A day-care(ful) decision
Parents are at a disadvantage in making day care decisions when the Department of Early Learning (DEL) hides information.
PARENTMAP magazine has the best of intentions and are looking for credible information to pass on to parents. I added a comment to Katie Amodei's article, "A day-care(ful) decision. Click on link above for article and my information from being the day care licensor insider then later the whistle blower on the Washington State agencies that license day care facilities.
Elizabeth Bonbright from Child Care Resource and Referral said (quoted from the article): “Basically, any question you can think of to ask your child care provider, we’ve already asked them,” says Bonbright Thompson. “We put all of this information into our computer program so the phone counselors can pull parents a list that most closely matches what they want.”
NO THEY DIDN'T.
DEL does not give Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) information complaint history information nor does DEL give Child Care Resource and Referral health and safety violation histories that have occurred in licensed day care facilities. Day care providers are CCRR's customers and no in depth interviews are conducted by CCRR about day care facilities complaint and violation of regulations histories.
You will notice in the article in the list of things to look for when visiting fails to mention the most important aspect which is how are all of the children actually being treated, are the children happy, any of them sad, withdrawn and/or upset?
Elizabeth Bonbright says: "Trust your gut!" Putting the heavy responsibility on the parent without telling the parent that there are some serious problems with day care licensing oversight and that she has no access to complaint and violation histories of day care facilities is unfair to the parent and other citizens of Washington State that care about the safety of children.
The article does not mention how to file a complaint if the parent sees violations at the day care. After two year old Jaclyn Frank died in a licensed day care home, two other parents called the department to report that they'd had their children there, saw very concerning things and removed their children from that day care. They will always wonder if they had called (did they even know who to call until they read about Jaclyn's death?) might Jaclyn be alive today?
Bonbright's Child Care Resource and Referral, however, gets your tax money through your federal and state taxes to run an agency that can't give you, the parent, the most important information you need to make a decision about the health, safety and well-being of their child while they are at work.
When non-profits get their money from the state government people who hold the purse strings if they want to continue getting money there is pressure to not make the bureaucrats angry at you for offering feedback that might be taken as a criticism thus jeopardizing the non-profit's funding.
For parents, email Communications Specialist Brandon Chapman at Brandon.Chapman@del.wa.gov and request what are called "FamLink provider notes" on the day care facility you are researching. Be sure to ask for both the licensing and the complaint Famlink provider notes. Mr. Chapman will respond to your request with respect and efficiency; and in all likelihood send them back via an email attachment quickly.
My best advice and I agree with Bonbright, "trust you gut", then follow up and make a public disclosure request.
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