Note: Upon closing Self Check-in, you will be prompted to enter the PIN before exiting.
Attendance Roll
The attendance roll can provide a group/class leader with a list of attendees who can then be checked in or out. Should it be required, the registration list can also be printed out. The Attendance Roll allows the facilitator to search the attendee list by Household or Person name, phone number or Barcode.
Opening the Attendance Roll will prompt you to choose a Group or Event type.
Click on the type, and it will open the Groups for you to choose from.
Choose the Group and select the Meeting you want an Attendance Roll for. If you require a roll printout and have a printer connected, UCare will prompt you to choose the printer.
Click Start to proceed, and the Attendance Roll will open.
Use the checkboxes to the left of each Person’s name to check them in. If you need to search for someone, you can do so using the search bar, allowing you to add new people. As people are checked-in, the option to check out will appear at the top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should families check out?
By recording Check-out, meeting attendance reports show the timeframe the church had a duty of care for each child. This timeframe can be especially important when incidents happen after check out.
Why would a church use key tags?
Key tags are an inexpensive option to help families Check-in and Check-out much faster; they also verify that only authorized people can collect children, providing peace of mind for parents, staff and volunteers.
Why does a church need photos of children, parents/guardians?
Photos allow staff and volunteers to visually verify that only authorized people collect each child.
Why would a church use label printers?
In addition to a child's name, name tags show each child's class, medical info and check-in notes that are important for staff and volunteers to see.
Name tags also include the name and phone number of the person who checked in each child, allowing quick contact in an emergency.
For churches not using key tags, use security tickets to verify that only authorized people collect each child. Custody disputes are an example of why this verification is important, as it ensures the person collecting a child is not the other parent in the dispute.
Why are there 🎁 gift, ⭐ star or 👋 hand emojis on name tags?
Name tags have emojis if the person is new, has not attended recently, or has a birthday this week. Staff and volunteers should look for these emojis and make these children feel extra special.
A star emoji ⭐ shows for every new child, and children having a birthday in the next seven days have a gift emoji 🎁. Hand emojis 👋 show when it has been more than 28 days since a regular child last checked in.
What should churches do if a security ticket or key tag is lost?
Security tickets and key tags enable churches to quickly verify that an authorized person is collecting a child. Children who are not checked in can simply be assigned a new tag during check-in.
For children that are check-in, staff and volunteers should check the person's ID to confirm they are a parent or a listed guardian, they can also contact the other parent for approval.