DATE: Wednesday, September 3, 1997          TAG: 9709030467

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   56 lines

BEYER CALLS FOR MORE DAY-CARE INSPECTORS, TOUGHER LAWS

Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer proposed Tuesday hiring more inspectors to monitor child-care centers across the state, in response to a study showing state licensing specialists lagging in inspections.

Beyer, the Democratic candidate for governor, also proposed beefing up other child-care laws, such as prohibiting felons from providing home day care and requiring Child Protective Services checks on all child-care providers.

The day-care proposal picks up on recommendations in a study released in July by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, which found that more than 700 day-care facilities in Virginia are not inspected as frequently as required by law. The study by JLARC, a General Assembly oversight agency, also found 159 centers in Northern Virginia and Tidewater that were not receiving any routine inspections due to delays in filling vacancies in those regions.

``If it were my children in one of these 159 centers, I'd be very concerned about who's minding the store,'' Beyer said. He unveiled his day-care platform in a kindergarten class at the Richmond Child Development Center.

James S. Gilmore III, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, could not be reached for comment on the proposal.

Kathryn Wolf, who directs dependent care services for The Planning Council in Norfolk, said more inspectors would improve the safety of children in child-care settings.

``We'd support anything that would strengthen child-care services and make child-care safer,'' Wolf said. ``Monitoring is very important. They should at least do what is required by law.''

But Sharon Jones, chairwoman of the state's Child Day Care Council, questioned whether there was a need for more inspectors. ``The state Department of Social Services has already identified ways to improve the system,'' she said.

After the JLARC study was released in July, state Department of Social Services commissioner Clarence H. Carter said that the current system was operating in an economical way and that child-care inspector vacancies were in the process of being filled.

Beyer also proposed consolidating the work of the Child Day Care Council, which has been trying to streamline child day-care center regulations, with child-care regulations that are monitored by the state's Department of Social Services.

His proposal also would require Child Protective Services checks on all child-care providers. Currently such checks are required of home day-care providers, but child-care center staff receive only a criminal background check. Child Protective Services checks would screen child-care workers for instances of abuse that might not have resulted in criminal charges. MEMO: Staff writer Ledyard King contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Beyer's day-care proposals follow a study that found that hundreds

of Virgina centers are under-inspected.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu