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By
Catherine M. Pruissen
The
Who's
Watching the Children?
Special Feature from the Orange
County Register in California, conveys a dire
message that rings true clear across North America:
Parents searching for child care are "lulled
into a false sense of security" in their blind
belief that state and provincially run licensed facilities
are safe. Worse, "Referral agencies designed
to help parents find good child care knowingly recommend
problem-plagued facilities, including one where a
child molester was found on the premises, another
with rat infestations and others with chronic overcrowding,"
writes By Kimberly Kindy and Jenifer B. McKim in their
article, Child-care
referral agencies tell little.
The
series of articles spared no mercy. And rightly so.
You can't get people to stand up and pay attention
if you sugar-coat the issues. The Register did their
homework. They analyzed some 60,000 records involving
nearly 2,700 child-care homes and centers. They created
a database to desipher a total of 10,126 violations
that occured from from Jan. 1, 1998 to June 30, 2001.
And, they conducted more than 300 interviews for this
series.
The
results were alarming: The number of citations where
children were placed at risk had been rising. Case
in point: At one home, inspectors found "a chain
saw in the patio, broken swings in the back yard,
nails sticking out of boards, and detergents, snail
poison, Clorox and other cleaners on the floor."
write the journalists.
In
another instance, "A father found his 2-year-old
sleeping on the floor of the garage. The house was
dirty and cluttered". In yet another, the Register
discovered that a private school "received 12
citations since 1998 for unsafe or dirty conditions.
Reports showed children looking for rats near a hole
in the building and playing on broken equipment."
(In
harm's way, By Jenifer B. McKim, Kimberly
Kindy and Natalya Shulyakovskaya, The Orange County
Register.)
In
a nation where suing is almost a national pastime,
Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies
interviewed by the Register cited "the fear of
being sued" as one of the reasons for non-disclosure
to parents. Arguably, one would think that the potential
liability is far greater if they don't screen out
bad listings that are public record. But that only
serves to boast a new fear of being taken to court
for not giving a licensed facility a listing. In fact,
it's actually happened. But what's most mind boggling
is that the agencies told the Register that they honestly
"don't believe it's their job to pass along negative
reports."
Granted,
parents are the consumers and should arm themselves
with as much information on how to choose quality
child care as they can possibly absorb before they
place their child in any setting. That includes a
thorough investigation of the facility license. But
imagine your horror if you found out, after all your
due dilligence in choosing a daycare, that the agency
withheld crucial licensing safety violations about
the referral. Or, if you even can, imagine that charges
of willfully allowing child molestation may not even
necessitate banning a home or center being from a
referral list.
The
responsibility for investigating complaints and enforcing
regulations rests with the licensing bureau, not with
the CCR&R. But many parents are not aware that
they should be talking with their local licensing
office before they even book an appointment to visit
the daycare centre or home, whether or not the referral
came from the CCR&R. After all, as Kindly and
McKim point out in their article, it is rare for any
of California's 61 child-care referral agencies to
ban a child-care facility. "Even
those on probation - a last-ditch effort by the state
to reform facilities where it says children have been
injured or placed in serious jeopardy - can remain
on referral agency lists. Statewide, there are 115
with probationary licenses, including three in Orange
County, but parents are not given this information
either."
The
problem is that in all too many jurisdictions across
North America, parents are given scant little information
to go on even when they do inquire about licensing
violations. In some cases they are told that there
are infractions, but are not told what, or how serious
these problems are or what actions have been taken
to ensure the licnesee is complying with the regulations.
There
has to be some level of concern here for the safety
of the children who's lives may be endangered should
a referral from the CCR&R or Children's Services
registry, lead to a placement at any facilities where
there were serious violations.
The
point of this article is not to bad-mouth CCR&Rs
or Children's Services Departments posting their registrants
online. These services are, without a doubt, extremely
valuable for parents and caregivers. They advocate,
educate and raise awareness of child care in the communities
they serve. And the National
Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
and Child
Care Aware has recently launched a new voluntary,
quality assurance system program for CCR&Rs. Programs
who attain Quality Assurance meet a set of Criteria
for Best Practices. These criteria define measurable,
relevant outcomes and indicators for consumer education
and referral service delivery.
However,
there is no clearly defined mandate in the criteria
for disclosing information to parents on caregivers
and facilities that have been red-flagged by the licensing
bureau or any other law enforcement or Social/Children's
Services office. This can be attributed in part to
the complexity of privacy laws in each state and province
that prohibit certain information from being disclosed
with regards to criminal records and licensing infractions.
It's one thing for a licensing office to investigate
a caregiver or daycare for the purposes of granting
a license. It is clearly another to disclose the findings
of that investigation to anyone other than the caregiver
or business owner.
