Oregon Will Start Regulating Child Care In Private Homes

SALEM - For 18 years, Mary Anderson has been taking care of other people's children in her home. She's proud of the work she does and views it as a profession that is just beginning to get the recognition it deserves.

"My home is the kids' home, too. They spend more time here than they do in their own house," says Anderson, who cares for five children. "Parents stick with me because they know they don't have to worry about their kids."

Beginning Aug. 15, Anderson and thousands of other Oregon residents who provide child-care services in their home will be subject to state registration requirements and background checks.

The rules, which were approved by the 1993 Oregon Legislature, also will limit to 10 the number of children allowed in such homes and require providers to take a course in child-abuse detection.

Institutional day-care centers already are subject to state certification. But the new law represents the first effort by the state to begin regulating the estimated 25,000 families who provide the majority of child care in Oregon.

More than 85,000 children are cared for in such settings, where typically a woman with young children takes in others as a way to earn money for her family.

About one-third of those providers have been voluntarily registering with the state.

Peggy Butters, a Salem woman who has a daughter in family child care, said the new law will mean peace of mind for a lot of parents.

"Before this, parents would have no way of knowing who has any kind of history of child abuse," Butters said. "It will give parents more confidence in who they choose as their day-care provider."

Karen Moffat of the state Child Care Division said information required of providers will be used to conduct a criminal background check through the Oregon State Police data system and state Children's Services Division records.

There will be a $30 filing fee, and those who fail to register could face a civil fine of up to $100.

The law exempts people who care for children fewer than 70 days a year or who care for no more than three children other than their own or who care for children from only one additional family, Moffat said.

Washington state also requires criminal background checks of family day-care providers. But it goes further, requiring inspections and licenses, which must be renewed every three years. The number of children allowed under the care of a single provider varies from six to 10 - including the provider's own - depending on the children's age and the provider's training and experience.

Anderson and other providers who were interviewed said they think the registration requirement will enhance the professionalism of family day care in Oregon.

"We need guidelines and restrictions just like other professions," said Char Kingsbury, a Salem woman who provides care for six children.

Kingsbury, who helped lobby for the law, said she thinks it eventually should be expanded to include mandatory home inspections and required CPR training for providers.

Anderson, on the other hand, said she thinks the new law goes too far in limiting the number of children who can be cared for in one home.

"With my system and my program, I've been able to handle anywhere from eight to 13 children," she said. "I think this issue should be left between the parents and the providers."