Oklahoma top-ranked in national home child care report

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jan 23, 2008 by Jeff Packham

2007 was a rough year for Oklahoma when it came to scrutiny of the child care system but 2008 is off to a much different start.

Oklahoma was the top-ranked state in home child care in a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. The association considered 14 areas, incuding inspections, communication and training.

Howard Hendrick, director for the Department of Human Services, said the high ranking was positive but there was still additional work to be done.

"This is an important issue and something we need to work to continue to get better," Hendrick said.

The agency has been under the legislative microscope since the 2007 death of Joshua Minton, a 2-year-old who was found dead in a home child care facility. Several hearings have been held to review DHS policies regarding child care facility inspections and licensing.

The report said Oklahoma was strong in requiring licensing for all child care facilities, engaging in unannounced inspections, and for having strong policies in the areas of communication, training, and learning opportunities for children.

Oklahoma received low grades for not conducting background checks using fingerprints and not checking juvenile records. Another problem cited in the report is a single provider being able to care for as many as five children younger than 24 months at one time.

Although Oklahoma ranked high, recommendations were made for every state to make vast improvements in how they provide care to an estimated 1.7 million children under age 6. The report said that even those states in the upper tier had several areas in which they could improve.