Daycare bill is a bright star

A bright star has appeared on what has been a rather dark horizon in the world of child care in Idaho.

The Idaho Senate has passed, by a 30 to 5 vote, S1112, a proposal to change Idaho's outdated and inadequate child care statute.

Supporters of child care reform have tried for a number of years to amend the current statute, which leaves thousands of Idaho's children in child care facilities vulnerable to safety and health threats.

This week's vote is a major breakthrough in the effort to change that. But the bill now must clear the House of Representatives, where similar legislation has previously been held up.

S1112 would provide a consistent, minimum statewide system of safety requirements for children in child care facilities where four or more children, unrelated to the provider, are being cared for on a regular basis, for compensation.

It would require criminal history background checks, health and safety inspections, firearms and water safety measures are included, there must be a working phone on the premises, and maximum group size and child staff ratios are included.

This proposal, if enacted, would end the many loopholes that now exist, which create safety issues for many children and create opportunities for those, including sexual predators, to harm children.

The current law allows anyone to care for six or fewer children without any regulation or oversight, and has minimal requirements for group care facilities caring for seven to twelve children.

In the past several years we have accumulated a mountain of evidence showing the need for change. Problems with the current system range from children being sexually abused, to providers being intoxicated, to a variety of health and safety violations. Current statute makes it virtually impossible for the state to do any enforcement actions in most cases.

Opponents have generally argued that more licensing is taking away family responsibilities or may be too burdensome on small providers. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The current policy of leaving primary responsibility for child care to the parents remains in place. What changes is the state assumes a larger role in ensuring that all child care facilities are meeting a set of minimum health and safety standard.

We believe the state has that responsibility. We also believe it is the parent's responsibility to choose the type of child care most suitable for their family.

With the state of Idaho and the parents both involved, our moral responsibility to provide safe child care for our children is fulfilled.

This year the legislature has required veterinarians, mortgage brokers and others to be licensed and have criminal history background checks. Passage of S1112 will send the message that our children are at least as important as animals and money.

Senator Tim Corder, a Mountain Home Republican, and Representative George Sayler, a Coeur d'Alene Democrat, are co-sponsors of the bill.