Some
Good News
But there was some good news mixed in with the alarming
results. The Register noted that "A majority
of homes and centers in Orange County operate free
of citations for safety hazards. And, in most cases,
problems found by state inspectors can be corrected
immediately by locking a gate or latching a drawer."
Many
provinces and states are also working on new programs
that will enhance the quality and availability of
information available to parents by combining the
resources of the licensing office, law enforcement
agencies, and the CCR&Rs.
How
It's Supposed to Work
Child
Care licensing sets out very specific rules, regulations
and minimum standards under which centres and child
care homes must operate. Licensing regulations cover:
- Safety
- Facility
and equipment requirements
- Public
health and nutrition standards
- Fire
safety
- Staff
training
- Child/Staff
rations and group size
- Program
content,
- Record
keeping practices, and
- Policies
and procedures.
These
are the minimum guidelines under which children will
flourish. It is a baseline that divides minimum care
from poor care. Facilities who are constantly in violation
of any of these licensing requirements fall below
this line and can be considered, if the infractions
are serious enough, such as constant overcrowding,
improper staff ratios, safety violations, hiring staff
with marginal criminal record checks, to providing
a poor level of care. On the other side of the bar
are programs that rank way above the baseline for
quality care and are acredited through the Head Start,
or other national child care organizations. They must
meet very strick operational standards to become accredited
and to maintain their accreditation. Such programs
superceed the baseline standards of the licensing
office.
Types
of Licenses
Child
care centres and homes are licensed on a yearly basis
after an inspection from the licensing board. The
licences must be posted where parents can view it.
There are three basic types of licenses, (but this
many vary from state to state or from province to
province):
- A
regular licence
- A
provisional licence, and
- A
licensing order.
A
regular licence is issued for up to one
year and indicates that the centre or home is in compliance
with government regulations.
A
provisional licence
indicates that there are some areas of the regulations
that are not being met. These areas are often listed
on the provisional licence, which is issued for a
shorter period of time that the one year issueance
of the regular license. This gives the child care
centre or home an opportunity to correct any problem
areas and comply with the regulations. Once the conditions
of the provisional licence have been met, the facility
is eligible to obtain a regular licence.
A
licensing order
is issued to a facility when there is a severe violation
of the licensing regulations. The order requires the
licensee to make immediate correction of the default
area(s) listed on the licensing order to bring them
up to regulation standards. Failure to correct the
violation(s) may lead to the loss of the child care
licence. Generally the order will indicate the name
and telephone number of the inspector, who parents
may call to obtain information on the specifics of
the licensing order.
When
a Complaint is Filed
Licensing agencies, generally, will respond to the
following types of complaints:
- Reports
that a child in a child care facility is in immediate
danger because of health and/or safety conditions
- Reports
of child abuse, neglect, or children are left in
the care of a minor with no responsible adult in
attendance
- Violations
of licensing regulations including exceeding capacity,
staffing ratios, etc.
-
The provider is under the influence of drugs, alcohol
or other controlled substance while providing care.
An investigation often includes an
unannounced visit to the child care home or center
where the investigator may:
- Observe
the the child care home or center
- Review
child and staff files and records
- Interview
staff, parents, other parties involved with the
facility.
The
investigation may also involve sending
a "notice of complaint letter" to an unlicensed
provider, or
engaging the services of other agencies such as the
Department of Health, Fire Marshal, USDA Food Program,
Prosecuting Attorneys, Law Enforcement agencies, etc.
When
an investigation is completed and the licensee is
found to be in violation of the regulations, a time-limited
corrective action plan is usually implemented and
in some cases a provisional license issued. The licensing
office will monitor the situation to ensure corrections
are, in fact, made. If the licensee is unable or does
not take the time to correct the infractions, or if
subsequent complaints are lodged against the facility,
the caregiver many be fined, have their license suspended,
and in rare cases, revoked.
Some,
but not all licensing offices will inform the person
making the complaint of the outcome of the investigation.
Resource and referral agencies and other involved
parties are also notified of the investigation results
and any actions taken against the licensee.
All
complaints and subsequent investigations and findings
are kept on file. However, state or provincial privacy
laws dictate what information is released to the public.
The name of the person who lodged the complaint or
report is never divulged.
The
Problem
Sadly,
the information that gets released to parents is too
generalized. Parents aren't given a complete description
of what constitutes a Type A or Class 1 infraction,
or if it even means the provider actually put a child's
life at risk. Nor do they have an understanding of
what encompases a personal rights violation or how
that stacks up against a corporal punishment violation.
