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February 15, 2005
Bill transfers child care inspections from Health Department to DHS
February 15, 2005 [Associated Press]
JACKSON Mississippi - The head of the state Department of Human Services wants his agency to take over the responsibility of licensing and regulating the state's more than 1,700 child care facilities.
Currently, those duties fall to the state Department of Health, but DHS executive director Don Taylor says his agency can do the job more efficiently.
The Senate has passed a bill that would make the switch. The legislation is now headed to the House.
The Health Department has 20 field survey staff who inspect a host of regulations at the facilities, including fire safety, the playground area and the number of child-to-staff ratio.
"When we get allegations of abuse, sometimes they come here and sometimes they go to DHS. Certainly, there is some overlap," said Health Department spokeswoman Liz Sharlot.
Taylor said the ratio of inspectors to facilities is 1-to-88. He said a report from the legislative Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review committee recommends a 1-to-75 ratio.
"I've gotten no complaints about the kind of job that the Department of Health has been doing," Taylor said.
The Health Department receives $1 million in funding to conduct inspections that could be more efficiently used at DHS, Taylor said. Taylor said the Health Department spends more than $100,000 on "indirect costs" and DHS could use that money to hire three or four additional inspectors.
No one would lose their job. The inspectors would just begin working for DHS, Taylor said.
Senate Public Health Committee Chairman Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, who filed the bill, said DHS would begin checking the facilities' educational component and "communicate to parents how effectively that facility is helping their child be prepared to start school."
Nunnelee said currently no agency is evaluating the educational component.
The bill is Senate Bill 2367
Posted by Nancy at February 15, 2005 08:25 AM