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& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | | OCTOBER 11, 2000 WORK & FAMILY By Jill Hamburg Coplan Screening a Child-Care Center for Safety Here are nine things to look for before you start bringing your child in every day
I'll leave for another time the fluffier stuff -- how a center runs playtime and enforces discipline, its toys, furnishings, and decoration -- and go straight to safety. You don't say if you're leaning toward a public building or a private home, also called "family care." (The Children's Foundation found in 1999 that the U.S. had almost 300,000 regulated family child-care homes in the U.S.) But the following should help in either case. I compiled this checklist with help from Lifecare.com, a work-and-life consulting company that gives the 6 million employees of 1,100 large corporations referrals to child-care centers and advice on children's safety, health, and development. 1. Is the center secure? A staff-to-baby ratio of 1:3 or lower is Rule 1. Then see that the doors aren't accessible enough that an infant could escape through one if a supervisor turned away for a moment. You also want a strict security policy about who's permitted to fetch your babies at the end of the day. 2. Is it child-proofed? Electrical outlets should be sealed. There may be older children present, but where your baby plays, you shouldn't see marbles, figurines, or anything with detachable parts that your babies could choke on. While the staff needn't all hold education degrees (a lifetime as a mom and grandmother may be more valuable), everyone should have up-to-date certification in infant CPR. 3. Are any environmental hazards present? You should see working carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms (ask how often they have fire drills). Has the place been inspected for lead, radon, and asbestos? The center should also post an emergency evacuation plan. 4. Is it hygienic? Inspect the bathrooms and food-preparation areas. Be sure sick babies are kept apart from the others. 5. How's the outdoor play area? Fresh air is important, but the playground must not have loose pavement, gravel, or debris. Look for a safe, soft surface (sand or grass) and equipment without sharp edges that's well anchored. Rambunctious three- and four-year-olds should be playing at a safe distance. 6. Are the toys broken? All plastic isn't equally durable. Beware of toys with cracks or holes that could trap your babies' fingers or toes. You also don't want toys in the infants' cribs when they're sleeping. 7. How's the temperature? Little ones nap a lot, so the place should be insulated, for quiet and also to maintain a safe temperature (overly warm and stuffy has been associated with sudden infant death syndrome, while too cold may chill a lightweight infant). 8. Who'll vouch for the place? Don't rely on the fact that your state has licensed it -- requirements vary (yours may not even ask for criminal-background checks), and compliance is often voluntary. Get three references -- parents with babies currently enrolled. And ask if the center has ever been the subject of a complaint or citation, and confirm the answer with your Better Business Bureau or state's regulating agency (look in the blue pages under children's services). 9. Is the staff satisfied? A recent report by the Center for Policy Alternatives, citing numerous studies, linked the quality of child care to providers' wages and benefits. No surprise that with rates averaging a paltry $7 per hour and only two in eight child-care workers receiving health insurance, job satisfaction is low and turnover averages more than 40%. That's a problem for our babies, whose well-being depends on the dedication to the job that fair compensation brings. Only when caregivers stick around long enough to form happy relationships can babies feel truly feel safe and secure.  Jill Hamburg Coplan has covered work, family, business, and finance for the past decade as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines, and wire services. She left Working Woman magazine, where she was senior editor, when her first child was born and now works solo from a home office in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can e-mail her at Jill Hamburg Coplan  | | |
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