In a statement released late in the day, Nixon said that he directed his administration's Department of Health and Senior Services to disregard a state Board of Health vote that critics said would have diminished safety standards for unlicensed facilities.
The Health Board's vote came at the request of the Department of Health after an attorney from the department declared the rules legally unenforceable.
But Nixon is overlooking that legal opinion from within his own administration. On Friday, Nixon said the revisions in regulatory rules approved Thursday still required final approval by a state rule-making committee. Nixon's directive Friday halted that approval process.
The board's action Thursday would have significantly slackened safety regulations in license-exempt child-care centers, even rescinding a prohibition on the use of alcohol and illegal drugs in the centers.
"The governor has to put the safety of children first," said Nixon spokesman Jack Cardetti after issuing the governor's
statement.
Child safety advocates have long criticized Missouri for having virtually no oversight of faith-based child-care centers. The state lacks the legal authority to inspect or license the centers. Nonetheless, it has had rules on the books setting certain standards.
Kathy Quick, the chief child-care regulator with the department, told the board the state needed to clean up the rules prior to asking lawmakers to grant it the proper statutory power in the upcoming legislative session. Quick also told the board that there was proposed legislation under review by the governor's office to that effect.
The board's vote Thursday to strike down the rules rankled conservatives who suspected ulterior motives. They said that by doing away with the standards, the board was actually trying to gain political support to license and regulate faith-based child-care centers.
But Cardetti said Friday the governor had no proposed bill on the issue under review in his office. Asked if Nixon planned to pursue further regulation of those centers, Cardetti said, "It's an issue that's out there, but obviously the Legislature is out of session and nothing is filed out there as of yet."
Critics of enhanced regulations argue that even minimal government oversight has no place in faith-based child-care facilities and could impinge on a church's curriculum and beliefs.
Nixon's office said the governor did not know the health department was seeking to toss the rules. Officials with the Department of Health and Senior Services could not be reached for comment Friday.
There are currently 590 license-exempt child-care facilities registered with the state, and most of them are affiliated with religious groups. Unlike the 4,324 licensed child-care facilities in Missouri, they are not subject to mandatory inspections by regulators nor do they have to comply with the state's more extensive safety and operating rules that govern licensed facilities. There are also church-based child-care centers in Missouri that opt to go through the licensing and inspection process.
The rules for the license-exempt facilities were enacted 14 years ago. Officials with the Department told the Board of Health Thursday that the rules had never been challenged in court as a violation of the separation of church and state or as an abuse of regulatory power.
When asked if the governor's office felt the rules were enforceable by regulators, Cardetti said only that the governor wanted to keep them on the books.
"These standards have assisted in protecting Missouri kids in child care for the past 14 years, and it is important that these protections remain in place," he said.
Child safety advocates said the department's recent actions were perplexing.
Carol Scott, executive director of the Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral Network, said the attention would alert parents to a possible lack of safety standards at unlicensed child-care centers. But she said it also had a downside.