Fairfax Board Says 'Yes' to Home Day Care Changes
Changes toughen up training and safety codes.
Stricter standards will soon be in place when it comes to the care of children in home day cares in Fairfax County.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved changes regulating home day care centers, requiring more hours of training and fire safety measures.
During its meeting recently, the Board voted to adopt amendments to the Home Child Care Facilities Ordinance. Providers will now have to attend 16 hours of training instead of the original 12 and undergo tuberculosis screenings, as well as install carbon monoxide detectors to comply with county fire safety codes.
“These amendments reflect recommendations and input from a variety of county agencies and outline the best practices in the field,” said Monica Jackson, speaking on behalf of the Child Care Advisory Council. “The proposed amendments are intended to support the health and safety of children and the council believes that the revision and further support that we are requesting will enhance the quality of care in our community.”
The original amendments to the ordinance contained a requirement of a landline telephone, but Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) successfully passed a motion to make it optional, arguing that cell phones were more practical, reliable and affordable.
“I continue to believe that the landline requirement is a cost that’s not worth the benefit,” he said, noting that it could cost providers up to $500 a year.
Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) agreed.
“My main concern is with, especially the smaller childcare centers we have, it is a significant cost,” McKay said. “It’s not as if there isn’t another technology available … I haven’t had a landline in my house for probably 15 years.”
But Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said that the safety of kids was more important than the cost of the landlines.
Fire officials said that when a 911 call comes in from a landline, an address for the call automatically pops up on the emergency operator’s computer screen, making it easier for safety personnel to locate the call. There’s currently no similar service for cell phones, fire officials said.
Supervisors said that home day care providers could certainly have landlines in their homes, but the Board just didn’t want to say that they had to.
Herrity’s amendment to make landlines optional passed 6-3. Hudgins, Penny Gross (D-Mason) and Linda Smyth (D-Providence) voted against the amendment. Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) was absent from the meeting.
The Board did not discuss changes to the number of children a home day care facility is allowed to have, a topic of hot debate over the summer. It is expected to come up next year.
T Ailshire
7:45 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
My provider is already considering state licensing and not Fairfax County. The county is interfering with my ability to place my child in the setting *I* feel is most appropriate. It is *my* job as a parent to inquire about training, emergency plans, processes, etc., -- NOT the county's.
Isle D Belle
11:17 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
I understand that regulation can be cumbersome and is generally very broad and as a result can make many small providers feel that they are jumping through unnecessary hoops. However, while it may be true that most home day cares don't necessarily need that much regulation, what number of unsafe, unprofessional home day cares do justify the imposition of county or state regulations? Is one enough or do you need 100? Regulations are implemented by a governmental authority to interpret the application of laws and as part of that it is also the government's responsiblility to enforce those regulations as part of the law, otherwise the regulations and the law they underlie are meaningless. I don't understand why you think it's not the county's job to enforce its laws and regulations. Your comments reflect concern only about your own particular situation, but if you think about all the different situations that could exist in the county, parents who don't know what questions to ask providers, who don't know how many kids of various ages can be cared for by one provider, who don't know what limitations there are on physical surroundings, toys, cots, etc.; those regulations protect their children, too.
T Ailshire
1:43 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
We apparently come from different philosophies of life. I do not believe it is the government's responsibility to protect us from our own choices. Establishment of the rgulation in the first place says we, the American people, are not capable of making decisions for ourselves. We are not capable of deciding what risk we are willing to accept, or what priorities to place on various functions. We cannot protect people from their unwillingness to ask questions and ask for documentation about things important *to them* in making their decisions. Each of the things you cite (how many can be cared for, limitiations, etc.) are things the *government* has decided, NOT what the parents and daycare providers have decided.
I for one am sick and tired of being told I'm too stupid to run my life, and I need government to do it for me. I'm not willing to be told a provider can care for 12 children in a 1000-sq.ft single-family dwelling, but only 6 in a 2000-sq.ft apartment, simply because one is an "apartment". I'm not willing to say a provider may care for only 3 children, but if she were to have 11 of her own, that's okay. These are NOT decisions appropriate for government to make.