Thousands of Coloradans who get state aid for providing in-home day care to the children of relatives or friends are refusing to undergo the criminal background checks required by a new state law.
As a result, 70 percent of the people caring for 7,662 children and getting payments under the state’s Child Care Assistance Program in 2006 are expected to be ineligible for additional money, state human-services officials said.
The remaining providers who agree to the background checks will get the payments if they pass.
A law that took effect in September requires day-care providers who are exempt from licensing requirements to pass a background check in order to get funding for child care.
Last year, 4,142 exempt caregivers received $6.9 million – about a tenth of state child- care assistance, state officials said.
The payments can be as much as $14 a day for each child. The amount is based on the parents’ income; the money is paid directly to the provider.
Reasons given for the refusals vary from an inability to pay up to $60 for the check – though some counties will cover the cost – to concerns that they won’t pass.
Applicants can fail the background check for a variety of criminal offenses, including a violent felony or misdemeanor, such as child abuse or domestic violence, or any sex-related crime.
Anyone with a pattern of misdemeanor convictions or someone who is determined to be responsible in a report of child abuse or neglect would also be disqualified.
Low-income families trying to save money by turning to relatives and friends for day care will suffer, experts say.
A change, but better?
“This is an unintended consequence to what was thought to be a good law,” said Roxane White, director of Denver’s Department of Human Services.
“We completely underestimated the burden this would impose,” White said.
The new background checks are for “exempt providers,” those who care for a relative’s child or someone who is not a relative but cares for the children from one family.
Workers at day-care centers and providers caring for children from more than one family already had to pass checks.
The law’s aim is to prevent children from being in a dangerous environment, according to Kathryn Hammerbeck, executive director of the Colorado Child Care Association, which represents licensed day-care providers.
“Tax dollars should not be used to fund people with criminal backgrounds, and before the law was enacted, we just didn’t know who was providing care,” Hammerbeck said.
The providers who refuse the background check are denied state money. They’re not prevented from caring for a child.
Mary Myers felt the impact firsthand. The 21-year-old single mother arranged day care for her son with a relative of his father.
That relative, however, isn’t a legal resident. That forced Myers to turn to a day-care center.
“I understand they want to be sure there aren’t any perverts, but I’d much rather have family instead of people I don’t know,” she said. “I know they’re illegal, but they’re decent people.”
Few options for some
The law may hit families in rural counties harder as day- care options there are limited and residents often are forced to turn to relatives and friends.
“We’ve lost about five providers over this, and (they’re) our heaviest usage of child-care dollars,” said Charles Macchietto, director of Huerfano County Department of Social Services.
The county has no day- care centers and just one licensed day-care home, which cares for 15 children, state records show.
“The biggest problem is that most providers are willing, but they have an adult related to them, a nephew or niece, with problems and they are not sure they’d pass,” Macchietto said.
Huerfano, Eagle and San Miguel counties pay for the background checks. Kiowa, Larimer, Park and La Plata counties pay if an applicant passes.
“Ultimately, it hurts the kids,” said Barbara Drake, director of El Paso County’s Department of Human Services. “Someone who is not able to afford child care without the help are left in a bind.”
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
