THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080449
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
A welfare plan that would require low-income mothers in Virginia to get jobs would funnel thousands of children into a child-care system that's poorly regulated.
Virginia's welfare-reform plan, which is similar to proposals being made at the national level, is expected to increase demand for family child care, which is provided in the home of someone not related to the children and usually not regulated.
A report expected to be released by the U.S. General Accounting Office on Friday raises concerns about national welfare reform plans, saying most family day-care centers escape regulation by state or local authorities.
Family day care is often less expensive than regulated center care, with more flexible hours. But it's usually not regulated.
In Virginia, an estimated 80 percent of the state's 600,000 children in day care attend unlicensed homes and centers. Of those children, the majority stay in family day-care homes. Home providers in Virginia can keep up to eight children without being licensed.
The number of slots in regulated day cares in South Hampton Roads is far less than the number of children whose parents work. A study by The Planning Council, a human services agency in Norfolk, shows that there are 25,599 licensed spots in family and center day cares, yet 54,904 children under 6 live in households with parents who work.
With the shortage of licensed care, more children coming into the child-care system will land in the hands of unregulated providers.
Gov. George F. Allen's proposal would require welfare recipients to find a job within 30 days of receiving their first government check or perform public service such as work in libraries or homeless shelters.
The GAO on Friday is expected to release the final version of its national study in Portland, Ore., at a hearing of the House Small Business subcommittee on regulation.
Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the subcommittee chairman, said family day-care operators account for a very large share of all non-family child care.
In an interview this week, Wyden said this type of care is ``more and more the child-care system of choice for thousands and thousands of families across the country.''
While some states are working hard to make these centers safe and nurturing for young children, he said, ``there are parts of the system that are creaking at best.''
The GAO said some studies estimate that up to 90 percent of family child care is unregulated.
``Hence, many family child-care providers operate legally but do not have to meet any standards to protect the children's safety and health,'' the investigators said. ``Experts believe that meeting at least some minimal child-care standards as a precondition to providing care is an important step in building quality into all child-care settings.''
The issue is especially critical for low-income children, because quality child care can help them overcome some of the shortcomings in their lives, such as poor nutrition or a lack of parenting skills. Child care is important to all aspects of a child's development, the GAO said.
Although Republicans and Democrats disagree on many of the specifics of welfare reform, both sides agree that the welfare system must be changed to encourage work and require more mothers to get jobs. The GAO said that will increase the strain on the child-care system, particularly family day care.
Quality child care, the GAO said, is care that nurtures children in a stimulating environment, safe from harm. Elements of good care are associated with child-care providers who are trained in areas such as early childhood development, nutrition, first aid and child health; low staff turnover; small groups and low child-to-staff ratios; appropriate materials for each age group; space that is free from hazards; and settings that are regulated.
Wyden said questionable child-care operators tend to gravitate to centers that are not regulated.
``There is a lot of good family child care, but if you're talking about an unregulated environment, an environment that in many communities lacks even minimal kinds of standards, registration and inspection, it's an invitation to the questionable operators to set up shop,'' said Wyden.
Earlier this year, Wyden's subcommittee investigated health and safety problems at regulated child-care centers.
For some children, Wyden said, poor child care can lead to school problems that spiral into ``a variety of dangerous directions - gangs, drugs, sexual promiscuity. . . . If kids get off to a bad start in the first three to four years, society has to play a lot of catch-up ball.''
KEYWORDS: WELFARE REFORM DAY CARE VIRGINIA PROPOSED by CNB