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Proposal focusing on child-care safety
Published 3/9/2010 in Local News
By RACHAEL GRAY
Kansas state senators soon will debate a bill that would require all day-care facilities in the state to meet certain standards and be subject to regular inspections.
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Rachael Gray/Telegram Carla McGregor, who operates “Carla's Little Friends,” a daycare out of her home on Jennie Barker Road, sits with 10-month old Margarita Cruz (far left) as her children (from left) Kenyatta, 10, Beux, 8, and Marcayla, 5, read to Dasia Turner, 10 months, Friday in McGregor's home. Dasia's older sister, Keyhana Turner, 7, (far right) comes to the day care each day with her mother to pick up Dasia. McGregor provides day care to three toddlers each week day.
The bill, SB-447, passed through the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee last week.
The purpose of the bill is to promote child-care safety and prevent accidents at day cares. The bill would require day cares to be inspected every 15 months by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and would require the day-care provider be within eyesight and earshot of the children at all times.
The bill aims to require inspection, establish a risk-based inspection system, improve supervision standards in Kansas and create an online database for parents and providers.
Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare committee, said the bill is designed to bring Kansas up to the same level of child care other states have.
Currently, day cares in Kansas can be either licensed or registered. The KDHE defines registered day cares as ones in a provider's own residence and that don't provide care for more than six children from birth to 16 years of age and not more than three that are 12 or younger.
The KDHE currently identifies licensed day cares as a child-care facility in which care is provided for a maximum of 10 children younger than 16 and includes children younger than 11 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 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. Currently, the KDHE contracts with local county health departments or private contractors to conduct on-site inspections.
Barnett said the driving force behind the current bill came from Steve and Alecia Park, Overland Park, who lost their only child, Ava, who died from strangulation after she lost her footing trying to look over a hand-built fence in the basement of a day care facility.
According to the Kansas Action for Children, in Kansas, one and three child-care providers are not inspected until a child has died in their care or unless a complaint has been filed.
In 2009, 10 children died while in care of a day care, which is up from five in 2008.
According to KAC, Kansas ranks 47th in the nation when it comes to child-care oversight.
Barnett said the bill would raise the level of care in Kansas, and an online database of the results of inspections will be developed for parents and child-care providers.
He said each facility would be inspected every 15 months initially, and from that the state would establish a list-based inspection for facilities that don't meet standards.
"We won't keep inspecting the child-care centers that are doing well," he said.
He said KDHE would be required to develop guidelines and a plan to implement the guidelines. Frequent and regular inspections would be targeted at centers with identified problems or complaints.
Barnett said he hopes the bill will decrease the number of deaths, injuries and dangerous incidents concerning children in the care of day-care providers in Kansas.
From 2007 to 2009, child-care deaths have occurred in the counties of Clay, Crawford, Finney, Ford, Johnson, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Lyon, Marion, Ottawa, Reno, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte, according to the KAC.
On Aug. 31, 2009, 7-week old Alluzae Carson died while in the care of Julie Berry at her 709 Howerton Place residence in Garden City.
Police responded to a call at Berry's residence about an infant not breathing. Officers performed CPR on the boy until EMS arrived and transported the infant to St. Catherine Hospital.
The boy was pronounced dead at St. Catherine. Police determined there was no foul play, and an autopsy determine the child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Kristi Pankratz, KDHE public information officer, said Berry was a registered provider in 2002 and became a licensed provider a few months later. In 2003, she became a group day-care home. The group day-care home was voluntarily closed in February 2009.
At the time of the child's death, "Julie Berry was not licensed or registered to provide day care with KDHE," Pankratz said in an e-mail to The Telegram.
During the time Berry's day care was in operation, two enforcement actions were taken, Pankratz said. In 2006, there was a civil penalty due to the facility being over capacity.
In 2007, there was an intent to suspend and assess a civil penalty order that was issued to overcapacity in addition to other findings of non-compliance, Pankratz said.
"The actions were corrected and the license was not suspended," Pankratz said, adding that a civil penalty was paid.
In an interview with The Telegram, Berry said that on the day Alluzae died, three or four other children were in her care.
"On that day, it probably would have been considered child care," Berry said.
She said after Alluzae's death, she decided to no longer offer child-care services.
The parents of Alluzae could not be reached for comment.
Under the new legislation, Barnett said the bill defines anyone who provides care to children as a "child care provider," and those providers will be subject to inspection.
Finney County Attorney John Wheeler could not comment on a specific day care incident in Finney County but said the county is looking into unlicensed and unregistered day cares.
