Office of Children and Family Services

Monitoring Health and Safety at Child Care Providers (Follow-Up Review)

In our prior report 96-S-88, we identified opportunities for improvement that would strengthen the ability of the Office of Children and Family Services' Bureau of Early Childhood Services to oversee day care facilities, leading to a safer environment for children. For example, we found that regional office personnel were not logging all the complaints received on the Bureau's complaint- tracking system, and that complaints were not always investigated within required time limits. We found Bureau controls to be effective in ensuring that providers complied with regulations regarding health and safety issues, but our site visits identified a small number of health and safety exceptions that could have caused harm to a child. We found five providers who may have had criminal histories that the Bureau had not discovered and could have affected their ability to provide safe care for children. Our follow-up review found that the Bureau has made progress in implementing our recommendations.

For a complete copy of Report 99-F-20 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.