Idaho ranked last for child care services
A recent survey by the Child Care Aware of America group shows that Idaho severely lacks in child care oversight. That means it’s tough for parents to research and find the right daycare for them.
Mandy Hansen of Shelly found that out first hand after she moved to Idaho.
“After we found a daycare I thought was good, I took my kids there, and dropped them off in the morning,” said Hansen. “My daughter went to early morning kindergarten. My husband goes to pick up the kids, and there was only one there. My daughter never came home after school, and they (the daycare) didn’t bother to call us or let us know.”
Hansen promptly removed her kids from that daycare, which Hansen said was eventually shut down for other reasons. Hansen’s struggles didn’t end there. She struggled to find a provider that met her needs as a mom and a nurse with irregular work hours.
“At one daycare my son jumped off the bunk bed and hit his head,” said Hansen. “He lost consciousness, and they didn’t tell me about it until after I went to pick him up.”
Hansen’s stories are more dramatic than what most parents will have to deal with, but finding a quality daycare is difficult.
Child care providers are only required to have minimum training. They don’t have to meet any educational standards. The required staff to child ratio is much higher than in many other states, and inspections by the state are minimal.
Idaho does have a service called Idaho Stars that works with child care providers to meet and maintain certain standards. The problem for many parents is that most child care providers don’t use the service.
“We work with child care providers to increase quality of child care in Idaho though offering training, consulting, or mentoring,” said Aimee Hoes, an Idaho Stars Consultant. “But the service is not mandatory. We have to be invited in by the providers.”
There are dozens of child care providers across the state that have gone through the Idaho Stars approval process. They can be found at idahostars.org. Parents can also call the state’s care hotline at 2-1-1.
