TKW Consulting

Parents call for child-care rating system
BY YVONNE M. WENGER
The Post and Courier

The Banks children got lucky with Mary Poppins.

Finding quality, reliable child care doesn't always have a fairy tale ending for parents, who want a way to judge the places they send their children. That's according to a recent survey by the United Way Association of South Carolina and a team of other advocacy groups.

"Our number one public policy issue is early care in education," said Tim Ervolina, the president of the state United Way association. "We've been advocating for years that we have to, as a state, come up with a way to rate how child care should work."

The statewide survey of 1,200 individuals, mostly parents, is a springboard to establishing the rating system. Details about the system have not been decided, but it will be based on factors such as nutrition and health, positive relationships and safety.

Research shows children who are ready to learn will be more successful in school and more likely to become self-sufficient adults.

Ervolina said United Way and South Carolina First Steps, which partners with every county to provide preschool programs, will work with other public and private partners to get a plan for a rating system in place by January, when the state Legislature starts session.

The issue was pushed to the forefront after a December ruling in the case of Abbeville County School District v. The State of South Carolina found the state does not provide students with a minimally adequate education because it doesn't adequately fund early childhood education.

Heather Jones of Daniel Island said it took her months to find a provider she trusted to care for her son. During her search, she found one place that didn't know the name of a parent, another that was unsanitary and one that surely violated the ratio of children to teachers, she said.

"It is such a hard process," Jones said. "You want to find a place to put your child where he is not only in safe hands but loving hands."

Susan DeVenny, the director of First Steps, said research is clear about the importance of early education and the impact it has on children for the rest of their lives.

The court ruling has done a great service to the future of the state by putting a major focus on the issue, she said.

Many child-care centers have to gain accreditation and are subject to inspections and strict regulations, Ervolina said. Church-based day-care centers are exempt, although many opt to be certified.

Jane Farrell, the director of early child care and education for Trident United Way, said the licensing standards are considered by many as minimally adequate. The rating system would push quality care further.

United Way's study found that like the hotel industry and other consumer-driven markets, child-care centers should be rated, Ervolina said. Child care is costly and parents deserve to know what they're getting, he said.

"Just because a place is pretty with lovely murals on the walls and shelves of toys, doesn't mean you know that your child is getting the care they need there," Ervolina said.

What parents have to say
The United Way Association of South Carolina asked parents if they would use a system that rates child care. The nonprofit group partnered with several education advocacy groups in December 2005 for the statewide survey of 1,200 individuals, mostly parents.

Here are the findings:
--93 percent of people surveyed said they would like to have quality ratings for child-care programs so they could compare them. Only two people surveyed said a rating system was not important. About 25 percent said it was critical and 47 percent said it was very important.
--74 percent of parents were willing to pay more for child care if it received a higher quality rating.
--Of the parents who would pay more for higher-rated child care, 97 percent said they would pay as much as $10 more per week and 84 percent said they would pay as much as $20 more.