I-Team: State Turns Blind Eye to Illegal, Unlicensed Day Cares - WI and the Colby Thompson Act in Washington State

I-Team: State Turns Blind Eye to Illegal, Unlicensed Day Cares - TODAY'S TMJ4

The Colby Thompson Act signed by Governor Gregoire in Washington State came about because of 9 month old Colby Thompson's parents, Jamie and Christopher's intent that unlicensed facilities caring for children would be addressed.

Like the Wisconsin story linked above, as a former child care licensor in Washington State, I witnessed the same turning of a blind eye to folks doing unlicensed care both by unelected state bureaucratic managers as well as by some licensed child care providers witnessing such businesses in their own neighborhoods.

Just as we want our hairstylist, our barber, our manicurist and our dog groomer to be highly knowledgeable about our care and our dog's care so do we want our children to be safe and healthy.

With a hairstylist, barber, manicurist and dog groomer we are only there a short period of time. The knowledge requirements for these professions are in depth.

Our children are left for 8 hours or more in homes and centers; and what do we know about these places and people within them? How do we know who to trust?

Being licensed is not a guarantee of quality as the state child care licensing agencies (under five different names in the last 18 years) has extremely serious quality control issues.

Child Care Resource and Referrals who get millions of federal and state taxpayer dollars...these agencies you call to find a child care provider have NO ACCESS to the histories in the state licensing files when they speak to you about day care providers. If a parent does ask (and many have including parents whose children have died in child care) they will be told to call the Department of Early Learning (DEL).

When you call DEL you will not get a detailed history on the home. Being told there are no valid complaints doesn't tell you if the facility has had violations or what kind.

Unless you use the words "licensing violations" the bureaucratic system employees will likely not offer the information; and then that history may be censored.

In addition, after I left the agency in 2006 the unelected bureaucratic managers ordered "inconclusive" no longer be used in complaint "investigations". In fact, the unelected bureaucratic managers in 2007 ordered that the word "investigation" no longer be used.

As a result "inconclusive" became "not valid" which further muddies the water and the information that parents so need to make health, safety and well-being decisions for their child.

The licensed child day care providers who I witnessed to have the best businesses meaning children were happy, engaged, healthy and safe were from the start...right-on quality business people.

It's the reason I tell folks looking to get a license who contact me to start with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), get a free mentor there and write a business plan. Take some of their classes.

The State of Washington unelected bureaucratic managers took out of the Washington State Administrative Code (WAC) Family Home Child Care Business Regulation WACs the requirement to get annual training in October 2004.

Almost 7 years now and the managers have not put that educational requirement back in the WAC even though DEL stands for the Department of Early Learning.  The irony.

I will be tracking how the unelected bureaucratic managers will enact the Colby Thompson Act and report back.