Day Care in Virginia Too Often Fails, Injuries Young Children

4/11/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
Comments (0)

Young Children in Virginia Get Injured Too Often at Day Care

"Virginia's score in a nationwide report on state laws regulating child care providers is a D-, and that's enough to rank it 14th in the country."

My breath stopped when I read that first paragraph of an April 5, 2011, Virginian-Pilot report on an analysis of the quality and safety of day care and after-school programs in the United States. My shock was only partly due to the poor performance of Commonwealth caregivers and regulators. Even more disturbing was the realization that babies, infants, toddlers and preschool students in 26 states -- more than half -- receive paid care from adults that, considered objectively, utterly fails to keep them safe, educated and fed.

The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, which goes by the unwieldy initialism NACCRRA, released its most-recent annual grades this month. The organization also rated North Carolina's (NC) child care with a low D and noted that the "average score in 2011 was 87 out of a possible 150 points (compared to 70 in 2007 and 83 in 2009). Using a standard grading scale, no state earned an A."

Forty-one percent of identified day care and after-school care providers in Virginia (VA) do not hold licenses issued by the state's Department of Social Services. This means 4 in 10 child care providers are not subject to regular inspections of their facilities -- often private homes -- or of the work they do with kids. Centers affiliated with churches and faith groups, in particular, are not required to apply for or obtain licenses from the state.

In January 2011, a 7-week-old died at the Bethel Temple Church of Deliverance-affiliated Little Eagles Day Care in Norfolk, Virginia. More recently, a babysitter in Newport News who took infants into her home while the kids' parents were at work was charged with felony charges of child endangerment and allowing a child's death after an 8-month-old died from brain injuries suffered at the caregiver's house.

NACCRRA titled its 2011 report We Can Do Better, bolding and underlining the "can" and setting it in all capital letters on the report's cover. As an attorney specializing in representing victims of injuries caused by other people's negligence and carelessness and a parent of three thankfully healthy kids, I'll go further to state that we MUST do better. Young children depend on parents, teachers and all other adults to ensure their health and well-being. We simply cannot be failing the most vulnerable members of society.

EJL

Category: All Serious Injuries

Labels: after-school care Attorney Babysitter brain juries caregiver child Cooper day care died injuries kids killed license NACCRRA Newport News Norfolk North Carolina Virginia

How can you identify a top Virginia injury lawyer for your case? Look no further.

Our VA personal injury lawyers have been selected for many accolades.

Two of the attorneys with our Virginia Beach accident injury law firm, James Lewis and Rick Shapiro, have been named the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Two of our VA injury lawyers -- Lewis and Shapiro - have been named to Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury since 2010. In addition, Lewis and Shapiro have been selected for inclusion in the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009.

Our VA accident injury law firm was the first in the commonwealth nvited to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Rick Shapiro was named as one of the Top 100 Injury Lawyers in Virginia by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained what was then the largest verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person. Our brain damaged client received an initial award of $46 million that rose to $60 million with interest when the defendant abandoned an appeal and agreed to settle.

Geographical Areas

Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

In Virginia, this includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond, Petersburg, Roanoke, Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Ashland, Big Stone Gap, and every community on the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague and Wallops Island.

In West Virginia, we can handle personal injury claims in Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC.

There are no comments.

Search Our Site

Get help Now!

Practice Areas

Young Children in Virginia Get Injured Too Often at Day Care

Post a comment