Centers with high level of violations manage to stay open

By MARC KOVAC

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

Five child-care centers in the Mahoning Valley had triple the average number of violations per inspection, an analysis of licensed child-care centers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties has revealed.

Among the top offenders was the Jump Start Child Development Center in Youngstown, which was cited an average of 31 times per visit.

Jump Start has remained open for business, however, illustrating how difficult it is for state inspectors, even in cases of repeated serious violations, to shut down a center.

“We’re not looking to shut anyone down, obviously,” said Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“First of all, many of these are small business owners. We’re sympathetic to that. ... They provide a valuable service. Any parent will tell you how valuable accessible child care is. But, of course, the safety of the children is tantamount. So if we have to shut them down to preserve the safety of the children, then that’s obviously a step we’ll take.”

In Ohio, child-care centers are required to obtain state licenses if they care for 13 or more children at one time at a commercial site or seven to 12 children for a center based in a residence.

REQUIREMENTS

Additionally, homes caring for up to six children must be certified by a county’s Job and Family Services department if those operators receive public funds. Those centers follow a different set of rules than state-licensed centers and are reviewed by county inspectors.

As of late June, 4,295 licensed centers operated in Ohio, down from 4,323 a year earlier.

Those centers care for more than 276,000 children, about half of whom are pre-schoolers.

No center can open without proper licensing, said Carol Ann Ankrom, of the Ohio DJFS Bureau of Child Care and Development.

Owners complete several orientation sessions and must meet a long list of requirements before children enter their doors. There’s also a pre-licensing inspection to ensure operators understand state-mandated rules and that buildings are up to code and pass fire department muster.

Those planning to serve food on their premises also must receive approval from local health officials. The process can take several months.

There are more than 40 licensing rules containing numerous specific requirements that centers must follow.

The state dictates how employee records and children’s attendance records are kept. It requires centers to have plans in case of medical, dental and other emergencies.

Centers must maintain safe and sanitary premises. Administrators and staff are required to meet certain educational requirements and must have criminal-background checks.

“It’s a safety net,” Ankrom said of the latter. “It does provide a certain amount of screening of individuals working near and around children [or] with children. It’s not going to absolutely prevent something from happening, but it’s one of the tools that we use.”

She added, “It’s certainly a deterrent oftentimes for individuals who are seeking to do harm to children.”

If rules are not being met, inspectors cite centers and require they come into compliance by set deadlines.

Most of the violations statewide and in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were related to records issues, and many could be remedied while inspectors were on site or shortly thereafter.

Violations

Inspectors will work with centers having problems meeting state-licensing standards.

“We’ll do everything we can to help a center if they really seriously want to stay open and provide compliance,” Ankrom said. “It is a lot, and that just means the individuals that are licensed need to take it seriously, and the primary focus should be the care of the children and the safety of the children.”

Most of the violations found at Valley centers would be considered minor — paperwork or clerical issues that were fixed while inspectors were on site.

But in cases of repeated serious violations, the state may move to revoke a center’s license or deny new licenses. Neither move happens very often. During the two-year period reviewed by The Vindicator, there were only 14 instances in the entire state of license revocation proceedings and 26 instances when licenses were denied.

Even in those cases, legal protections are in place to allow targeted centers to appeal revocations or denials and remain open for business.

That process can be lengthy — Jump Start in Youngstown, for example, has maintained operations for more than a year after revocation proceedings were launched.

There’s nothing in state law allowing fines or changes in licensing arrangements against centers during the interim. Such sanctions would be helpful as inspectors try to ensure operators are following the rules, Ankrom said.

“Our sole purpose is not to close programs,” she said. “The community needs child care. We don’t take it lightly to put a program in revocation, because it impacts the families. But ultimately, the children need to be safe.”

CHILD-CARE INSPECTIONS

Fast facts

All the information is available as part of public records that are posted online at jfs.ohio.gov. The documents are searchable by county, ZIP code or city and can provide a basis for parents seeking child-care options in their community.

Centers are licensed biennially, with state inspectors revisiting centers during their initial months of operation, then twice a year thereafter. At least one of those visits is unannounced.

Inspectors also return whenever complaints are made against operators. Those visits happen within 24 to 48 hours when serious issues are involved (those that risk children’s health or involve a children’s service agency).

Source: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services