Fairfax Daycare Owners Urge Officials to Raise Child Limits
Providers fear they will be forced out of business if they can't care for more kids than the law allows.
Fairfax County home day care providers will have to wait a little longer to find out whether officials will raise the number of children they’re legally allowed to care for.
The county Planning Commission voted Wednesday night to defer its decision on a proposed permit that will let providers care for 12 kids instead of 10, the current limit with a permit.
With a license from the Commonwealth of Virginia, a provider can care for up to 12 children. But Fairfax County ordinances only allow for seven children, unless the provider applies for the special permit.
The county rarely enforced the law and many providers took on a dozen children, arguing they were allowed by the state.
But new regulations require the county to enforce the by-right number of seven, and providers are scared.
During a public hearing before the Planning Commission Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered in the auditorium at Fairfax County Government Center. The vast majority of the 25 people who spoke urged the commission to raise the permit limit and, in some cases, increase the by-right number, an issue that wasn’t even being considered.
“The amendment tonight has nothing to do with changing the by-right,” said James Hart, commissioner at-large, before the hearing began.
CeCe Holman, a daycare provider who spoke on behalf of the Herndon-Reston Family Child Care Association, said she would be forced to close her business if she has to drop kids from her roll.
“I love to help parents raise their children,” she said. “Please do not make me close my child care and quit the profession I love so dearly.”
Many providers also wanted the commission to lower the application fee for a permit, which staff recommended to stay around $910 to $1,100. The commission noted they were considering fees as low as $435.
One of the speakers was Kirsten Lukas, an Annandale day care provider who has looked into whether she would actually receive her special permit after a zoning inspection. She was told if she wanted to pass, there was approximately $5,000 worth of issues she needed to take care of on her property.
“That’s pretty significant especially knowing that I might not even be even be approved for 12 yet I’m still going to have to make all these changes,” she said. “I think some people potentially may go unlicensed, which would be another crisis that Fairfax County would have to deal with.”
Reston daycare provider Elizabeth Hijar said she would have to drop six families from her roster unless the special permit gets raised and her application is passed.
“The number of children that are going to be let go is incredible,” said Hijar, who has been caring for kids for 16 years.
Burke resident Jennifer Larkin sends her two children to a home day care. As a teacher, Larkin said she and her husband have had to deal with insurance costs and pay freezes, and their provider cuts them slack on their payments.
But if their daycare drops them from the roll, Larkin doesn’t know she’s going to do.
“We are financially strapped,” she said, eyes welling up during her testimony. “We cannot afford what we pay now for daycare.”
Although many speakers only highlighted the problems with the ordinance, Wynne Busman of Infant Toddler Family Day Care argued that officials should not raise the numbers anymore for fear of children’s safety.
“We create chaos and confusion when we put too many infants and toddlers in a large group,” Busman said, drawing boos from the audience.
Busman shared horror stories about children going unwatched by a swimming pool.
“We must consider the future of our children,” she said.
The planning commission deferred the vote on the matter to April 4. Public comment remains open, but there will not be another public hearing.
The Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled to hear the issue on May 14, with a public hearing tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m. that day.
Do you think the number of children allowed in home daycare settings should be raised? Tell us in the comments.
CeCe Holman
8:29 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Department of Social Services are the trained experts in deciding on how many children should be allowed in a home. They should continue to be the ones that decide on the number of children.
When there are 12 children in care, there are often 2 or 3 providers caring for these children.
As Ms. Busman stated about horror stories, yes in any industry there are the ones that should not doing that job. The majority of Family Childcare providers and their assistants are doing our jobs because we love children!
Natalie N
9:08 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
It should be noted that the "non-profit" Infant Toddler Family Day Care organization stands to gain a great deal of money if the by-right number is not increased to 12. Why? For a low low fee, parents and providers can join their "matchmaking" service. It's not a bad group per se, but I'd just like to point out there may be a conflict of interests.
Raising the by-right solves a lot of problems. As a tax paying registered voter, I would rather my money be spent on continued improvements to early education and not on additional bureaucratic procedures. Raise the by-right to 12, be in-line with the Commonwealth. Make early childhood education available to more people, not less.
Marisela Sanchez
12:59 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
It is dangerours to just increase the capacity of Daycares without proper supervision, it just so hard to see children die or get injured because provider overload with more than they can handle. Safety first.
Kirsten
3:07 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Marisela, where did you get the impresion that Fairfax wants to increase capacity without proper supervision? As Cece stated above, most providers with children must have at least 1 assistant, although many have 2, depending on the ages of the children. Currently, many providers are allowed to watch 7 children by themselves...I would rather that 2 or 3 providers watch 12 as it lowers the ratios. It's always good to have a second body, no matter how many children are there, but with only 7, we can't afford to pay an assistant. Additionally, research shows that most injuries and fatalitites occur in unlicensed centers, which we're trying to avoid by putting Fairfax County in line with the rest of Virginia.
