[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                QUALITY DAY CARE PROTECTION ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LAZIO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 1998

  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because an 
increasing number of moms and dads are placing their loved ones in day 
care. The time is right for me to introduce a new bill, The Quality Day 
Care Protection Act. This bill has two parts: (1) A misdemeanor for a 
person who misrepresents intentionally the credentials of the day care 
provider or the conditions of the care provided and (2) A felony for a 
person who causes serious physical injury to a child under his care. 
This bill gives parents the peace of mind knowing that their children 
are safe and secure while being cared for by responsible, reliable, 
licensed professional day care professionals.
  Last July in Albany, New York, a couple left their three-month old 
daughter, Julia, in the care of a licensed, in-home day care provider. 
The provider lied about the number of children for whom she cared on a 
daily basis. The provider left Julia alone. The baby had been placed in 
a swing and left unattended. Julia was not supervised for twenty 
minutes. During that time, Julia threw up her food and choked on her 
own vomit. She was rushed to a local hospital, placed on life support, 
and tragically she was diagnosed as brain dead.
  The critical fact in this horrible story is that the day care 
provider lied. She told Julia's parents that she was caring for four 
children. An official investigation discovered that eight children were 
receiving care.
  I must tell you another tragic story. Last January, three month old 
Jeremy Fiedelholtz was being cared for by a licensed, in-home day care 
operator. The parents left Jeremy with the professional for two hours. 
It was a trial run; the parents were deciding if this day care 
professional was one they could trust. When the Fiedelholtz' returned 
they found Jeremy face down in a crib, in a pool of his own vomit, 
dead. The state of Florida had licensed this facility to care for six 
children, but this woman had taken in thirteen children that day. On 
the day that Jeremy died, while the owner ran errands, all 13 children 
were left at the mercy of a poorly trained staff person who was not CPR 
certified. The provider lied to Jeremy's parents.
  The circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two infants are 
frighteningly similar. In both cases, the day care provider 
misrepresented to parents about how many children would be accepted 
daily, who would be responsible for caring for the child, and the 
qualifications of the person who would care for the child. Two children 
died after the day care professional misrepresentations. In both cases, 
the only recourse for the parents was in civil court. No federal or 
state criminal law applied. Under my bill, a crime will be committed if 
a day care provider intentionally misrepresents the credentials or the 
conditions of the day care provider: (1) Credentials licenses or 
permits that the provider or the staff possesses; (2) Number of 
children for whom they care; (3) Quality of the day care facilities.
  Most states do not have adequate criminal laws in this arena. 
Critical gaps that would safeguard the basic health and safety 
standards for child care exist. In many states, there are standards but 
they are not consistently enforced. For example, many states do not 
require small, in-home day care providers to apply for a license. Those 
providers are not inspected. Even when states require in-home providers 
to be licensed, most of the time there are no inspections.
  Today, millions of parents have no choice. They must make ends meet 
to pay the bills. So, they are forced to place their loved ones in 
child care while they work. Currently, 77 percent of all women with 
children under 17 hold a job. Each day, about 13 million children under 
the age of six spend part of their day in day care. There are six 
million infants and toddlers who are being cared for by people that 
parents are hoping they can trust.
  Every parent wants to feel secure in knowing their loved ones are 
receiving quality day care. Quality care means providing a safe and 
healthy environment where care givers safeguard infants and nurture 
their development. Quality care means having a minimum number of 
children for each care giver. The best of all worlds means every child 
in day care receives as much one-on-one attention as possible. This 
bill gives moms and dads what they deserve--the peace of mind that goes 
with knowing their children are safe and secure when in the arms of a 
day care professional.
  The Quality Day Care Protection Act is a fair bill. Prosecutors will 
be allowed to pursue day care providers that deliberately break the 
law. Parents will see justice done when their child is seriously 
injured or dies. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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