Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Study: Many Mass. Day Care Centers Deficient
WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Karen Twomey reports.
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — A study has found that about one-third of the state’s child care centers that serve low-income communities have serious deficiencies.
The survey of 182 day care centers by the Children’s Investment Fund found unsafe play equipment, lack space for active indoor play and poor ventilation that can make children drowsy.
Other problems include poor acoustics that make conversation between teachers and children difficult and facilities that are too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
Mav Pardee, the investment fund director for the organization, told WBZ NewsRadi0 1030 said the survey matters because this is the beginning for lots of children.
“The reason we did the study was to get a sense of what are the condition of the facility where those programs are taking place, because that’s the setting where education takes place,” said Pardee.
It’s especially important since many low-income children spend most of their time at a care center.
Listen to the clip: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/10/12/study-many-mass-day-care-centers-deficient/

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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Deficiencias en Centros Infantiles
WUNI News October 12, 2011. 05:59 PM Centros de cuidado infantil son foco de un estudio que establece fallas en varios aspectos de este importante servicio para los padres de familia de bajos ingresos. El 70 porciento de los programas de cuidado infantil no tenian lavamanos en los salones, lo que quiere decir que los niños no se estan lavando las manos regularmente, tambien la mitad de estos centros no contaban con un espacio para desarrollar actividades fisicias lo que lleva la obesidad. 182 guarderias fueron parte del estudio donde tambien se encontraron deficiencias en la ventilacion lo cual interfiere con la concentracion de los niños en el aprendizaje, y la paciencia de los maestros. Encargados de la investigacion consideran que una de las razones es la falta de atencion y de fondos por parte de autoridades estales.

View this clip: www.wunitv.com/video.html?pl_id=23357&va_id=2927303

©2011 Entravision Communications Corporation
URL: http://www.wunitv.com/noticia/2011/10/12/301856-deficiencias-centros-infantiles.html

Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 8:46 A.M.

REPORT: SAFETY, HEALTH ISSUES AMONG SHORTCOMINGS IN EARLY LEARNING CENTERS

Describing safety hazards, accessibility issues and impediments to learning in dozens of early childhood education centers and out-of-school-time facilities across Massachusetts that could cost millions of dollars to remedy, an early education advocacy group on Wednesday urged early learning centers to consider alternative funding sources, such as partnering with utility companies to save on energy costs or tapping into Race to the Top funds. The Children’s Investment Fund, a 20-year-old program that seeks to expand access for low- and middle-income Massachusetts residents to early education facilities, found that in a study of 182 facilities across Massachusetts, only one met all accessibility standards, and none complied with all the best practices required of such facilities. The research, conducted for the children’s fund by Wellesley Centers for Women, found that a third of all centers had “entrapment hazards” in their play equipment, and about a quarter lacked screens in windows for ventilation. About a quarter of the sites in the study lacked “acoustical tile” or “ceiling treatment” to minimize noise and promote concentration. A fifth of the sites had at least one classroom without windows, and a third failed to meet recommended temperature standards. Although most of the sites missed some of the standards, the report described as “positive” the fact that most of the sites met 80 percent of regulators standards, 50 percent of professional standards and 50 percent of best practices standards. “Despite budget constraints, most programs did their best to maintain physical environments that met the state standards for safety and health,” according to the report. “All programs provided adequate classroom space to accommodate varied activities and children playing individually or in small or large groups.” The report also suggested that any inability to meet standards “should not be construed as negligence or lack of interest on the part of program operators. The problem lies in the revenue model and the inability to generate enough revenue to adequately address capital needs.”

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BAY LEDGER NEWS ZONE
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

12daycare.ART
By Sean P. Murphy, The Boston Globe
The study’s bottom line, said Mav Pardee, program director for the Children’s Investment Fund, is that many facilities in cities and other low-income areas must improve significantly to give children the kind of early development and learning that pays huge societal dividends as the children mature.
“High-quality child care is absolutely essential for children’s successful development and later academic success,” said Pardee, who planned to release the results at a press conference today. “Kids who experience high-quality child care do better in life. We all benefit.”
The new report comes at a time of increasing attention to care for children from low-income families following the Sept. 12 death of 17-month-old Gabriel Josh-Cazir Pierre when he was left for six hours inside a sweltering van because the driver apparently overlooked him at the end of his morning child-care run in Dorchester.
Some children of two working parents or a working single parent spend a majority of their waking hours in child care – up to 10 hours a day, 52 weeks a year, and receive two-thirds of their meals there. But, until now, there have been few statewide assessments of the physical quality of the centers that serve low-income families.
Pardee’s organization, which offers financing and technical assistance to child-care centers, asked the Wellesley Center for Women and a private engineering firm to carry out the survey after members of the Children’s Investment Fund increasingly found structural problems during their visits to centers that accommodated 10 to 100 children. The survey doesn’t include thousands of smaller family child-care operations.
Researchers spent roughly half a day at each center, which were randomly selected from state-licensed day-care and early childhood education centers in relatively low-income communities. To be included, a center had to serve at least some children who receive state-subsidized care.
The researchers found that almost all centers complied with at least 80 percent of state regulatory standards and most of the violations, such as uncovered electrical outlets, could be easily remedied, Pardee said.
But, beyond minimum requirements, the researchers focused on “professional standards,” an amalgamation of national accreditation standards, including the state’s own recently adopted quality rating and improvement system.
Using those criteria, only half the centers measured up, the study found. Among potential health and safety hazards, the study found that 33 percent of centers statewide and 50 percent of those in Boston had play equipment and structures where children could get stuck or trapped, and that 26 percent of centers did not have screens in windows used for ventilation.
Further, the study found that 22 percent of centers have unhealthy levels of carbon dioxide, reflecting poor air circulation, and that 36 percent of centers lack mechanical ventilation over diapering and toilet areas.
The study also found a lack of classroom sinks in nearly 70 percent of centers, a likely contributing factor to the spread of infection, Pardee said. Children’s bathrooms were located too far from classrooms in 38 percent of centers statewide and 62 percent in Boston, the study found.
The study also found inadequate indoor space where young children can run around. The researchers said sedentary day care could contribute to long-term health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, and asthma.
For example, 54 percent of preschool programs statewide and 31 percent in Boston lack indoor space for slides, riding toys and other equipment that helps children develop gross motor skills. On the other hand, the study found that centers rarely exceed the 35 square feet of indoor space per child space minimum required for a state license.
“In many centers, there isn’t enough room for one child to get a book from the shelf without walking through an area where another child is playing with blocks,” Pardee said.
The study also found that 26 percent of centers lack acoustical tile or ceiling treatment that would make conversation easier amid the cacophony of playing children. The study found that 20 percent of preschool centers have at least one classroom without exterior windows, contributing to a lack of fresh air. At facilities for older children, about one-third have classrooms without exterior windows.
The study also found that 34 percent of centers statewide do not comply with national thermal comfort standards of 68 to 78 degrees in the winter and 74 to 82 degrees in the summer.
Sean Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com.
Source: The Boston Globe

URL: http://www.blnz.com/news/2011/10/13/12daycareART_e936.html