CINCINNATI (May 26, 2010) - Most states fail to protect the health, safety and well-being of children being cared for in small family child care homes. That is the conclusion of the new report released by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) which ranks states on their current small family child care standards and oversight policies. Kentucky ranks 17th; Ohio ranks last.

The report, Leaving Children to Chance: NACCRRA's Ranking of State Standards and Oversight of Small Family Homes, 2010 Update, ranks child care systems on 14 different standards focused on ensuring the health, safety and well-being of children while in family child care homes serving six or fewer children.

In Kentucky, these homes are referred to as "In Home Family Child Care Providers" or "Certified Child Care Providers." Kentucky scored a total of 57 out of 140 points on the report. Kentucky was one of only nine states that met all 10 health and safety criteria in the report. For more about this report's findings on Kentucky.

In Ohio, these homes are referred to as "Type B Family Child Care Homes." Ohio scored zero points and was ranked last because Ohio does not license family child care providers unless they are caring for eight or more. This study focused on homes caring for six or fewer children.(Ohio is one of only five states without licensing at this level.) For more about this report's findings on Ohio.

A PDF of the entire 82-page report can be downloaded at the NACCRRA Web site.

To provide a national safety net for all children in this form of care, NACCRRA recommends that Congress require:

• regulation of family child care homes;
• background checks;
• unannounced inspections;
• 24 hours of annual training;
• states to meet each of 10 health and safety standards;
• grant the Child Care Bureau the authority to address state child care plans for content and compliance;
• states to justify any categories of providers who are exempt from regulation;
• states to post inspection results on the Internet.

Specific comments and recommendations were given for each state.

Recommendations for Kentucky:

• Increase training of providers prior to certification and annually thereafter. Kentucky currently requires six hours of training within the first three months of becoming certified and nine hours of training annually thereafter.
• Reduce the number of children who can be cared for in a family child care setting.  Kentucky currently allows a certified provider to care for up to six unrelated children. 
• Increase the number of inspections by regulatory agencies. As with all licensed child care centers and homes, certified providers in Kentucky currently have one unannounced inspection annually.

Recommendations for Ohio:

• Require providers caring for one or more unrelated children to be regulated following NACCRRA's recommendations. 4C for Children led an unsuccessful statewide effort to require licensing in 2008. (For more about this effort.) That same year, there were 37,997 spaces for children in family child care homes.

For more information about family child care in Northern Kentucky, Southwest Ohio (Greater Cincinnati) or the Miami Valley (Greater Dayton), contact 4C for Children, the child care resource and referral agency for 23 counties: 513-758-1201 or khurley@4cforchildren.org.

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