April 4, 2000

A 3-month old baby boy is still on life support after suffering severe head injuries while in the custody of a daycare provider.

It happened at a South Weber home at 7325 S. & 1600 E. last Wednesday. The woman says three other toddlers wandered off, and pulled the baby off the bed while it was napping. Police are still investigating the incident.

Child advocates warned it would only be a matter of time, before something like that happened. Two years ago the Utah legislature de-regulated childcare out of the home, increasing the number of children an adult can watch. But that's not all. News specialist Jill Atwood reports.

It used to be one adult to every six children. But after the 1998 legislative session, that number increased to eight children. You might think, as a result of that, training requirements for these in-home providers would have increased. Think again.

The 3-month old baby boy may not live to see his first birthday, after suffering severe head injuries while at the in-home daycare.

"THIS WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT. THIS WAS A PREVENTABLE INJURY."

Roz McGee with Utah Children says with de-regulation and decreased training requirements it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

Roz McGee/Exec. Dir., Utah Children: "AN ADULT CAN ONLY GIVE ATTENTION TO SO MANY THINGS, EVEN AN EXPERIENCED PARENT, MOTHER, CAREGIVER."

In 1998, the legislature loosened the reigns on in-home childcare providers. The one to six adult-child ratio was increased to one to eight. And the 12 hours of training required was more than cut in half--down to just five hours.

Debra Wynkoop/Dir. Bureau Licensing: "AS YOU LOOK AT THE SCOPE OF REGULATION AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FAMILES TRYING TO MAKE CHOICES, YOU REALLY WALK A FINE LINE. WHEN SHOULD THE STATE TAKE THE OBLIGATION TO REGULATE VERSUS A FAMILY'S FREEDOM OF CHOICE?"

McGee calls the deregulation a major step back for Utah kids and their families, at a time when other states are doing just the opposite--putting more regulations on in-home child care.

"THIS WAS A CASE WHERE THE PENDELUM SWUNG TOO FAR IN SAYING WE CAN'T INTERFERE IN THE LIVES OF PROVIDERS. WE NEED TO HAVE IT SWING BACK FOR THE PROTECTION AND SAFETY OF CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME CARE."

Since yesterday, I've found out that the woman watching that 3-month-old was required to have a crib for him to sleep in. As you'll remember, the baby was napping on a bed. So, had she been inspected at that time, that would have been a serious violation--one she would have had to correct immediately.