BILL NUMBER:S5676

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to requiring child day care facilities to post a copy of the most
recent inspection report

Purpose:

To bring accountability standards for New York City daycare centers
into line with those for daycares throughout the rest of New York by
requiring them to post information regarding their latest health and
safety inspection in a prominent place, thereby providing vital
information to parents choosing daycare facilities for their children.

Summary of Provisions:

Section 1: Amends Social Services Law section 390-i to apply to those
child day care programs licensed or registered pursuant to article 47
of the New York City health code by the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene of the city of New York.

Section 2: Effective date: the first of January following the day on
which it shall have become law; provided that any rules and
regulations necessary to implement the law have been authorized on or
before such date.

              

Justification:

Daycare centers in New York State are regulated and licensed by the
Office of Children and Family Services, but those that operate within
New York City fall under the jurisdiction of the City Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene. While those under state jurisdiction are
held accountable for their performance during annual health and safety
inspections, those administered by the City are not, and parents there
may be unknowingly leaving their young children in the care of
irresponsible and dangerous daycares that continue to operate despite
being consistently cited for violations.

According to data provided by the Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, group day care centers in New York were cited for over 15,000
violations between 2013 and 2014 - with the worst offenders racking up
more than 50 violations apiece in that time span.  Furthermore, many
of these violations create dangerous environments where the safety of
children is at risk: such as neglecting to conduct mandated background
checks on employees, failure to provide constant qualified
supervision, or failure to inspect and maintain fire extinguishers.

Unfortunately, many of these violations are not only severe, but also
recurring. According to inspection reports maintained by the
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 237 daycares throughout New
York City remain in operation despite being cited for violations in
100% of their annual inspections, and 88 of them have been cited for
identical violations during numerous inspections - demonstrating that
they are not committed to providing safe and effective care.

Thousands of parents throughout New York City are potentially
unknowingly placing the safety and education of their young children


in the hands of unqualified, dangerous daycare centers that refuse to
learn their lesson and continue to provide unsafe or unsuitable
accommodations to young children despite receiving multiple warnings
from authorities. By requiring New York City daycare centers to adhere
to the same standards that the rest of the state's childcare providers
must meet - posting information about their recent inspection results
so parents can see it - we can help inform parents which day care
centers truly have the best interests of their children at heart.

Legislative History:

New Bill

Fiscal Implications:

None

Effective Date:

January 1 following the date the bill is made law.