Gov. Terry McAuliffe is calling for more state daycare inspectors and an expansion of licensing requirements.
In his budget proposal Wednesday, McAuliffe said all daycares receiving state subsidies should have to secure a state license.
Currently, there are about 1,920 facilities that benefit from subsidies but aren’t licensed. Many of those — nearly 17 percent — are sites with religious exemptions, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services.
But most fall under an exemption given to small in-home daycares caring for five or fewer children.
“This is a commonsense thing we can do at the state level to protect our children and keep our families safe,” said McAuliffe, alluding to recent tragedies at unregulated home daycares.
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Three children in Virginia died this fall from injuries they sustained in fires at unlicensed in-home daycares. Two children — ages 21 months and 9 months — died after a fire in Lynchburg. One was killed in a fire in Chesterfield County.
Neither of those daycares would have been directly affected by Wednesday’s proposal. In both cases, the daycares fell under existing state rules, but weren’t licensed as required.
Both daycare operators have been charged with unlawfully running an unlicensed facility, a misdemeanor.
But McAuliffe’s proposal also earmarks $2.7 million to hire more licensing inspectors to handle the added workload — which a spokesman said has the “ancillary benefit” of beefing up the state’s enforcement capacity.
The money would pay for an additional 28 daycare licensing staffers statewide.
Wednesday’s proposals will require approval by the General Assembly during the new session convening Jan. 14. More recommendations to tighten regulations will be announced after the holidays, according to the governor’s office.
Local legislators were unenthused about the idea of expanding regulations on religious organizations. Several also voiced concerns about adopting any changes that squeeze out small family-centered daycares.
“I think we run a risk of beginning to undermine some of the benefit and the good that is out there,” said Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, referencing cases where, for example, a grandmother agrees to watch over her grandchildren and a few friends’ children.
Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, said he’s generally supportive of ensuring there is enough money to enforce existing regulations.
“But I would be cautious before attempting to expand any regulations to cover new areas of providers,” he said, adding the religious exemption was adopted for a reason.
Fay Andrist, administrator of the Tree of Life Academy and Early Learning Center on Greenview Drive, said the exemption doesn’t mean religious organizations go unregulated.
Tree of Life must file with the state and conduct annual building and fire inspections, she said. The center — which has about 150 children from infancy to sixth grade — voluntarily follows most state licensing guidelines now, she added.
But the church-based center — which has a handful of children whose fees are subsidized by the state — doesn’t want to open the door to more government regulation, Andrist said.
“We teach a Christ-centered curriculum; that’s very important to us,” she said, adding there are concerns that growing government oversight may lead to efforts to restrict teachings.
If a licensing mandate is passed, Tree of Life likely will stop accepting state subsidies, Andrist said. The subsidies are provided by Social Services to children of working parents who meet certain income criteria.
Andrist said she understood the drive to improve safety and agreed home daycares should be properly regulated. But she added there’s a distinction between daycares that operate “under the radar” and those that are regulated but have a licensing exemption.
In his remarks Wednesday, McAuliffe said children’s safety has to be a priority and referenced a recent Washington Post series on dangerous conditions in unlicensed Virginia daycares.
“With licensing would come greater assistance from state experts who can help ensure that these homes and other facilities are safe places for working parents to entrust their children,” he said.
Editor's Note: This article was updated Dec. 23 to correct the number of daycares with a religious exemption from state licensing.
Contact Alicia Petska at (434) 385-5542 or apetska@newsadvance.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AliciaPetska