A new bill passed by the Senate on Thursday would require all NYC supervised day care providers to post report cards detailing their safety histories, according to The New York Daily News.
The bill actually comes after a Daily News series that exposed a day care system that hid multiple incidents of child abuse and neglect, including children who were seriously injured, lost by staff or even died.
Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester), the bill requires report cards on all 2,300 day care center sites overseen by the NYC Health Department. It now goes to the Assembly, where it could come up for vote early next week and then go on to the governor’s office.
While day care inspection results are currently difficult to find—and even harder to understand—the report cards would offer detailed and easy-to-read information on a site’s safety record. The one-page summary would hang in a day care’s entrance and reveal the number of serious health hazards, the years in operation, the number of children allowed, and supervisors required to be present and the number of program suspensions over the past three years.
“These postings will help parents select the best daycare for their children,” said Assemblywoman Michele Titus (D-Queens), who will file the bill later this week. “We want to make sure parents trust their day care center and are comfortable leaving their children there.”
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