Parents who enroll their children in registered or licensed child care may assume that all providers are being rigorously checked and that programs are monitored and inspected on a regular basis. This is not always the case. The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) recently released its latest report, Leaving Children to Chance, ranking states on their current home-based family child care program standards and oversight policies. The report reveals that most states fail to protect the health, safety and well-being of children being cared for in home-based family child care programs. According to the report, only four states scored 70 percent or higher on the basic requirements needed to ensure that children are safe and in settings that promote healthy development. Only 18 states check the sex offender registry.
The report ranks every state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense child care system, on 16 basic standards focused on ensuring the health, safety and well-being of children while in family child care homes serving six or fewer children. According to the report, the average state score (among states scoring points) was 69 (46 percent) of a possible score of 150 points. Sixteen states received a score of zero. About half the states do not conduct inspections at least annually. Only 15 states meet each of the 10 basic health and safety requirements needed to keep children safe and healthy in child care. A similar NACCRRA report, We Can Do Better, published last year focused on child care centers. According to that report seven states do not require a check of the child abuse registry as part of their background check for child care providers in the center setting.
“Child care is an important part of many families’ lives.” said Marsha Basloe, Executive Director of the Early Care & Learning Council. “Parents should do their research, but they should also be able to trust that registered and licensed programs are being adequately monitored and that the children in those programs are safe.”
New York requires inspection of family based and center based care before licensing and regular inspections, 2 to 4 times per year, while in operation. New York ranked in the top ten for Child Care Center Oversight in NACCRRA’s 2011 report on centers. Not all states, however, are this diligent. California requires an inspection of their registered family care homes, once every five years and in Michigan, it’s once every ten years.
“We feel that all children deserve to be safe,” said Jessica Klos, Policy Associate at the Early Care & Learning Council. “On March 8th, we spent the day in Washington D.C. with advocates from Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies throughout New York State. We had some great visits with U.S. Representatives and folks from Senator Schumer’s and Senator Gillibrand’s offices. The message we are trying to send is ‘keep kids safe’. It’s really that simple.” There are a few bills pending in Congress that would require full background checks for licensed or registered child care providers:
- Child Care Protection Act (S. 581) by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)
- Child Care Criminal Background Check Act (H.R. 1711) by Andre Carson (D-IN)
- Child Care Accountability and Responsibility (CARE for Kids Act) Act (H.R. 3829) by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
- Child Care Protection Act (H.R. 1726) by Representative Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
“Ultimately we’d like to see high quality care available to all families,” said Basloe, “Until that happens, the least we can do is ensure that the available care is safe.”
To read the full report, Leaving Children to Chance: 2012 Update
NACCRRA's Ranking of State Standards and Oversight of Small Family Child Care Homes click here: http://www.naccrra.org/node/2215
To read the full report, We Can Do Better: 2011 Update
NACCRRA's Ranking of State Child Care Center Regulation and Oversight
click here http://www.naccrra.org/about-child-care/state-child-care-licensing/we-can-do-better-state-child-care-center-licensing
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