EXCERPT FROM: The Topeka Capital-Journal
By Barbara Hollingsworth
The push to ensure all Kansas day cares face the watchful eyes of inspectors likely will return this week with changes.
Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, said she will bring to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee an amendment that would provide for a transition to moving all day cares into the licensing process and provide parents better information about facilities. As is, about 38 percent of home day cares are registered but not licensed, which means they never face an inspection. Licensed day cares are inspected before opening and once yearly after that.
"Our concern is that right now one in three providers aren't inspected, so with $5 and a little bit of paperwork anyone can register to be a child care provider without getting an inspection," said Stephanie Mullholland, a spokeswoman for Kansas Action for Children.
Kelly said the amendment to Senate Bill 447, which likely will come up Thursday, would provide for a transition during which existing licensed day cares that haven't had problems would be inspected on a complaint basis only. She said that would allow the Kansas Department of Environment, which licenses day cares, to move registered day cares to licensed status. KDHE also will be asked for a plan that would focus KDHE's inspection efforts on high-risk areas. As is, Kelly said, KDHE invests significant time inspecting facilities that already have some oversight to the determent of day cares that face no watchful eyes.
"They're spending the same amount of time, if not more, inspecting park and recreation agencies that already have city or county oversight, and they are inspecting school district programs that already have oversight," she said.
Additionally, Kelly said KDHE would be required to give Web-based access to information about child care facilities so parents can learn about providers and check on their performance. Currently, she said, parents don't have much information on which to base their day care choices.
"You have no idea, and I think those kinds of transparencies and accountability will be good for the consumer, but I think it also will be good for the providers," Kelly said.