The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

State should regulate day cares with 6 or less kids, says group

Many home child care businesses in Ohio with 6 or fewer kids aren’t regulated by the state.

$Cynthia Ladd has been operating a child care business \uFEFFfor 13 years in her home at \uFEFFFarley Street in Dayton. \uFEFF Staff photo by Jim Witmer$

Staff photo by Jim Witmer Cynthia Ladd has been operating a child care business \uFEFFfor 13 years in her home at \uFEFFFarley Street in Dayton. \uFEFF Staff photo by Jim Witmer

ENLARGE PHOTO

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 10:10 AM Monday, August 9, 2010

Home child care businesses in Ohio with six or fewer children have come under scrutiny from a prominent child care advocacy group citing a lack of state regulation.

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies ranked Ohio last in the nation along with eight other states based on scores in 14 categories related to the health, safety and well-being of children, including employee background checks, minimum education and training requirements and facility inspections.

“Ohio is one of only five states that does not license (for) children in these care centers. Our agency has been very concerned about this for years,” said Karen Hurley, a spokeswoman for 4C For Children.

Ohio law currently requires only those who care for seven or more children to be licensed.

Alicia Leatherman, director of the Governor’s Early Childhood Cabinet, argues there is required certification through county departments of Job and Family Services for the providers in Ohio that receive a child care subsidy. There are about 7,500 of those providers certified across the state, but Leatherman said it’s not clear just how many others may be operating because they are not required to register if they do not receive state funds.

Leatherman would like to see a consistent licensing system for all child care providers in Ohio, noting that it’s part of the governor’s strategic vision. A move to standardize could be years away because licensing these providers could cost at least $6 million annually at a time when the state is facing a budget crisis.

That’s not the only hurdle that stands in the way.

“The debate is these are people’s homes, and the state doesn’t have a role in oversight,” Leatherman said. “It’s really been a privacy issue.”

Cynthia Ladd, 60, of Dayton, who has run a child care business in her Farley Street home for nearly 13 years, was shocked by the recent NACCRRA report ranking Ohio last, along with Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, South Dakota and New Jersey.

“I feel like we’re not valued,” said Ladd, pointing out that she and other providers subsidized through the state are required to meet a number of standards.

Those include a criminal background check, a clean child abuse/neglect report from Children Services, completion of health and safety training and experience caring for children or at least 30 hours of approved training. The home daycares are inspected twice a year and are assessed for a safe and healthy environment, according to rules in the Ohio Administrative Code.

“I do everything a regular daycare has to do,” said Ladd, who watches six children, including two of her grandchildren.

Leatherman said certification for the 7,500 providers who watch six or fewer children in Ohio looks “very similar to standards NACCRRA described” in its rating system — but Ohio still received no points.

“We certainly think we should get some credit for settings we do have oversight over,” she said.

This year, Montgomery County Job and Family Services received 27 complaints about home day-care providers, eight of which were substantiated.

One woman, who was watching children for a limited time, was “terminated” after a screening showed she had history of physical abuse involving her preteen daughter, said Vary Welch, manager of child care and child health services for the department.

“She beat her with belts,” he said.

Elaine Ward, senior vice president and chief operating officer for 4C for Children, which has a Dayton office, said those kinds of horror stories are why licensing is needed in Ohio.

Her agency — which provides a referral program for home-based providers at its website, 4cforchildren.org — is an important form of care that meets the needs of families and allows many parents to work from home.

“We just would like to ensure some basic health and safety requirements before someone hangs up a shingle and says, ‘I’m a caregiver.’ ”

Having rigorous licensing standards is why the Department of Defense scored so well in the NACCRRA report. It ranked fifth overall, behind Delaware, Oklahoma, Washington and Massachusetts.

At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, there are 22 licensed home child cares for six or fewer children, with six more homes pending, according to Jennifer Spurgin, a civilian who serves as chief of the Airman and Family Services Flight.

Spurgin said the effort to license child care began in the 1980s to ensure quality care was provided in the homes.

“It was just a strategic vision to ensure we had quality care across the board,” she said.

Providers have to complete 40 hours of training orientation to learn the areas of compliance, plus 24 hours of annual training that includes CPR, child abuse prevention, guidance administering medication, food handling and curriculum.

“The providers are very used to be being inspected,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2094 or mkissell@DaytonDaily News.com.