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For Immediate
Release
5/20/08
Contact:
Colleen Greer (Piccola's Office)
(717) 787-6801
Shawne Galer (Payne's Office)
(717) 787-2684
Piccola & Payne Introduce Legislation to
Improve Safety of Family Day Care Homes
HARRISBURG – To better ensure the safety of children who are cared for in
residential-based child care centers, State Senator Jeff Piccola (R-15) and
Representative John Payne (R-106) unveiled legislation today that would require
all family day care home providers to have liability insurance as a condition of
their certification.
The bills were introduced in response to concerns raised by their
constituents, Victoria and Jeff Dougherty of Harrisburg, who contacted both
Piccola and Payne after their son, Warren, was critically injured while under
the supervision of a family day care provider.
"Mandating providers to carry this insurance not only covers the day care in
the event of an accident, but it also provides the parent with an additional
level of security by ensuring that the facility is safe for their child,"
Piccola said.
A family day care home is a child day care center located in a residential
home that provides care to four through six children who are not relatives of
the caregiver. These types of day cares are self-certifying, which means that
providers must only submit a report to the Department of Public Welfare (DPW)
that states they are in compliance with all regulations for certification.
Regulations currently encourage the approximately 4,500 family day care homes in
the state to carry liability insurance, but it is not mandated.
"Since DPW has limited resources, it is difficult for the Department's staff
to conduct inspections," Payne said. "Family day cares can go for years without
oversight unless a complaint is filed against them. By requiring these day
cares to hold insurance – which is not cost prohibitive – we can aid DPW by
weeding out those providers who are not providing professional care."
In addition to requiring liability insurance, the legislation will also
require family day care providers to disclose certain information to parents
upfront, prior to enrollment.
"Providers will be required to disclose and explain any inspection summaries
issued by DPW, the day care's policies, and emergency plans," Piccola said. "By
providing information directly to parents, we are additionally weeding out those
providers who provide substandard care."
"Parents should be fully informed of the family day care's history and
current policies prior to a child's enrollment with the provider," Payne
continued. "Education is the key to making the safest choice for the care of our
most precious resource: our children."
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