Even When DOH Violations Pile-up, Many Centers Do Nothing, Putting Children at Risk
Today, New
York State Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) and Senator Diane
Savino (D-Staten Island) announced findings of a citywide investigation
into the safety of New York City day care centers. The report found that
not only are an alarming number of day care centers repeatedly cited by
the NYC Department of Health for “serious” and “critical” health code
violations, but due to a lack of accountability, few of these centers
take meaningful corrective action. Instead, many centers simply allow
violations to roll over from year to year—without any meaningful
repercussions. In fact, since 2008, not a single New York City day care
center has had their operating license suspended or revoked.
Senator Jeff Klein said,
“When New York City parents read these findings, they’ll have every
right to be outraged. Everyday, hardworking parents trust these
daycares to look after their children. But after today, we need to ask
ourselves, who is looking after the day care centers? Since city
agencies are not holding these day care centers accountable, we need to
give parents the ability to easily identify the worst offenders. That’s
why we’re introducing legislation that will require every daycare to
post their most recent inspection report on-site and online. We know
that will serve as a tremendous wake-up call to the industry.”
Some
of the most common violations include (1) persistent failure to screen
new hires for a history of child abuse, criminal convictions, or sex
offender status, (2) deterioration of facility infrastructure, (3)
failure to properly clean facilities, (4) failure certify all staff
members as physically and mentally healthy, and (5) failure to install
and maintain window guards in rooms, hallways, and stairwells.
According
to the report, New York City’s Department of Health has recorded over
11,000 health code violations in Brooklyn’s 809 registered day care
centers since 2010. Over the past two and a half years, Brooklyn’s day
care centers averaged 14.5 violations per facility. Facilities in the
Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan are not far behind, averaging 13,
12, and 11 violations, respectively.
Violations for Group Day Care by Borough
|
Borough
|
#
of Providers
|
#
of Violations Since 2010
|
Avg.
# of Violations Per Provider Since 2010
|
|
Bronx
|
295
|
3,854
|
13.06
|
|
Staten
Island
|
112
|
1,388
|
12.39
|
|
Brooklyn
|
809
|
11,743
|
14.49
|
|
Manhattan
|
482
|
5,575
|
11.57
|
|
Queens
|
465
|
3,287
|
7.07
|
Senator Diane Savino said, “As
someone who started her career as a child advocate, I know how tough it
can be for parents to find a reliable daycare provider. We want every
parent to have access to high quality day care. But in order to do that,
we can’t allow repeat offenders to get away without so much as a slap
on the wrist. Posting the latest inspection report at the entrance of
every day care center will get these operators to clean-up their
act—after all, advertising a laundry list of threats to children’s
safety isn’t a great way of attracting new families.”
Hidden Camera Footage
At
the press conference, hidden camera footage shot by Sen. Klein’s staff
at NYC day care centers illustrated clear lapses in security. At one day
care center in Queens, an undercover member of Senator Klein’s staff
posing as a prospective parent toured most of the facility without being
noticed. During the undercover staffer’s tour, video footage revealed
an exit door wide open and two security desks unattended.
At
another day care center in the Bronx, when the prospective parent asked
if the facility had any outstanding health violations, the center’s
tour guide answered “no”--even though the day care has some of the most
DOH violations in the borough. At a day care center in Staten Island, a
closet full of toxic cleaning supplies was left open and unattended only
a few feet away from nearby children.
Legislation
Senators
Klein and Savino introduced legislation today that will require day
care centers to post their most recent Department of Health inspection
report on-site, at the entrance of the facility, and online. By making
these inspections readily accessible to prospective families, Senators
Klein and Savino believe that parents can make a more informed decision
about where to enroll their child. Senators Klein and Savino also
believe that posting inspection results will spur day care operators
into action and put an end to persistent violations.
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