The Poor State of Affairs in Georgia’s Daycare Industry
Posted on Jan, 25 2012
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (“AJC”) ran another article about the poor state of affairs in Georgia’s daycare industry. The AJC investigation found that 220 daycares received failing scores for at least two years in a row, and at least 200 of these centers are still open. [link: http://www.ajc.com/news/day-cares-fall-short-1311237.html] I find this to be very disturbing because I know that these violations represent real children who have been hurt, abused, and molested at these daycare centers. Why is the State of Georgia so reluctant to revoke, or at the very least suspend, a daycare’s license when they fail to meet the standards set by the state that are intended to protect these children? I have personally been involved in cases where the daycare receives a citation and fine for failing to supervise their children which resulted in injuries and even sexual molestations to a child and the daycare completely ignores the citation and does not pay the fine. You would think that under such circumstances the state would close the center. It does not. These centers continue to operate. This is why parents continue to come to me to seek justice for their children. It seems that only through the civil justice system can these children find relief. One expert commented on the situation: “Programs that fail childcare regulations are generally unsafe places for children to be.” I agree. But when asked why the compliance scores for these failing childcare center’s has not been made public, the commissioner responded that the “information was intended for internal monitoring only.” Parents want to know before allowing such a place care for their child. This is common sense. Even the state commissioner responsible for enforcing these regulations has finally recognized that “we need to be working toward less noncompliant programs.” Why is it that you can walk into a restaurant and see whether it passed or failed a food safety inspection but you cannot see if your daycare has passed or failed state child safety regulations? This makes no sense and we should all encourage our local state representatives for a change in the law.
If your child has been poorly cared for, abused, or injured make sure you report it to Bright From the Start. They will do an investigation. I can tell you from experience that these investigations are usually thorough and generally very fair. The problem is usually not in the investigation, it is in the enforcement once the state finds that the childcare center violated the state’s regulations. Of course, this is the most important part. Unsafe childcare centers need to be closed so that more children are not hurt. With enough publicity and pressure perhaps we will see the state begin to shut down these noncompliant daycares.
Morgan Robertson, Keith Bodoh, and Matt Nasrallah are Marietta Ga Lawyers serving the Marietta, Cobb County and Metro Atlanta areas. Visit our Georgia Daycare Abuse Lawyer and Negligence page to learn more or call:
Mathew G. Nasrallah
770-424-1234 ext.13
877-266-3694 ext.13