They dare to care

BY GINNIE GRAHAM and CURTIS KILLMAN, World Staff Writers
Monday, September 03, 2007
9/03/07 at 5:28 AM

Visit the special series Web site for A Question of Care: an investigation of the state’s day-care system

Read other stories in the series:
Going beyond the gut feeling

Records come with red tape

Children at risk

Many providers are spread too thin

Oklahoma's troubled child-care facilities

Interactive graphic: View a graphic of common violations and a list of providers who have been cited for them.

Licensing specialists battle "nasty" attitudes and demanding caseloads to keep kids safe.

The husband of a Broken Arrow child-care provider cursed at a child-care licensing specialist and refused permission to inspect the upstairs.

The wife sent a letter later apologizing, stating she asked God for forgiveness.

Children playing in a yard scattered to nearby homes when an inspector pulled into the driveway. The Tulsa provider pulled the shade and did not answer the door.

That home was eventually shut down for numerous non-compliance issues, including constant overcrowding and eluding inspectors.

An inspector in Miami, Okla., found a provider's boyfriend with a criminal history hiding in a closet. A Broken Arrow provider left her children in a car and refused to let DHS workers into her home.

Both have been put out of business.

"Folks can get nasty, but you can't take it personally," said Deborah Paul, child-care licensing supervisor in Tulsa County. "It's not personal. It's usually someone who was caught in the act of something, and they're upset. But this is all about keeping kids safe."

Child-care licensing specialists in Oklahoma are charged with going into the state's 5,168 facilities at least three times a year to determine compliance with requirements.

When a complaint is made or a facility has been out of compliance in several areas, the workers visit more often.

"The good providers we only see three times a year," said Catherine Woldridge, regional programs manager overseeing Tulsa. "But a lot of our time is spent with the most problematic facilities."

Most specialists come from child development fields, but an increasing amount of time is spent on legal and detective-type work.

To get rid of the most problematic facilities, specialists must generate evidence, much like a prosecutor. They sift through court records, get 911 call records, gather documents from other sources, conduct interviews and even go on stakeouts.

"We are having to improve our sleuthing skills and be at the level of paralegals," Woldridge said. "It's like preparing for a trial, and it's a constant learning process for us. And we have to be fair. We have to be fair to the provider and be fair to the parents and children in their care."

DHS Director Howard Hendrick said having one specialist for enforcement and quality enhancement creates cohesiveness in the system.

"It makes a specialist sort through what they really think about that provider," Hendrick said. "It is not a good cop/bad cop situation. Is this provider really working for change or does this person not care and is not cut out for this business? It's good to have someone sitting down to think about which it is."

Oklahoma ranks high on national lists for child-care oversight based on the requirement of three unannounced monitoring visits. No other state mandates that many annual inspections.

About 41 states, including Oklahoma, have mandatory licensing, and 44 states require one or two monitoring visits. Three states do not have mandatory licensing, two have a voluntary registration, four have a mandatory registration and five states have no monitoring requirements for child cares.

Inspections take a minimum of one hour for a home with few compliance issues or up to four hours for a large center.

Specialists have a checklist of 49 compliance areas ranging from what is served at lunch to how many children are in care. Every room is inspected, and outdoor areas are scanned for hazards and safety issues.

To avoid gray areas, specialists are specific in writing their observations.

Cigarette butts on the ground are counted. Television programming is described. Food items at meals are listed. Locations of sleeping children are noted.

"We ask staff to write what they see," Paul said. "When something says 'a hazard,' we require details of what they observed. It is to keep any one from veering off.

"This serves to tell the provider what exactly has been done wrong. It's not debatable."

Paul, who has worked in the DHS child-care licensing division for 18 years, said specialists want to be partners in improving quality care.

"We know training, consulting and mentoring make for a quality environment, that is child development 101," Paul said.

"In reality, we are spending a small percentage on that because we have to spend it on facilities with imminent risk."

More staff is needed to fulfill the dual roles, said Paige Whalen, Quality Enhancement Initiative coordinator for the Tulsa Child Care Resource Center.

"There are not enough people to work on the high quality of care and handle the increase in follow-up visits. There will always be people to fall through that loophole," Whalen said.

"When I was a center director, my licensing specialist was my go-to person. But many providers look at licensing as the bad people. It's hard to have one person be both of those things."

Woldridge, who has worked in the child-care licensing division for 18 years, said specialists embrace the changes that lead to quality care.

"It's a wonderful program to be a part of, and I think it's the best division in the agency," Woldridge said. "The bottom line is we do what it takes to protect children and continue to encourage parents to come in our office and read our case files.

"My degree is in child development, and I want to have an effect in the lives of children. We are constantly looking to raise the bar on quality. I love my job, and there is something new everyday."

Ginnie Graham 581-8376
ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com

Curtis Killman 581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Amelia Henderson (left), an Oklahoma Department of Human Services child-care licensing specialist, asks Susan Eckelt questions during a home child care inspection, while Cai Chambers plays behind them.

Amelia Henderson (right), an Oklahoma Department of Human Services child-care licensing specialist, holds Ruby Vandiver, 10 months old, as she chats with caregiver Susan Eckelt, who holds 2-year-old Lindsay Eckelt, with 4-year-old Cole Schick close by.

Henderson makes notes during her inspection of the home.