Request for Comments

Many of you are probably aware that I have taken a strong position on the tragic accident at a child care ministry involving two-year old Vanessa Porter. My op-ed in The Indianapolis Star, “Unregulated often means unsafe for children,” which ran on Nov. 21, and Jeremy Brilliant’s recent report on WTHR in which he interviewed me and exposed the glaring differences between licensed and unlicensed child care centers brought significant local attention to this issue. However, much more needs to be done.

As tragic as Vanessa Porter’s story is, it provides an excellent opportunity for the larger community; that is, the residents of the state of Indiana, to move beyond mere discussion toward taking active steps to protecting children.

Child care is among the most critical decisions a parent must make. The government’s role should be to enact manageable, common-sense health and safety standards that apply to all child care facilities, including unlicensed ministries. Hundreds of thousands of Hoosier children are in child care situations every day. Let’s look at the current numbers:

Working Families Need:

· Number of children under 6 according to Census Data 2004 501,792

· Number of children with parents in the workforce 300,000

· In areas without full day kindergarten, that number would be rise to 400,000


Capacity to Meet the Need:

· Number of licensed child care centers 507 = 62,684 spaces

· Number of licensed child care homes 3,071 = 37,928 spaces

· Number of child care ministries 707 = 42,692 est. spaces


Voucher Program to assist low income families:

There are approximately 50,000 children on the federal child care voucher program

· There are 384 ministries with capacity of 25,000

· 25% of voucher children are in ministries = est. 6,250

Given what we know about the needs of working parents in Indiana and what we’ve learned about the dangers of unlicensed care, I suggest a vigorous debate on the following three items:

* Voluntary Certification for Child Care Ministries. The Voluntary Certification Program offers the tools, information and assistance necessary to attain health and safety standards. Ministries needing financial assistance can apply for funds. The goal for voluntary certification should be completion within four years. The Bureau of Child Care is pleased to announce that the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) has met the scoring requirements, and is considered an officially recognized accrediting body for child care providers in Indiana effective October 1, 2008. Child care providers meeting ACSI standards may be eligible for a 10% above market rate reimbursement for CCDF voucher children.

· Voluntary Certification Participation Requirement for Federal Vouchers. Parents are always free to choose unlicensed or ministry care if that is their wish; however, as taxpayers and citizens, we should hold our government accountable for the type of child care we fund with our tax dollars. In order to receive federal child care vouchers, ministries should be required to verify participation in the Voluntary Certification Program.

· Marketing and Parent Education. Many parents assume ministry child care is safe because it is provided in churches. These parents may not be aware of the differences between licensed and unlicensed care, and that unlicensed facilities do not meet the minimal health and safety regulations. An aggressive marketing campaign aimed at the education of parents, grandparents and businesses as to what constitutes quality care and how to find it should be developed. Such a campaign could include a video component for birth mothers and their families that can be viewed on in-room hospital networks. Healthy Families Indiana (HFI) could be leveraged for support.

These issue are open for comment. The first deadline for comments is December 16th and the second deadline is Jan. 15, 2009.

On December 19, lawmakers will be considering legislation for the coming session. Public input will be crucial in their decision to move forward. It is very important that I receive your comments. On Jan. 16, I will be meeting with a group of providers from across the state, as well as some political opponents of licensing for child care ministries.

Let’s finally take the step and say all child care facilities must meet minimal health and safety standards and that ministries receiving federal funds must meet health and safety standards as outlined in the Voluntary Certification Program.

Please take a few moments to respond about my suggestions above, or to offer your own thoughts. I can be contacted at the following email addresses: steingroup89@gmail.com and steingroup@comcast.net

Thank you so much for your help.

Carole