Child Care Tips Offered To Parents

State of Delaware: Earlier this week, the Delaware State Police reported on an incident in Newark, Delaware, in which a young toddler wandered away from a day care facility.

In light of this event, DSP as well as the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF) would like to take a moment to share some tips and ideas for parents to consider in regards to child care.

Kelly Bachman, Community Relations Coordinator for DSCYF, has provided the following indicators of high quality child care. She adds that several research studies have found that high quality child care programs have certain characteristics in common. These characteristics can help parents make better child care choices for their children because they indicate a much greater likelihood of high quality care. Quality indicators measure the conditions that generally foster a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment for children.

They are:
Low child to teacher ratios
Low teacher turnover
Staff with higher education
Prior experience and education of the director
Well-compensated teachers who receive good benefits
Accreditation or a higher-than-minimum license
Cpl/1 Jeff Whitmarsh of the Delaware State Police has offered the following questions parents should ask on an ongoing basis of their child’s day care facility
“How often is a head count taken of children in the facility?”
“What steps are taken if a child is found missing?”
“What safety procedures have changed since I first enrolled my child at this day care facility?”
“Does the child to teacher ratio change throughout the day? And if so, to what degree?”
“Is my emergency contact information up to date?”
“Is this center currently under investigation by the State of Delaware? Has it been since I enrolled my child?”
“Does this facility participate in a child identification program of sorts and is my child’s photograph on file should they go missing?”
“Is there a process of an ongoing back ground check of my child’s teachers?”

Ensuring the safety of our children means staying involved. It means asking tough questions and asking those questions on an ongoing basis. More information can be found at the following link: http://kids.delaware.gov/.