Sunday, August 29, 1999
Small day-care centers escape regulation
The Associated Press
Fewer than half of Indiana's 92 counties have adopted state-recommended minimum standards for unlicensed day-care centers.
Day-care centers with no more than five children unrelated to the operator are a growing — and mostly uncontrolled — cottage industry. Such facilities do not require operating licenses and are not regulated by the state.
It was in one such facility that a 4-month-old boy was found dead in a playpen. The same center had violated Indiana law earlier this month for caring for too many children, a state official said.
Travis Carroll apparently died of natural causes but more test results are pending. No charges have been filed, but the center was closed for fire-code violations.
While it is unclear whether the minimum standards might have made a difference in Travis' case, the 38 counties that have adopted them are for the first time imposing some rules on a previously unregulated segment of the industry.
“We realized there were thousands of children in these programs,” said Lauralee Martin, director of the state's Bureau of Child Care Development.
Her agency has been encouraging counties to adopt the standards, which include:
• Criminal background checks.
• A smoke detector on each floor.
• An annual tuberculosis test for day-care workers.
• A written emergency plan for notifying parents of illnesses or injuries.
• Certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid.
Without the standards, the only potential for regulation or inspection is in response to complaints.
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