Commission on Early Childhood and
Child Day Care Programs
November 17, 1997, Richmond
The commission convened this fall in order to look at
protection of children and quality care issues in day care
settings in the Commonwealth.
Proving Identity
First, the commission considered a bill referred to it by
the House Committee on Education at the conclusion of the
1997 General Assembly Session. The legislation extends
existing Virginia law on requiring proof of a child's identity upon
enrollment in school to attendance at licensed and unlicensed
child day centers. The legislative counsel for the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) spoke on behalf
of the legislation.
According to the National Incidence Studies on
Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children published
by the Department of Justice in 1990, there are as many as
354,000 children abducted by family members every year. The
study went on to say that, because of the increased divorce,
mobility and custody fights, the incidence of family abduction "is
probably the most rapidly growing" of all forms of child
victimization they studied. Further, several studies show that
children between the ages of three and five are the most frequently
abducted. Most children in that age group are not enrolled
in public schools, but are more likely to be found in day care
centers. The NCMEC representative argued that if the
Commonwealth has recognized the importance of locating missing
children through the use of school records, the next logical
step would be to require the same proof of identity for young
children in day care settings.
The commission generally supported the concept of the
legislation and recommended that the bill be expanded to
include day care homes. The chair directed staff to incorporate
this recommendation and address some technical changes to the
legislation.
Early Childhood Development
Second, the commission heard from the state coordinator
of the "I Am Your Child" campaign, which is a
public/private partnership to make early childhood development a top
priority of the nation. Recent brain research on infants and
toddlers has proven that early experiences have a decisive impact on
the architecture of the brain and on the nature and extent of
adult capacities. The goals of the "I Am Your Child" campaign
are to:
raise public awareness;
provide families with young children with information,
resources and services;
unite and expand the national, state and local efforts to
improve services for young children; and
increase public willingness to make quality services and
resources available to families with young children.
To achieve these goals, the state initiatives
recommended are home visiting to promote healthy pregnancies and
transition to parenthood; child care development to enhance
availability, as well as safety and health of infants and toddlers;
and child development training for parents and child care
providers, which promotes brain development research. Virginia
has the following initiatives to promote the "I Am Your Child" goals:
Hampton Healthy Families Partnership,
Car seat distribution,
Healthy Start Initiative,
Brain Development Training Grant application,
Home visitation programs,
Regional Perinatal Coordinating Councils,
Part H High Risk Tracking System,
HELPLINE with the Department of Social Services, and
SCHIP planning with DMAS to expand Medicaid
health care to uninsured and underinsured children.
The Virginia Department of Health has a number of
prevention programs to promote the health and safety of infants
and toddlers, and health nurses serve as consultants to child
care providers.
DSS Activities
Third, the commission heard from the Department of
Social Services (DSS) concerning the department's activities to
improve the quality of child care, including Head Start
Expansion programs, scholarship assistance, consumer education,
resource and referral and the grants to localities under the Local
DSS Quality Initiative Program. DSS also told the commission
that the child day care automation system is scheduled for
implementation in the fall of 1998.
The Honorable Stanley C. Walker, Chairman
Legislative Services contact: Amy Marschean
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