EXCERPT FROM: The Topeka Capital-Journal
By Barbara Hollingsworth
Parents still mourning the loss of their daughters moved closer to the finish line after months of work to make Kansas daycares safer.
Lexie's Law passed out of the Senate Saturday evening as the parents of Lexie Engelman and Ava Patrick watched from the gallery. They hoped to witness a vote later in the House.
The law would gradually eliminate the registered status for day cares, moving all those homes to a licensed status that carries with it assurances of inspections.
"It has been a long, long process," said Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka. "We have met for countless hours. It makes some much needed and much welcome changes to the way we address child care facilities in our state."
The bill (Senate sub for House Bill 2356) calls on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to create rules and regulations detailing requirements for supervising children, including monitoring, physical proximity to children, diapering and toilet practices, safe-sleep practices and playground oversight. A daycare provider could permanently lose their license if they had violated three or times the requirements, or if they contributed to the death or serious harm of a child under their care. In addition, KDHE would create a way to access online information about daycare providers and a history of citations and substantiated findings.
Lawmakers said parents Steve and Alecia Patrick and Bryan and Kim Engelman were tireless in working on the bill. The couples estimated they made about 30 trips to Topeka since the session began in January and almost every day over the past week as House and Senate negotiators worked out a compromise.
Eighteen-month-old Ava Patrick was on her first day at a new daycare last year when she strangled to death on a fence separating babies and toddlers at an Olathe home day care. Lexie Engelman was just 13 months old when she suffered fatal injuries on her third day at a Johnson County home day care in 2004.
They hoped to see the bill advance in the House as well on Saturday, but the House adjourned before taking action.
"I think it will be a night of reflection but one of celebration as well," said Alecia Patrick. "Any time you have tiny victories along the way you still remember why you're here."
Their efforts seek to ensure greater oversight and accountability for daycares and more regulations on the level of care expected.