VAMom
8:45 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Natalie do you have a child with Infant Toddler Family Day Care? It would appear by your post that you do not so perhaps speaking out against an agency you know little about would be inappropriate. Attacking an agency who placed my children with the best providers in the county is not only one sided, it's wrong. Asking the county to limit the in home day cares so they don't become baby factories is what is in the best interest of children. Period. Kirsten, where do you get your facts and your "studies", can you cite them? Because VA Social Services said in Dec of 2012 that home day cares have the single highest rate of accidents out of all day cares due to provider negligence and Virginia ranks 50 out of all states for in home care safety. Infant Toddler will continue to limit their homes regardless of how many paying parents ask for care because smaller ratios are better for children and certainly were better for my boys. They were kindergarten ready by the age of 4, well mannered, well adjusted and felt loved and secure in a small, less chaotic, home environment. Natalie and Kirsten, please study your "facts" and information before you post inappropriate "information" blindly and ignorantly. Thanks, Sylvie.
Kirsten
9:25 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
VAMom, I'm not sure why you're so angry over our comments. It seems to me that Natalie was complimenting Infant Toddler because they do match parents with providers...they have a good service. However, she is correct that Ms. Busman makes money based off of how many providers and families she has in the organization, giving an appearance of a conflict of interest. The Infant Toddler providers, from the one that I know, are wonderful. Also, as a licensed in home provider, I know that most of us have the same if not better ratios than Infant Toddler, as well as most centers. A 3:12 ratio is better than 1:5. Furthermore, we're not just talking about babies, but also school age children who also need care. Twelve kindergartners and first graders is very different than 12 infants. We believe that we should be allowed to care for whatever the state deems appropriate (it's not automatically 12, it depends on many factors). In my case, 12 school age children in my 1,200 square foot day care (on a 1/2 acre lot) with an assistant is certainly not a baby factory. Finally, I think we're talking semantics when you question my "facts". According to the State Department of Social Services, "Day-care deaths in Virginia are rare. But three of the four children who died from suspected abuse or neglect while in day care in fiscal 2011 were in unregulated settings." This means unlicensed, but it does not clarify if it is a center or family day home.
VAMom
9:41 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
I can only speak as a mother of boys who went through Infant Toddler and if providers of large care homes can speak out against the limit, why can't Wynne Bussman speak out for it? Why is the conflict of interest if you disgree with her? I disagree that 3:12 is better than 1:5. The chaos that 12 children can provide isn't good for any child of a young age. You may be speaking about school agers but how can 12 infants or 12 toddlers be secure in a setting with 1-3 providers? And I see the in home providers often at the park and just today I saw two texting and chatting while several in their care threw sand at each other. I had to break it up. Multiple providers don't automatically equal quality. My provider was visited monthly and I always felt good when I would pick my boys up. It was calm, it was homey and she (my provider) discounted our care for six months when my husband was out of work so the county providers aren't the only ones sensitive to family issues like Jennifer above stated. Smaller is better. Period.
Karen Clifton
10:18 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
I completely AGREE with VA Mom! FINALLY someone is putting the kids first. Wynne spoke about children nearly DROWNING because there were too many of them. And home day cares need to close? Those scare tactics aren't fooling anyone. My in home provider makes a decent living off of six children and even six is more than I like but she keeps a schedule, has a huge yard and keeps the ages even so activities and such are controlled and organized. Lower ratios mean better quality and if Obama spoke out about making early education a priority, you don't start by turning home day cares into baby farms!
Kirsten
11:04 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
Clearly, everyone has had different experiences, but in the end, the parents have to decide what is best for their children. After teaching up to 32 children in one class for Fairfax County Public Schools for 10 years, I know that I can handle 12 in a larger space with an assistant. If you haven't seen my home, you can't judge if it's a "baby farm" or not. There are people everywhere that should not be taking care of children, including the child's own mom, nannies who take care of one child, providers with 6 children or providers with 12 children...there's a bad apple in every batch and you can't group us all into the same batch. I agree that lower ratios mean better quality. Just because Wynne says that having 12 babies with assistants in one facility is chaotic doesn't make it true. Besides, we're not just talking babies here. Most preschools with planned schedules and curriculums are wonderful...both in licensed centers (with more than 12) and also in licensed family day homes with 12 or less. Karen-you seem to be speaking only about infants and toddlers since you mention "baby farm", but Obama is talking preschool. What do you say about all the centers that have 16 preschoolers with just one assistant...are they chaotic baby farms too?
Karen Clifton
7:53 am on Friday, March 29, 2013
Define preschoolers? 2, 3, 4, or 5?? And preschools are generally a few hours a day, day care is up to 12. These are big differences. Teaching in FCPS (which I do) is no comparison. These are chilldren aged 5 and up for 7 hours a day. Not newborns up for nearly (and some more!) than 12 hours a day. I think we can agree that age is a factor because 12 newborns, even with 3 assistants isn't easy or good for the baby(ies). I have a baby but I also have two older children and NONE of them have been in centers or large care homes because I know, with a masters' degree in educatioin, that it breeds chaos and confusion and anxiety and low quality care. Sylvie is right. Virginia ranks the worst in the nation for home day cares because they put money over quality. VA mom is right! I heard people BOOED when she talked about too many kids in a home. BOOED? Because she is putting children's needs ahead of the lining pockets for these providers? Booed while she was talking and yelled while she and others were trying to talk about the needs of children. And these are the kinds of providers I want teaching my children? I don't think so.