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Summer Time Daycare: How Does Your Child’s Care Program Stand Up?
Whether you have enrolled your child in a new child care program or your child continues to attend the same facility this summer, it is important to continually evaluate the quality of the care provided.
Not only is this critical to your child’s development but asking such questions could help you identify unsafe conditions that could injure your child.
How to Evaluate a Child Care Program
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families suggests considering the following:
- What activities did my child participate in today?
- Does my child have a positive relationship with his caregiver?
- How has the outside play area been made safe?
- What does my child say about his or her day?
It is also recommended that parents:
- Spend a few minutes talking to the care provider at drop off or pick up;
- Spend time at the facility and participate in activities; and
- Review regulatory agency reports.
How to Make a Complaint
Complaints can be made to the Bureau of Early Care Regulation Regional Licensing Office if the program is licensed, or to the certification agency if the program is certified. Typical complaints include:
- The serving of nutritious meals;
- Not enough staff to handle the number of children enrolled;
- Lack of supervision; and
- An unregulated program with more than three children under seven years old who are unrelated to the caretaker.
If the complaint relates to licensing or certification standards, it will be investigated. Complainants are encouraged to be as detailed as possible in the allegations, including specific dates and times, the location within the facility, and the names of witnesses.
Legal Options If Your Child Was Harmed
Under Wisconsin law, you may be able to bring a lawsuit for monetary damages if your child was hurt or died while under the supervision of a caretaker. These types of lawsuits are called negligent supervision.
In such a case, an attorney will check to make sure that all regulations that apply to child care operations were followed. For example, child care programs must adhere to strict child-caretaker ratios.
Additionally, an attorney will investigate whether the child care operation acted in accordance with the prevailing norms of the industry. For example, doctors and other child safety experts recommend that a child not sleep on his or her stomach and that children not be fed solid foods until certain ages.
Failure to follow the law and standard safety protocol that leads to the injury of a child is essential to having a successful claim of negligent supervision against a child care program.
Contact a Milwaukee, WI, Negligent Daycare Lawyer
If you believe that your child was harmed while at a child care program, you and your child should be compensated. Not only is this fair to you as the injured party, but it may keep many other children safe.
Our firm takes such cases seriously and can help you prove your case to a judge or jury. To set up an appointment with the experienced Milwaukee personal injury attorneys at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP call our offices at 414-271-1440.
Source:
https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/ccregulation/complaint
