Advocating for Children

Save City Child Care Licensing…Again

September 23, 2009 at 3:18 pm 4cforchildren Leave a comment

Last night I had the opportunity to testify before the Cincinnati Board of Health about the City’s Child Care Licensing Ordinance. The City has regulated child care centers since 1968 and is now proposing to eliminate this protection for children. You might be surprised to know that I support this proposal…up to a point. 

Much of the City’s regulation duplicates the State of Ohio’s regulation, and in this era of severe budget cuts, it is hard to justify any duplication at all. Yet, there are three provisions very much worth retaining in order to protect children, align with community goals of school readiness and distinguish Cincinnati by having us closer to national quality goals. Those standards are:

1. Room size – The City requires that for each infant there are 50 square feet to allow for cribs, high chairs, rockers and floor space for children to crawl and walk. The state only requires 35 square feet.
2. Adult-to-Child Ratio – The City requires one adult for four infants while the state permits two adults to care for 12 infants (1:4 vs. 1:6).
3. Group Size – Since the City’s adult-to-child ratios are lower, the total number of children permitted in a classroom is also lower. 

The City license is expensive for the 105 programs that are currently licensed ($8 per child per year), so any effort to save them money would be important as well. A coalition of child care center operators and supporters propose that the City eliminate the current ordinance and replace it with a much streamlined approach, to include only room size, ratio and group size. This plan has the benefits of:

• Continuing the basic standards for young children in care.
•  Eliminating a staff position at the Health Department by transferring room size verification to the Building Department and allowing a desk review of staffing plans.
•  Saving the high cost of licensing for City businesses by significantly reducing the licensing fee.
•  Ensuring that all duplication between City and state licensing is eliminated. Anyone care to join in this effort to protect kids and improve efficiency at the same time? We need to influence the members of the Board of Health and the members of Cincinnati City Council. Let me know!

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