Day Care Inspections Debate

Members of the Kansas Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee have been discussing a bill that would change current law regarding how day cares in Kansas are inspected.

To explain about current law, in Kansas, there are registered day cares and there are licensed day cares. Registered day cares have different requirements than licensed day cares. The proposal under discussion in the Senate would require registered day cares to face inspections just like licensed day cares.

Registered day cares are (from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Web site):

A provider’s own residence in which care is provided by the applicant for not more than six children form birth to 16 years of age with not more than three children under 18 months of age.  All children under 12 years of age related to the provider are included in the total.

• The registrant must be 18 years of age, have an understanding of children and complete first aid training.
• A KBI criminal history and child abuse and neglect background check is processed on all persons living, working or volunteering in the registered family day care home.
• State Certificate Fee is $5.00.  Local fees may also apply.
• The registrant must complete a safety evaluation attesting to the safety of the home in providing for the health and well-being of the children. A registered family day care home is not inspected unless KDHE receives a complaint.

Licensed day cares are (from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Web site):

A child care facility in which care is provided for a maximum of ten (10) children under 16 years of age and includes children under eleven (11) years of age related to the provider.  This total includes children under eleven (11) years of age related to the provider.  The total number of children in care at any one time is based on the ages of the children in care.

• The license is usually issued for the provider’s own home but may be issued at a location other than the provider’s home. The license identifies the address of the child care facility.
• The licensee must be 18 years of age, have an understanding of children and complete first aid and child care job related training or readings.
• A KBI criminal history and child abuse and neglect background check is processed on all persons living, working or volunteering in the licensed day care home.
• State Licensing fee $15.00.  Local fees may also apply.
• The licensed day care home is inspected to check compliance with regulations to protect the health, safety and well-being of the children in care at least once every 12 months. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment contracts with local county health departments or private contractors to conduct on-site inspections.

A bill under discussion now in the Kansas Senate seeks to have registered day cares added to the list of providers that are inspected, though the bill says that the day cares will be inspected every 15 months instead of every 12 months. In addition, the bill, which you can read here, requires that the day care provider be within eyesight and earshot of the children at all times.

Having taken my child to both a registered day care and a licensed day care, the care he received at both places was and is excellent. But in each case, I did my homework in a similar way and chose from among several options, both registered and licensed. I visited the day cares and observed how the provider and children interacted, asked a lot of questions of the day care provider and asked a lot of questions of mothers who had taken and were currently taking their children to the day care provider.

If you interview a provider whose philosophy on how quickly you should pick up a crying baby, or on how much television it’s OK to watch, or whatever the issue, is different than yours, you may decide to seek another option. If the day care provider smokes, you might decide to choose a different provider. If the day care provider doesn’t have CPR training, you might want a different provider. If the day care provider doesn’t have an open door policy so that you can come see, visit or pick up your child at any time, you should pick a different provider.

There are any number of considerations that could prompt you to not pick a provider. And I can tell you, parents agonize over their decision. After all, during the week, their child spends more of their waking hours in the care of the day care provider than the parent.

I think daily interaction with your child and day care provider is the best way to make sure your child is safe and cared for at day care. Even though my son doesn’t get too detailed yet, I ask him what he did at day care, how his day went and other questions. The goal is to make sure he’s having mostly good days, he’s not being bullied at day care, he’s not the bully at day care, he’s sharing well, he’s not eating all junk food, etc.

The state inspector cannot be there every day, but the parent can. And it is the parent who needs to ask how the child is doing and how things are going each day. I don’t see any disadvantages to mandated state inspections, and it’s possible the inspections might prevent some accidents, but either way the vote goes, parents will continue checking in with their providers and children to help ensure their children are safe and well cared for. The parents and the providers I’ve dealt with wouldn’t have it any other way.

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