Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 3, 1993 TAG: 9302030204
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
DAY-CARE PROPOSAL STIRS FIGHT
Proposed reforms of Virginia's child day-care laws amount to an assault on religious freedom, a group of fundamentalist Baptists told state legislators this week.The Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, a group of about 650 churches, is lobbying against a bill to allow state regulators to enter all church-run day-care centers for the first time since 1979.
The proposal is the most controversial aspect of a lengthy bill aimed at modestly reforming Virginia's day-care laws - considered by experts to be among the weakest in the nation.
Virginia is one of only 10 states that exempts church-run centers from licensing; and it is one of only three states that allows up to five unrelated children to stay in unregulated private homes. As a result, more than 80 percent of Virginia's 600,000 day-care children are in facilities free from regulation, inspection, and minimum health and safety requirements.
Within the next week, both Houses of the General Assembly are expected to vote on the reform package. Passage is anything but assured. In addition to the churches, opposition appears to be mounting to proposals for more state oversight of day-care programs provided in homes, private schools and by local governments.
"It's going to be a tough fight," said state Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, the patron of the reform bill. "I'm hoping we can keep the bill intact."
The bill would retain a 13-year-old law that gives churches the choice of submitting to state regulation or applying for a religious exemption. About 270 churches - roughly two-thirds of Virginia's religiously run day-cares - have opted for the exemption.
To receive an exemption, churches must certify annually that they have been inspected by local fire and health departments, have a required number of care providers and certify that all employees have passed medical checkups.
Walker's bill would allow state inspectors to visit churches once a year to verify the information submitted to the state. It also would require church staffs to meet such requirements as washing hands after diaper changes, keeping daily attendance records and having someone trained in first aid on hand at all times.
Jack Knapp, executive director of the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, said the regulations violate the separation between church and state.
Several church groups support the bill, including the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, the Virginia Council of Churches and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.