By David M. Baum, Attorney & David Wolf, Attorney Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In one year alone, over one million children will become victims of some sort of child abuse and neglect in this country. An abused child is generally considered to be: “a child whose physical or mental health is harmed or threatened with harm, or by the acts of omission of a person responsible for his/her welfare.”
In Rockford, Illinois a day care worker was charged with sexually assaulting children while working at Tiny Tots Daycare on Chateau Lane. The perpetrator, Kevin Yates, 56 was charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, three counts of criminal sexual assault and nine counts of criminal sexual abuse. The known victims are a five-year-old and a teenager, but it is believed that more children might be involved. Yates had been working at the day care center in Illinois since 2005, which the Department of Children and Family Services recently shut down. The current charges cover a span of two years. Yates is being held in the Winnebago County Jail on a one million dollar bond and is expected to appear in court on June 9, 2011.
Although the majority of dare care centers in the United States are provided by responsible and trustworthy establishments, abuse and neglect in these environments still can occur. As such, it is important to have policies and practices to protect children in their care. For example, an Illinois child care centers should have thorough and comprehensive hiring procedures and should observe how a prospective employee interacts with children. Employees that distance themselves from the children instead of interacting with them or yell at the children are likely to be inappropriate care takers. In addition, employers should also require references and criminal background checks for prospective employees. For more information on this topic, see man accused of sexual assaults at Rockford day care.