By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Before selecting a day care center for a child, a parent should do his or her own “homework”. In other words, the parent should do some research and due diligence to determine if the day care center is a good fit for the child and that the day care center is properly staffed and licensed to provide the necessary and proper care for the child. Here are some question to ask and information to obtain when considering a day care center for a child:
Is the day care center licenses the appropriate state agency?
What kind of care is the day care center licensed to provide?
What are the limitatitions or capacity of the day care center?
How many children are cared for by the day care center?
Does the day care center have a history of any violations with the state?
Does the day care center have policie and procedures?
How many staff members are employed by the day care center?
What kind of training and education have the staff members received?
How long has the day care center been in business?
Does the day care center have liability insurance?
Does the day care center have accidental or medical benefit coverage for medical bills?
What age groups are cared for by the day care center?
What is the visitation policy (if any) by the day care center for parents?
Can the day care center provide references in the form of parents who have parents enrolled in the day care center?
Can the day care center provide references in the form of parents who previously had children in the day care center?
As you can see, there are a number of questions and issues to cover. The more that the day care center is open to questions and provides detailed information – the better the chances are that this will be a good choice for a day care center.
Unfortunately, parents only find out about problems at a day care center when a child suffers an injury and additional questions are asked. The book – The ABCs of Child Injury – Legal Rights of the Injured Child – What Every Parent Should Know – has chapters on Day Care Center Injuries, School Injuries, Playground Injuries, Swimming Pool and Aquatic Related Injuries (Drownings), and other topics. You can get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.
There was a recent report of a day care type of place in Harnett County, North Carolina. It was reported that the day care center was actually a base for a child pornography producation operation. It was reported that the facility did not have a day care license. It is quite tragic that adults used the fascade of a day care center to abuse and neglect children. You can read more about this story at Arrest at North Carolina “Day Care Center”.