How do I check a senior day program’s daily attendance patterns?
Ask for daily attendance records covering a recent run of weeks, and compare them with sign-in sheets and billing. Look at which days are busy, which are slow and how many participants attend regularly. Steady, well-recorded attendance is a stronger base than numbers that swing without explanation.
Start with the attendance log itself. It should show who attended each day, along with absences and reasons. Cross-check a sample against invoices and any funding reports, since the three should tell the same story. If the records are handwritten, ask how they are kept and who reviews them.
Then read the patterns. Are some days always full while others are thin? Is attendance growing, flat or slipping? Ask the manager what explains the swings, such as outings, weather, family schedules or transport. A small group of regular participants who attend often is different from a long list who come once in a while.
Finally, ask how people join and leave. Ask about waitlists, how many leave because their health changes, and what refills the spots. Visit on an ordinary day and see how many people are present compared with the records. Your accountant can help you relate the attendance figures to revenue in the financial statements. Ask what the program does when numbers fall below its usual level, and whether staffing changes. How the manager responds to a quiet day tells you a lot about how steady the operation really is.
Key takeaways
- Compare attendance logs with sign-in sheets, invoices and any funder reports.
- Look for which days run full and which run thin, and ask why.
- Visit on an ordinary day and see if the room matches the records.
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Sources
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