In a Coordinated City and State Response, Bronx Legislators Seek to Implement Measures to Equip Parents and Childcare Providers to Ensure Child Safety
State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, elected officials, and childcare advocates joined together to announce the introduction of a series of bills in the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council to protect children from opioid exposure in childcare facilities.
In the wake of the tragic death of one-year-old Nicholas Feliz-Dominici at a childcare facility in Kingsbridge in September of this year, Senator Rivera and Councilmember Sanchez worked in tandem to coordinate an appropriate, public health focused response in an effort to prevent a tragedy like this from ever occurring again and ensure that our communities and children are safe.
Senator Rivera’s bill (S.7815) will provide education and training for providers on overdose prevention, ensure thorough training for inspectors on how to identify illicit drugs, and most importantly, will empower parents, who are by far their children’s strongest advocates, by ensuring they are informed about avenues for inquiries and complaints to the State’s Office of Children and Family Services, as well as their rights to inspect childcare facilities.
“The fentanyl exposure incident at a daycare in my district was a horrifying tragedy. The heart wrenching death of one-year-old Nicholas Dominici and the terror that families experienced due to the negligence and callousness of the facility's providers cannot happen again. My legislation will equip inspectors to safeguard daycares across New York, empower parents to ensure childcare facilities are fit for their children, and provide resources to daycare providers to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Our community is still grieving and reeling from that day, so I am honored to work closely with Councilmember Sanchez on this coordinated legislative response at the state and city level on behalf of New York families and caregivers,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Senate Health Committee and sponsor of the bill.
Councilmember Sanchez will introduce a legislative package in the forthcoming legislative session. The first bill of the package dovetails with Senator Rivera’s bill by requiring the NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene to specifically advertise to health inspectors and childcare providers training on opioid antagonists. The second bill within the proposed legislative package will explore a pilot program to support working families in need of child care. The third and final bill will be a resolution calling on the State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign the proposed changes in Senator Rivera’s bill.
“Nicholas Feliz Dominici should have been safe at this daycare facility. The Feliz Dominici family did everything right, from working with trusted community institutions, to vetting licensed daycare providers. Yet, government protocols failed to catch possible warnings at this facility, and the ongoing scourge of the illegal opioid drug trade robbed us of a beautiful young life. As a mother of a child that even looks like little Nicholas, my heart remains broken from this devastating tragedy,” said Council Member Pierina Sanchez, District 14.
“In the last three months, as we have stayed close with and coordinated support for the Feliz Dominici family, I am thankful to have been working with partners across levels of government to interrogate the gaps in policies and protocols that might have caught warning signs, and explore opportunities to better inform and support parents of their rights. I am proud to be working with Senator Rivera to move city and state legislation for the coming legislative session. This tragedy, and this initial set of legislative responses, highlights so many overlapping challenges our communities face – from the ruthlessness of the illegal drug trade, to lacking affordable childcare opportunities. Nicholas, for you and your family, we fight on.”
We are witnessing a devastating rise nationally in cases where minors and young children inadvertently come into contact with opioids, leading to overdoses. This coordinated legislative effort by Senator Rivera and Councilmember Sanchez seeks to implement a comprehensive public health approach to ensure that our communities and children all across New York City and New York State are safe.
"I am pleased to stand with Senator Rivera and Councilmember Sanchez in support of their legislation to make home day care centers safe. Nicholas' death was entirely needless and avoidable. We will get justice for him and the other children and their families. These bills aim to close the gaps that could possibly have prevented the tragedy at the Divino Niño Day Care Center. The hope is no family will ever have to deal with such a devastating tragedy like Nicholas' family has had," said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
"ECE On the Move extends heartfelt condolences to the family of Nicholas Dominici. We stand united with Senator Gustavo Rivera and Council Member Pierina Sanchez on the proposed regulatory changes which represents a significant step forward in creating a more secure environment for our community's children,” said Shanita Bowen, Chief Operating Officer at ECE On The Move. “By emphasizing household transparency and implementing comprehensive training initiatives, these measures aim to equip both inspectors and child care providers with the tools necessary to prevent future illnesses or tragedies."
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