Louisiana daycares lose licenses due to lack of background checks, disregard for state law

Two daycare centers in Louisiana recently had their child care licenses revoked when Louisiana Department of Education inspections revealed that each had violated dozens of state laws. Violations included not conducting criminal background checks on all employees, not having properly licensed and qualified directors, not documenting all workers, not meeting required employee-to-child ratios, not having parental permission for off-campus field trips, and not contacting the Department of Education or the parents after a child was allegedly left at a restaurant during a field trip. At least one of the facilities had also failed to correct some of these problems that were noted during a previous inspection. “We’re not going to allow unsafe child care centers to operate in this state,” said Louisiana State Superintendent John White. “If an early learning center has disregard for the state’s laws and regulations, we’re going to revoke its license.” The two facilities were Our Blessings Christian Daycare Learning Center in Baton Rouge, and Storybook Daycare & Discovery Zone in Bossier City. The facilities received notice that their licenses were being revoked at the end of July, and each center had 15 days to appeal the decision or cease operating. Each facility must have its license reinstated and be approved by the Department of Education in order to resume operations after the 15 days have passed. In the meantime, the facilities may not receive public funding, so families receiving assistance from the Child Care Assistance Program will be referred to facilities that meet all the legal requirements. photo credit: Toy Box Macros September 04, 20106 via photopin (license)]]>