Bobbi Jo Bradford is surprised by the questions parents don't ask when deciding whether to hire her as their day care provider.
They rarely ask if she is state-registered or if her home meets city safety ordinances. She has never been asked in her eight years as a provider if she has passed a city-required criminal background check.
Many parents don't even ask for her references, or call the references if she provides a list.
"People are more interested in what hours you're open and how much you charge," said Bradford, who cares for between eight and 10 children in her west Rapid City home.
Rapid City has ordinances regulating day cares the size of Bradford's, but the city has never sent a code enforcement officer to her home to see if it meets the city safety requirements or checked to see if she has a criminal record, as far as Bradford knows.
Because it is optional for day cares her size to register with the state, and she chooses not to, her business has also never been checked out by the Department of Social Services.
Bradford said she provides quality care in a safe home, but noted, "really, anybody could just open up a day care."
The lack of oversight over day cares like hers concerns members of a child advocacy group that has tried and failed four times in recent years to require businesses such as Bradford's to be state-licensed.
The Legislature rejected bills in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005 that would have reduced to six, from 12, the maximum number of children allowed in a home day care before licensure is mandatory.
In the 1960s and '70s, these day cares were required to be licensed in South Dakota. But in 1983, the law changed, and since then, of the smaller home day cares, only those that receive public funds are required to be registered, according to a timeline provided by the Department of Social Services.
Officials from the department declined requests to discuss whether current laws are tight enough or whether they would like to see more day cares licensed.
"The registration process in and of itself seems to work well for those providers that choose to be registered," spokeswoman Tarah Jahnig said.
For those that choose to be unregistered, she said, "complaints about the care provided are not investigated unless the complaint rises to the level of child abuse or criminal activity."
Advocates for tighter regulations say one reason for their fight is the large proportion of South Dakota children in day care.
"One of the staggering things I share with people is that we lead the nation with working parents, and yet we have the least regulation in child care," said Rebecca Andrew of the West River office of South Dakota Voices for Children.
More kids in care
South Dakota leads the nation with 74 percent of families with children younger than 6 having both parents in the work force, according to U.S. Census data. And South Dakota also allows the most children in a home day care without a license (12); the next three states nationwide allow just six (Ohio, Idaho, Louisiana). Thirty-three states mandate licensure at four children or fewer, according to the National Child Care Information Center and state departments of child welfare.
"The contrast between the two is devastating," Andrew said.
And, she said, licensure is seen by some as just a minimum standard, a check on safety that doesn't begin to address quality of care, which can affect a child's social and educational development.
"You could be licensed and yet you could sit your kids in front of the TV all day," she said.
The state has put some safeguards in place for children in home-based day cares. Laws passed as recently as 2001 and 2004 made it illegal for convicted felons, child abusers and sex offenders to provide child care.
But without stricter licensing rules in place, some argue, it is impossible for authorities to check up on who is providing day care and verify that providers aren't felons or child molesters.
"It's sort of like having speed limits but no enforcement," said Greg Boris, senior policy and program specialist for South Dakota Voices for Children.
Cities pass own laws
Now, some South Dakota cities aren't waiting for a state law; they're passing their own.
In the past two years, Belle Fourche, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls have toughened the rules on how many children can be in a home-based day care before the business has to be licensed.
"I think a lot of parents are desperate for child care," said Belle Fourche city engineer Terry Wolterstorff, who oversees planning and zoning there. "There's a limited amount of child care, and sometimes, they will take whatever they can find. If we can help them out to make sure the ones that are available are safe, that's something we can do for them."
Business and civic leaders in Belle Fourche and other Northern Hills communities studied day care issues there last year with an eye toward the economic impact of the quality and availability of child care.
The group, with help from Voices for Children, surveyed parents in the Northern Hills and found that their first priority for child care was safety. Cost and availability were their biggest barriers.
The group recommended recruiting more registered providers so low-income families will have more options; families who qualify by income for the Child Care Assistance Program can use only a licensed or registered provider, or certain family members and friends.
Low-income families who can't find a registered provider are at risk for unsafe care, Andrew said.
"Child care is the second leading expense for a family" behind housing, she said. "No wonder you're trying to barter with a non-registered person."
A similar committee has just begun meeting in Rapid City. Business leaders and people from health and social service agencies are working out the details of a survey that will ask parents about their priorities and challenges when it comes to finding day care here.
Survey results will guide the group toward any recommendations it might make about changes to local day care regulations.
Andrew said cities need tighter restrictions than what state law provides.
Speaking of Rapid City, she said, "The city council passed a law on background checks on ice cream vendors … and we're giving our children over for eight hours for care with no background checks."
Many state lawmakers have disagreed with that philosophy, arguing that parents, not government inspectors, are the best judge of a day care's quality, or that it isn't the government's business to regulate the smaller in-home day care businesses.
Registration issues
Some day care providers here hope the law doesn't require them to register; they say it's just too cumbersome.
"Just basically because of the paperwork that's involved with it," said Beth Rovere, a provider in Rapid Valley. "It takes us a lot of time. You already have a lot of paperwork with taxes and everything. It doesn't allow me any time with my family."
Rovere opened her day care four years ago. She cares for five children full-time besides her own and said her home has never been inspected for safety.
Besides the paperwork, Rovere said being registered would qualify her to care for children of families who use the Child Care Assistance Program, and she would prefer not to deal with some of the problems that can come with struggling families.
"Sometimes that's not the best situation to get into either," she said, mentioning discipline problems with children and restraining orders between adults.
Rovere said another burden of registering is having to fill out a meal plan in advance, and she doesn't think this is the type of thing the state needs to oversee. The plan is required because registered providers qualify for discounts on the meals they feed children.
"Just being a parent, you know how to feed kids," she said. "I think the parents come in and they know probably in the first 10 minutes if you're going to be somebody that they want or trust."
Betty Butler, who has operated her Robbinsdale area day care for 23 years, also said the extra paperwork keeps her from registering her business with the state.
Butler said she maintains her home to state safety standards but doesn't see much benefit in registration, compared to the hassle. Besides, she said, parents don't seem to care.
"The only time they ask is if they need state assistance," Butler said. "The ones that don't need state assistance, they come in, they do an interview, if they like what they see, if we have a good rapport, then it's all systems go. That's the way it should be. The parents know what's best for their child."
Other providers said registration is valuable and is very important to some parents.
"If I was looking for day care, that's the way I'd want to go," said Heather Dimond, who is registered with the state to provide care for up to 12 children in her west Rapid City home.
She said the registration process was educational for her, as she has to maintain training in nutrition, first aid and CPR.
She favors laws that would require everyone to register.
"I'm the type of person that if you're going to do anything, do it right," Dimond said. "If you're going to be working in a field, you should be educated on it. Accidents can happen without proper training."
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