It is up to the parents to ask the the licensing office
for more specifics - for what they are actually talking
about. Parents must then take what information they've
been given, and ask the provider about the details
of the investigation and to determine if the caregiver's
response and the actual infraction is acceptable to
them.
All
to often, warnings, fines and citations are handed
out again and again while the problem areas often
remain uncorrected. As
the Register points out, fines are seldom paid and
officials turn a blind eye to the fact. Enforcement
appears more a nusance than a threat to some caregivers.
Licensing
offices are under funded and inspectors are saddled
with more registrants than they can safely handle.
Visits to daycares centres and homes occur on average
only once a year, sometimes even less than that for
daycare homes in some states. When problems are found,
the investigators need to make more visits, placing
even more stress on an already overburdened system.
Daycares
themselved are cash-starved as many governments cut
much needed funding. Finding the money to fix major
infractions, even maintain proper staffing ratios
becomes a challenge. It is the children who, in extreme
cases, pay the ultimate price with their lives as
the operators struggle to remain in business.
A
Right to Ask the Tough Questions
Most
of the issues in this article stem from personal and
freedom of information rights.
Where do you draw the line between a parent's right
to know about the quality of a facility and/or caregiver
who will ultimately be responsible for a child's well-being
while in care, and a caregiver's right to privacy?
CRR&Rs and Children's Services Departments who
make their referrals from their list of licensees
are ultimately trapped in the middle. Tell too much
about a licensee, they can get sued. Tell too little,
a child's life could be in danger. Remove a problematic
licence from a registry and they may get slapped with
a lawsuit. Give the parents the name of the facility.......and
the cycle continues. Perhaps legislators in each state
or province need to take a long hard look at the rights
of the little voices who cannot defend themselves:
The child's right to safe, quality child care.
Until
the rights of the child are written into law, and
until parents have barrier-free access to inspection
and criminal record reports, parents need to work
through a tedious discovery process. This includes
questioning the licensing board, the CCR&R, and
the caregiver or facility operator before they even
consider a placement for their child.
Questions
for the Licensing Board
- What
types of visits are conducted?
- How
often are visits conducted?
- Do
parents have access to the inspection reports from
the licensing office? If yes, how do you obtain
a copy? If no, why not and do they have a right
to access these reports at the child care facility?
- Were
any visits to a particular facility the results
of a complaint or a non-compliance report?
- What
types of violations were involved?
For example:
*
* Type A. Violations - immediate risk to the
health, safety or personal rights of children.
** Type B. Violations - could become
a risk to the health, safety or personal rights
of
children.
** If an agency uses a code number to
indicate the type of violation, ask what the violation
codes mean?
- Was
the complaint investigated or substantiated?
- If
so, what were the results?
- If
citations were made, was an action plan developed
and what did it involve?
- Where
can parents get further information about the investigation?
- Do
parents have a right in this province/state to ask
a facility if they have any caregivers who are working
in a facility on a criminal record waiver?
- How
much information is the licensing board allowed
to tell parents about the caregiver's past and the
reason for the waiver?
Questions
for the Caregiver
If
you see something you do not understand on a record
from the licensing office, police clearance, medical
record, etc., don't clam up. Ask what it means. Don't
be afraidd get tough if you have to. You need answers.
Your child needs you to protect him.
- Where
is your license? If
is a provisional or licensing order (anything other
than a regular license), find out why. Look for
information on or beside the report for the non-compliance
details. Ask the caregiver or director what needs
to be done to bring the facility into compliance
- Where
is the facility inspection report? (In most areas
parents have had the right to view facility's inspection
reports, even as far back as three years). Check
the date on the report. Look for indications of
the "type of visit" or the reason for visit. Look
for an inspector's remarks.
- If
you learned from the licensing office that a visit(s)
was conducted on the basis of a complaint, ask the
caregiver about it.
- If
an action plan was developed to correct the non-compliance,
ask the caregiver if you can see the action plan,
and what part of the plan has be incorporated to
correct the situation.
- Parents
may also have the right, as they do now in California,
to ask a provider for information about criminal
waivers for anyone working in the facility. A waiver
allows a person to work in a child care facility
despite their past. An Orange County Register investigation
showed that "....thousands of people with criminal
records – some of them felons with violent histories
– are allowed into state-licensed child care after
going through a highly flawed screening process."
The state has imposed a six month moritorium on
issuring waivers in March of 2002. (Criminal
hires halted, Kimberly Kindy and Tony Saaverda,
The Orange County Register. 03/21/02").
Systems
That Works
North
Carolina's 5 Star Registry Service
Started in September of 2000, North
Carolina's 5 Star Rated Licensing is a shinning
success. Each facility, whether it be a centre or
home, is given a rating
based upon the child care facility's:
- Program
standards
- Staff
education standards, and
- Compliance
history) .
