INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — On Monday, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration held a public hearing regarding newly proposed changes to the state’s laws on licensed child care homes.
The agency says, “The new rules are designed to reduce administrative burdens for child care providers, maintain the highest standards of health and safety for children, and support both existing child care businesses and new entrepreneurs by lowering costs and providing greater flexibility. These changes will benefit over 2,800 child care businesses, serving over 110,000 Hoosier children.”
However, many residents voiced concerns at Monday’s hearing, saying the relaxing of educational requirements that is being proposed might unintentionally weaken the quality of Indiana’s child care.
“We think they’re getting a lot right but we also think that they’re lowering some standards in some cases, and we’re really concerned about that,” said Omar Khan, President, Indiana Child Care Business Alliance.
Under the new rules, center directors would no longer be required to hold a Bachelor’s Degree, and caregivers would not be required to have a high school diploma.
Khan says this “would make Indiana the lowest standard in the surrounding states. Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois all have higher standards than us. And that would be the message we are sending to the Midwest region – that Indiana has lower standards than everyrone else… There’s no high school test that says, ‘Oh people didn’t pass it, so let’s lower the test.’ Nobody does that. So what we can do is invest in the workforce.”
The next step after Monday’s hearing is that FSSA will review, summarize, and respond to all comments. A second public comment period will then be scheduled. The date for that is still to be determined.
