DATE: Wednesday, September 24, 1997         TAG: 9709240443

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   75 lines

COMPUTERS MAY LESSEN CHILD-CARE LOAD IN DECIDING TO REORGANIZE, AGENCY DECLINES TO ADD ANY INSPECTORS.

Even though a legislative oversight agency has recommended increasing the number of child-care inspectors, the state has decided against that advice.

The state Department of Social Services is instead working with a consultant to find ways to reorganize the workload, and give licensing specialists more advanced technology.

Doug Moran, deputy commissioner for operations for the Department of Social Services, said a reorganization plan should be finished early next year, and could lead to more laptop computers in the field, and a database of child-care providers that would allow licensing specialists to better track records and streamline work.

The plan comes in the wake of a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report, released in July, that found that day-care inspector caseloads were much higher than the recommended number of 50 cases a specialist. In some areas of the state, the caseloads were more than twice as high.

The JLARC study also found that 722 licensed facilities in 1996 did not receive the two inspections required by law.

The report found that day-care inspectors in the eastern region of the state - which includes Hampton Roads - had an average of 88 cases per inspector.

The Commission on Early Childhood & Child Care Programs, a legislative panel that oversees the quality of child care in the state, met Tuesday in Richmond to review the JLARC study and discuss legislation to address concerns raised by the study.

Sen. Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, who heads the commission, questioned whether the Department of Social Services could improve its record of child-care inspections without additional resources. ``It's confusing and somewhat disappointing to hear you say you are not requesting additional funds for staff,'' Walker said.

Moran defended the department by saying those facilities that were not visited twice in 1996 were high-quality centers, and that inspectors were spending more time with child-care facilities that had repeated violations.

But Del. Mitchell Van Yahres, D-Charlottesville, said it wasn't a matter of whether the centers had good or bad records. ``It sounds as though you're making the law instead of following the law,'' Van Yahres said. ``It's the law, not a judgment call.''

Moran said that, if the reorganization and added technology did not help resolve the gaps in inspections, the department would then consider increasing the number of inspectors. He said seven of nine licensing specialist vacancies in the state have been filled recently.

Moran also questioned the recommended number of 50 cases per inspector, saying that the employees could handle more cases if they work efficiently.

``We are confident we have sufficient resources,'' Moran said.

Vernon Holloman, of the Proprietary Child Care Association of Virginia, said he believes the licensing specialists take too long to inspect a child-care facility. Holloman, who owns child-care centers in Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton and Grafton, said child-care facility owners have complained that inspectors spend six to eight hours on one inspection. He said many owners feel that the inspectors are ``heavy-handed'' in their assessments.

The Early Childhood Commission will meet one more time before the General Assembly's 1998 session begins in January. Walker asked that legislation be written to coincide with JLARC's recommendations and that a public hearing be held to gather comment on the proposals at that meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.

The JLARC recommendations included:

Writing regulations regarding the proper sleeping position for infants to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Prohibiting people convicted of felonies from being child-care providers.

Requiring all child-care center staff to be screened by Child Protective Services, to eliminate people who have been accused in valid child abuse cases. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Sen. Stanley Walker

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