AUGUSTA, Maine - Following evidence of abuse at a child care center in Lyman that surfaced about a year ago, Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would require the state to notify parents when a complaint is lodged against a child care facility or provider.
While the bill drew strong support at a public hearing today from former families of the now-closed Sunshine Child Care, some day care providers in Maine are strongly opposed.
Parent Brett Williams says he first got wind of abuse allegations at Sunshine Child Care in Lyman from a TV news story in January of 2014. His first reaction, he says, "was to breathe a sigh of relief that we had removed our son from their care beforehand."
But Williams soon discovered that the abuse allegations dated back to 2011, and his then-infant son was at the center of one of the incidents. Williams says a former Sunshine employee told him that the owner had swaddled Williams' son very tightly for crying too loudly one day, and forcibly held the child down in his crib.
"And immediately after she left, the employee went over to our son to soothe him," Williams said, "and she told us he was swaddled so tightly that his eyes were bloodshot and bulging out of his head."
Williams says the employee reported the abuse to the state and subsequently resigned. But he and his wife were in the dark that anything had ever happened. "It took us three years to learn that our son was abused, and only then, through news media."
"I am here today to tell you that the details of what you hear today are, unfortunately, not unique to Sunshine Day Care," said Republican Rep. Karen Gerrish. Gerrish is the sponsor of a bill that would require DHHS to notify parents within five days when a complaint is lodged against a child care provider, and provide information about the nature of the complaint. "This legislation is about putting kids first," Gerrish said.
While the bill drew support from former families of Sunshine Child Care, as well as the York County Child Abuse Prevention Council, day care providers lined up in opposition. Among them was Lori Bozeman, of Brunswick, who cited a universal concern about the bill. "There are two missing words, those words being 'substantiated' and 'credible.' "
Bozeman and other child care providers say it's not uncommon for parents late with bills, disgruntled employees, or ornery neighbors to lodge a baseless complaint against a day care. Topsham day care owner Andrea Imrie says the proposed law would open up child care facilities to unjustified scrutiny and slander that could ultimately drive them out of business.
"As a day care provider, I fully support parents being informed of complaints or violations once they're substantiated," Imrie said. "I don't feel it is a good idea to panic parents for falsified complaints."
Day care operators also point out that DHHS has already made improvements to its oversight and transparency. This January, the agency unveiled an improved database that gives updated rankings of child care providers, as well as state inspection reports.
And last spring, DHHS more than doubled its number of investigators, a change that the director of Youth and Family Services of Sanford-Springvale YMCA, Matt Ouellette, says means the time between visits has gone from years to months. "The frequency that I've seen my state licensing specialist has exponentially grown."
These changes, day care providers say, are a better approach to enhancing the safety of children. But bill sponsor Karen Gerrish says Maine can do better. According to a 2013 report from Child Care Aware of America, Maine ranked 47th in the U.S. for childcare oversight.
