"Day Care Provider of the Year" faces probe into infant's death

Sacramento 'child care provider of the year' faces probe into infant's death - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

California licensing allowed "day care provider of the year" Sheila Caceres to settle rather than proceed with the revocation of her license.

From the news article:

"Days before the hearing this month, however, Caceres agreed to settle the matter without conceding any wrongdoing. On Sept. 9, the state ordered a lifetime ban on her operating a day care center. Morgan, her attorney, said it was simply too expensive for Caceres to fight the case."

What I've witnessed as a former day care licensor in Washington State is that as egregious violations piled up and children were maimed or even died that the state licensing agency moved to "settlements".


The real purpose of these "settlements" in some of the cases that I am aware and in my opinion were done to keep secret, failures of the state child day care licensing agency, managers their failure to license per law and regulation, their failure to monitor, their failure to investigate properly and their failure to take enforcement action.


Child day care licensing laws originally were passed to protect children. The Washington State law continues to have that language. I'm not aware of California's law.

From the article: "The state also alleged that she operated the facility over capacity and that at one point last year, Caceres "failed to notify the licensing office of an unusual incident in which a child wandered away from the facility and was found in the street."

She was accused of leaving chemicals and medications accessible to children. And, the state alleged, that "on more than one occasion from approximately 2009 to 2010" she took a day care child with her to another home and "engaged in sexual activity in the presence of the child."

Licensing laws were passed to protect children.

State licensing agency managers have allowed folks operating at overcapacity, that don't have enough staff and use isolated areas of the home that are not licensed to continue caring for vulnerable children. In too many cases licensing managers after a child died, the state agency then took action to revoke a license.

In Washington State even though it's a law, the state licensing agency, the Department of Early Learning will not post the names of the licenses revoked. Some folks even after a death will go back to providing day care.

Maybe the Sacramento Bee could do an in depth investigation on California's licensing agencies to get a more full picture.

There was time in Washington State that the Attorney General's Office said revocation action is the only appropriate response to folks who put children at risk.  Settlements were not done.