[Vision2020] End of Legislative Session Summary from Rep. Trail

[Angie Doe]

Donovan,

I do not disagree about Moscow Day School or UI but they are in the
minority.  Also at least the UI is certified but NAEYC so they are monitered
on a regular basis and must meet very strict criteria.  Other centers meet
next to none.

Maybe there is a better solution than state regulations but the idea that
things are good the way they are now is not something I can stand behind.

On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 12:17 PM, Donovan Arnold <
donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am sure there are differences between the work I do with the elderly and
> disabled, and that of child care, but I imagine there are many similarities.
>
> My first complaint about background checks is that they really aren't
> background checks. They just check to make sure someone doesn't have
> a conviction as a sex offender, which is pretty easy to check without paying
> the $45 fee.
>
> My second complaint is that more often than not, it is a huge financial
> burden for people making $7 an hour to pay $45 for every day care center
> they apply for and having to wait one to two weeks for approval before they
> can start working. When you make $7 an hour, it is difficult to afford that
> burden, it was for me.
>
> 3) This is a massive intrusion and expansion of government  with with no
> indication that it is needed. The assumption here, and I think a false one,
> is that it will improve the safety and well being of the children by having
> a series of regulations to tie the hands of the child care providers. There
> are already a large of laws and regulations on the books.
>
> Having worked in the nursing home environment, I can tell how self
> contradicting and harmful over regulation from the government can be. I
> trust child care providers over the government lawyers and regulators that
> probably have never seen the inside of a daycare, much less worked in one.
> From personal experience with the Moscow Day Care and UI's Daycare centers,
> I can tell you they are excellent places to place your children if you can
> get in, and they didn't need government over regulation to get that way.
>
> No doubt, we may someday need to expand government's role in raising
> children. But as long as parents are still doing a good job, we shouldn't
> invite the government in to fix something that isn't yet broken.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Donovan
>
>
>
> *Angie Doe <moscowresident at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>   >   9.  Does Idaho need to tighten its day-care regulations?
>
> I am a bit disappointed in the answer that has been provided to this
> question.  It leads me to believe that people have a extremely limited idea
> of what actually occurs in daycare.
>
> I absolutely believe that day care regulations need to be tightened.
> More importantly, the current regulations need to be observed and enforced
> regularly.
>
> c. The Department shall obtain a criminal history check on only those
> applicants,
>
> owners, operators, employees or volunteers who have direct contact with
> the
>
> children in care and on all other individuals twelve (12) years of age or
> older who
>
> have unsupervised direct contact with children in care.
>
> I have worked in Moscow daycare and only one has ever required a
> background check, the UI.
>
> 08. all family day care homes
>
> caring  for six (6) or fewer children are not required to have a basic day
> care license or
>
> certification.
> So as long as you have 6 or less kids, you can do whatever you want with
> whoever you want.  Does that seem like a good idea?
>
> If you read our regulations you will see that the only things it discusses
> is health inspection, fire inspection, and background checks.  My experience
> is that the fire and health inspections only take place at the beginning of
> a center opening and are not repeated on regular intervals.  Also, they are
> not taking into consideration what CHILD DEVELOPMENT professionals consider
> safe.  Infants can be playing with Lego's and that is not the safety they
> are looking at.  We already know background checks aren't happening.
>
> There is a lot that can be done to ensure better environments in
> child-care centers.  One thing would be to have somewhat frequent surprise
> inspections to see if the environment is safe and if there is appropriate
> staff that has records of their background checks.  *But the first* *would be to put together a board of Child Care experts and listen to what
> they have to say!!  *They have been talking a lot lately and no one is
> listening.
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