Running a home day care

Report shows anyone can with little requirements

By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
Home child care provider Denise Wheeler has an early childhood education degree, 13 years of public day-care experience and most days a house full of six children ages 6 months to 6 years.

But, as a new national report is pointing out, in Ohio, anyone can run a day care for up to six children at home, with no real requirements.

“In a home with less than seven kids, you don’t have to be licensed, monitored, regulated or looked at by anyone,” said Maureen Boggs, Early Care and Education Division director of the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD). “It’s disturbing that we have so many children in these settings, and we still have so little oversight and protection for the kids.”

In the report, conducted by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Ohio received a score of zero out of 140. It was one of 15 states, including West Virginia, to receive a zero score, but one of only five states that don’t license small family child care home businesses.

The areas of concern included: No license requirements for home providers caring for fewer than seven children; no home inspections or visits or background checks for these providers; no requirements to inform parents of the use of substitute providers; no requirement for providers to have toys and materials available in eight different development areas or plans to incorporate reading, math concepts, active play or self-help skills; no limits on the number of children allowed based on the ages of the children; no requirement for providers to have a high school diploma or GED; and no requirement for providers to have training in areas including CPR and first aid.

Wheeler, who is licensed because she has nine children actually enrolled, said she sees training as crucial for anyone in the industry.

“CPR, first aid and communicable disease training are so important,” she said. “It should be required.”

Wheeler said she also makes use of her early education background, providing structured days for the children in her care.

“In the morning, we always do art, science or a craft project—some type of preschool activity,” she said. “In the afternoons, they have story time and a nap. It helps to have structure to the day.”

But with the current system in Ohio, there’s no way to know if children in other homes are getting the same care, said Boggs, although two pieces of legislation in the state could change that in the next year.

Ohio House Bill 342 and Senate Bill 232 would require any child care providers caring for three children unrelated to them and receiving pay to be licensed by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

Currently, only those with more than six children have a license, and those with fewer than seven children but who receive a public subsidy to take income-eligible children have certification through the county.

“We have a system for some but not for all,” Boggs said. “It’s partially a funding issue, but I think even more it’s a misconception. Most families believe the care is regulated and it’s not.”

In the past, the perception has also been that the child care regulations were a family issue rather than a government issue, she said.

“This industry is huge, but it’s not recognized as an industry,” Boggs said. “We need to bring it up to the standards of other industries.”

Marietta parent Christine Rutter, 37, said she was shocked there was so little government involvement in small home day cares.

“That’s so scary,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of parents don’t know. I think it’s up to parents to do their homework, but we do assume sometimes that someone has at least been checked out and is qualified.”

Rutter said she’s depended on relatives and day-care centers for her children’s care but she has looked into home settings.

Nationwide, more than 1.7 million children younger than 6 are in a small family child care home every week.

“There should be more monitoring,” said Rutter. “It’s children—it’s not your car that you’re dropping off for the day for repairs.”