"We are working with the health department to see if we can rein under control all of the unlicensed and unregistered facilities," he said.
Carla McGregor, who is a registered day care provider at "Carla's Little Friends," said she wouldn't mind being inspected and said other facilities would have higher standards if inspected. "It would probably promote more safety," she said.
McGregor said the inspections wouldn't change the way in which she operates. Her day care is run out of her house, a large mobile home at 950 Jennie Barker Road. McGregor has no issue with staying in the same room as the three toddlers she cares for because the kitchen and living room in her home are open.
She cares for the children mostly in the living room, the central place of activity.
"It's good to be in the same room with them," McGregor said.
Melanie Turner, a parent, has been taking her daughter, Dasia, 7 months, to McGregor's since October.
Turner heard of the day care through Child Care Connection, a Web site directory for day cares.
Turner said she doesn't think the new bill will change much in the care Dasia receives.
"I don't know if it will make a difference. I'm very satisfied with my day care," she said.
Barnett said the bill would likely be debated on the senate floor later this week.
Found 5 comment(s)!
Julie's Defense
I have been in the early childhood profession for many years. I have been a classroom teacher, a home provider and a director of a child care center. I believe in regulations. I believe they need to be defined so all individuals involved understand and follow them. As a child care provider, I have had my share of "violations". Many of them were simply a wrong date or a missed blank that a parent did not fill out. Julie Berry would not harm a child. Did you decide that you could take that story and make great news? Did you explore the facts? It is a pity that a small town newspaper has taken on the same standards as the tabloids! I can read material like that as I check out at Wal-Mart. I feel an apology to Ms Berry is needed! Then maybe you could do a piece on the good things she does for others!
Posted by: Jackie Davis on 3/19/2010
Sad
First of all there is no reason that anyone should have a problem with being inspected at least once every 12 months! I have done daycare for 15 years and feel that this is how it should be. I also don't care for the fact that this article attacked Mrs. Berry in the way that it did. If you would have checked your sources better you would have found that 98% of all childcares are written up for being out of compliance with the state. This DOSE NOT mean that they are beating children or putting them in danger in anyway, the provider can and will be wrote up if there is not a signature in the right place on a child’s file. You talked about the many violations that Mrs. Berry had over the past years but didn't care to put if it was just a paper work error. Yes, let’s make our childcares a safer place to be and put these providers to a higher standard, but please do not bash someone you don't know and hurt them and their reputation in the process! I understand that this is your job but be responsible when you do it!!!
Posted by: Carrie on 3/12/2010
Just my comments
As a past daycare provider I don't agree with the bill, not that I would be scared of doing something wrong, but because there are no definate guidelines in place, such as a true definition of care provider, does that include the family member that cares for children in another home? The teenage child who is working as a care provider during the summer? Just giving all the power to the government is not the answer, as I have been inspected by the health department surveyors who don't even know the rules themselves. I heard the requirements to be a surveyor is just to have a RN license, I think they need to have someone who has been in the daycare or childcare business. Just keeping an eye on the children at all times is not feaseable, for instance taking all the children back inside when one has to go "potty" would mean an all day affair to allow children to play outside or how can you cook a meal if your kitchen is not directly by the playroom? Most daycare providers use naptime to throw in the laundry or get the dishes caught up, get all the paperwork done, or just simply to use the restroom themselves? Just alot of grey areas in my opinion that need to be worked out first.
Posted by: Lisa on 3/12/2010
Child Care Safety
Why have you chosen to crucify Julie Berry and no one else? I know for a fact that you aren't even acquainted with Julie at all. Why do you have a grudge against her? Have you even been to her daycare or are you just out for blood? Are you through with her or will you continue to stalk her with your slanderous lies? Leave her alone. And go somewhere else and bother other people in another country.
Posted by: Joy Schoor on 3/11/2010
Julie Berry
Thank you Rachael Gray for ruining Ms. Berry's reputation. Thank you for throwing her past out for the public to eat up. It had no relevance to why the baby died in her care. You brought it up so you could have a story. It was no one's business. Where are the story's about the other poor daycare providers out there? I know of TONS that have had complaints and citations. Why aren't they listed? You listed everything about Ms. Berry. Just so you could get your paycheck. Didn't matter who you hurt in the process. That is pathetic. My child attended the Berry's daycare for 6 YEARS and we never had any problems what so ever from there. I am disgusted with you and the GC Telegram for allowing this article to be printed. And I sure hope you post this to the public to see. I know how you guys like to only post the comments YOU want to see.
Posted by: Jane on 3/9/2010