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Recent reports of injuries to children in daycare centers in the Boise area have raised concerns about the quality of some of the local childcare. These reports were more serious than the simple bumps and bruises all children suffer, rising to the point where complaints were made with Boise Police. One of the complaints even involved a possible sexual abuse allegation.
The investigations have so far led to one felony charge. One of the facilities investigated also turned out to be operating without a license and has been shut down.
Although medical privacy regulations block the release of specific information, it’s known that two children were injured so seriously that their injuries were considered life-threatening. Both of those injured children were under one year old, and the sexual abuse allegation also involved an infant. The Boise Police Special Victims Unit, which handled these cases, pursued seven individual investigations into daycare facilities in Boise this summer, which is more than usual.
During the investigations, Boise PD found several violations of city codes at the sites it looked into, including unlicensed staff and improper child-to-caregiver staffing ratios. One of the sites where a serious injury occurred, an in-home care center, was found to have no license to operate and was forced to close.
Boise has adopted a set of standards for licensing childcare providers which is meant to ensure the safety of the children in these facilities. The requirements also give parents assurance that their children are in the hands of people who not only know how to provide the routine care and supervision that’s expected, but who are also able to react effectively in an emergency.
The licensing approval process, for example, requires that providers pass an FBI background check and be certified in both CPR and pediatric first aid. The facilities themselves have to pass all city building, health, and fire codes. In addition to these and other requirements, there must always be an adequate number of workers on site to meet adult-to-child supervision ratios.
There aren’t any good studies on how many children receive serious injuries while in daycare, but in 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that more than 9 million children make emergency room visits each year.
According to more recent CDC information, the death rate from injury in the United States for children is one of the worst among high-income nations. It’s close to double that of Canada’s and triple that of the United Kingdom’s. On the positive side, child injury death rates are down nearly 30 percent from a decade ago. There’s still plenty of room to improve, however.
Injuries that happen in a childcare situation, such as at a daycare center or preschool, fall under the category of personal injury law. Injuries of this kind are both preventable and avoidable, and they can frequently be attributed to the careless or reckless actions of a responsible adult.
In this way, they are the result of negligence, and the person or persons responsible can be held accountable for damages under the law.
If your child has been harmed at a daycare center or preschool, it’s a good idea to discuss the situation with a qualified and experienced attorney. At Craig Swapp & Associates, we understand personal injury law, and we’re ready to share our knowledge to help you understand what’s involved in this kind of case.
Call us for a free consultation at 1-800-404-9000. You can also leave a message for us through our contact form below and have someone from our office call at your convenience, or you can launch the LiveChat feature from any page of this website for immediate answers so some of your questions.
Written By: Ryan Swapp Legal Review By: Craig Swapp