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Study concludes that Indiana's children may be at risk in regulated child care settings
Aug. 29, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Findings in a new study released today (Aug. 29) by the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University show that many children enrolled in regulated child care in Indiana may be at significant risk for injury and illness.
Comparing the National Health and Safety Performance standards with Indiana's existing child care regulations, analysts found that approximately 40 percent of national health and safety standards were not addressed by Indiana regulations concerning child care centers.
Additionally, approximately 70 to 80 percent of the standards were absent in regulations concerning licensed child care homes and registered child care ministries.
Eight percent of Indiana's children (0-5 years) in need of child care are in licensed centers. There is no accurate count of the number of children receiving day care services in registered ministries due to the fact that they are not limited in the number of children they can care for regardless of space or staff limitations.
The study, "Comparison of Indiana's Child Care Licensing and Registration Requirements to the National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs," addressed three types of care regulated in the state of Indiana. They include child care centers, child care homes caring for five or more unrelated children, and child care provided by religious organizations with a 501c3 status.
The study was funded by a federal grant from Healthy Child Care Indiana-A Health Systems Development in Child Care through the Indiana Parent Information Network Inc.
The major implication of the study's findings is that Indiana children enrolled in regulated child care may be significantly at risk for injury and illness, said Pat Cole, a research associate in the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community. This is compounded by the fact that parents are not informed that regulated child care does not assure the provision of a safe and healthy child care environment for their children, particularly in licensed home and registered ministry settings.
Although licensed centers, homes and ministries adhere to some regulations promoting health and safety, the majority of Indiana's child care settings have no regulation. If children who are in regulated child care settings may be at risk, this indicates a greater potential for injury and illness in unregulated settings.
The study recommends that Indiana's regulations for child care be updated to reflect nationally recognized standards, be increased in scope to include all out-of-home child care settings, and be effectively enforced to ensure Indiana's children a safe and healthy out-of-home child care environment.
Findings of the study have been forwarded to the Indiana Family Social Services Administration's Bureau of Child Development, the Indiana Department of Health's Maternal Child Health Bureau, and other state agencies and organizations involved in child care regulation and support.
To obtain more information on the study, contact Pat Cole at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at 812-855-6508 or pacole@indiana.edu
The full study is available on the Web at http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/~ecc/proj.html#HCCI
(Pat Cole (Research Associate), 812-855-6508, pacole@indiana.edu or George Vlahakis (OCM), 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)