The
star rating is based on a very demanding standard
that requires age-appropriate toys, parent involvement,
a stable work force and high educational levels for
workers The total points for all three areas:
- One
star = 3 - 4 points
- Two
stars = 5 - 7 points
- Three
stars = 8 - 10 points
- Four
stars = 11 - 13 points
- Five
stars = 14 - 15 points
The
program also provides parents with state inspection
reports either on line or through the mail.
Missouri’s
Family Care Safety Registry
Through Missouri's Family Child Care Registry, employers
can call a toll-free telephone line to request background
information on registered child-care, elder care,
and personal caregiver workers or to request licensure
status information on licensed child-care and elder
care providers. parents can request background information
on individuals registered with the Family Care Safety
Registry for employment purposes only.
The
Daycare Report Card from First Coast News, Jacksonville,
Florida
"Our Day Care Report Card is just one more tool
you can use when trying to make an informed decision
about where to send your little one," writes
Mark Spain, in his First Coast News Article, How
day care facilities are graded.
First
Coast News reviews the inspection reports from the
Department of Children and Families on thousand daycare
homes and centres in the Jacksonville and grades them.
"We start with 100 points and then subtract points
based on the types of violations," Spain explains.
"The local DCF has identified 17 Child Life Safety
issues. Child Life Safety issues are an automatic
5-point deduction on our scale for each listed item.
Other infractions can be three, two or one-point deductions."
FCN
also gives parents a break down of what each of the
Class violations are and the seriousness of each classification.
This is vital information for parents. More important,
parents can find a breakdown of the latest reports
on each center right on the News Web site; Daycare
Report Card.
CareFinder
Indiana
Parents
can check the inspection reports of child care centres
right online by simply filling in a simple form. No
registration required.
What
Can Parents Do to Protect Their Family?
"As
a parent, you think state licensing means your kids
will be safe," said Alfred Pegero, whose son Will,
3, drowned two years ago in a garbage can filled with
rainwater while his Marin County caregiver was inside
cleaning. "There are so many layers to the way they
fail our kids." (Shoddy
care endangers kids, By Jenifer B. McKim, Kimberly
Kindy and Natalya Shulyakovskaya, The
Orange County Register, March 21, 2002.)
A
child care referral or a child care license is not,
by any means, an automatic stamp of approval. The
most important thing parents can do when it comes
to choosing the best child care for their family is
to realize that just because a facility is licensed,
doesn't mean it's good. Check out the series of articles
from the Organge
County Register. There is no room for niaviety
when it comes to protecting your child in care. Finally,
be aware that referrals are not recommendations. Just
because they come from the CCR&R or from a listing
from the licensing bureau itself doesn't mean you
can assume they are quality facilities.
Don't
go on an interview empty handed. Have a detailed list
of questions with you so nothing gets missed.
Whenever
possible, opt for facilities that are accredited.
Such centers and homes have passed strict national
accreditation standards and offer a better quality
of care. Visit the following Web sites for more information.
Accreditation
is a powerful tool for raising the quality of early
childhood education. It provides a process through
which early childhood professionals and families can
evaluate programs, compare them with professional
standards, strengthen the program and commit to ongoing
evaluation and improvement.
Again, check the facilities thoroughly.
Resources:
Child
Care Ckecklists from childcare.net
Daycare
Checklist
Childcare
Checklist
National
Association of Early Childhood Education (NAEYC) Accredited
Program Search
Contact information for all
early childhood programs currently accredited by NAEYC
National Association
for Family Child Care
A list of accredited family child care operators in
the U.S.
Child
Care Advocacy Canada
Write letters to your MP and MPP/MLA with the Sign
on For Kids Campaign.
USA
Child Care - Legislative Action Center
Find elected officials, including the president, members
of Congress, governors, state legislators, local officials,
and more.
National
Association for the Development of Young Children
-
Trustline
TrustLine
is unique. It is the only background check authorized
by state law to use three databases that the general
public, including private investigators and private
background check companies, cannot access. These databases
include fingerprint records from the California Department
of Justice Criminal History System; the Child Abuse
Central Index of California; and fingerprint records
of the FBI Criminal History System.
National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
- ...
The User Manual Series: Training Resources for Professionals
- The User Manual Series addresses topics relevant
to child maltreatment prevention, intervention, and
treatment. These manuals are useful both as self-instructional
guides or as part of an in-service training program.
Other
Daycare Stories Making News
Day-care
Delimmas - a Series of Articles from the The
News-Press, Florida.
Daycare
Decisions - a series of articles from CBS
13, Lubbock, Texas
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