EXCERPT FROM: Missoulian
By Tristan Scott
Allegations of sexual abuse at a Missoula child care facility betray shortfalls in the state’s licensing requirements, and local and national advocates are calling for improved oversight.
The National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agencies last month gave Montana zero out of 140 points for its lack of oversight at small family child care home facilities, a critique that harshened in light of Albert Gaub’s April 6 arrest on charges that he raped a 4-year-old girl in his home.
Gaub, 70, and his wife began operating Cuddles and More in 1999 out of their home in West View Park. The facility was registered with the state as a group daycare and was licensed to care for eight children.
A report published by NACCRRA in March takes aim at inadequacies within the state Department of Public Health and Human Services Quality Assurance Division, and says the state, which it ranks 39th overall, fails in its duty to protect the health and safety of children. Other states ranking below Montana had even more serious deficiencies. For example, Idaho doesn’t even license child care providers who care for fewer than seven children.
According to the report, titled “Leaving Children to Chance,” Montana falls short of the mark in three primary areas:
- The state health department does not require routine inspections at home daycare facilities.
- It does not conduct comprehensive background checks of providers.
- It approves licenses for home care facilities prior to inspecting them.
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A home child care facility can become registered and care for children for up to 120 days before an on-site inspection occurs.
“These are businesses. Would you allow a restaurant to serve the public food before there has been a health inspection?” said Linda Smith, executive director of NACCRRA and a Montana native.
Based out of Washington, D.C., Smith said vast improvements could be made in Montana’s licensing standards by applying “common sense requirements,” such as mandating checks of fingerprints, criminal records, sex offender registries and juvenile records, rather than the name-based criminal background check the state has required since 2000.
Smith added that budgetary restrictions limit the department’s ability to pay regular, unannounced inspection visits to child care facilities, and said NACCRRA is urging better federal policy to shore up public funds.
But the Treasure State is among the worst in the country for its lack of oversight, Smith said, in part because Montana statute requires annual on-site inspections at a scant 20 percent of all family and group daycare facilities.
“That means it could be five years between inspections by the licensing department,” said Kelly Rosenleaf, executive director of Missoula Child Care Resources, a child care referral agency. “There are so many weaknesses in Montana’s licensing process that might not have protected this child, but it will protect others.”
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The criminal case that brought the inadequacies to the fore involves the Cuddles and More daycare facility, which Gaub operated along with his wife. Gaub voluntarily relinquished his child care license to DPHHS several days before he was charged with felony sexual intercourse without consent.
The Gaubs’ home was surveyed on Feb. 10, within two months of Gaub’s arrest, according to Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for DPHHS, and the couple passed the name-based background check. Law enforcement investigators say Gaub has no prior criminal history in any state, so a more thorough check would not have turned up anything suspicious.
But Rosenleaf says national research shows that the more frequently a child care facility has unannounced visits, the higher the quality of care.
“The question is, are children valuable enough to invest money in?” Rosenleaf said.
NACCRRA has been issuing report cards assessing states since 2007, and Montana has earned a failing grade every year. In the most recent assessment, Montana would have scored 60 points out of 140, except that it does not inspect providers before they are licensed and caring for children – an automatic zero, to NACCRRA.