Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
 
Agency
Department of Social Services
 
Board
State Board of Social Services
 
chapter
Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers [22 VAC 40 ‑ 185]
Action Amend Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers to Address Federal Health and Safety Requirements
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ended on 4/6/2018
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4/5/18  3:30 pm
Commenter: Kelsey Lepp - Martial Arts School + Citizen

This hurts business and working families
 

Removing the exemptions for places like martial arts schools, gyms, churches, any place that offers these services, has a huge impact on not just the business but also impact the parents of these children. Child "care" services provided by business allow parents the time to expose their children to different activities and also provide valuable personal time for the parents. Because many of these business dont' specialise in solely child "care" they offer better rates for parents and make it affordable for their children to participate in activities and be exposed to new skills, sports, activities, people, etc. Requiring local businesses to adhere to the requiremnets for licensure will greatly reduce the number of business that can accomodate the need for childcare, creating a child care shortage in the surrounding area. This hurts parents, especially working parents that needs these services, by forcing them to pay higher rates at an institution or find a private care provider. 

Many local business also rely on these services to make their rent, and without these programs would barely be profitable. This is especially true of martial arts schools and churches. 

 

"I oppose the elimination of the exemptions § 63.2-1715 of the Code of Virginia. Eliminating these exemptions would eliminate businesses that allow child-minding services to be offered in settings that would be unable to adhere to all licensing requirements, such as businesses providing drop-in care for children while adults utilize services on-site (i.e. churches, gyms, co-working spaces, etc). These services are needed in our state to support healthy parents and families. 
Eliminating these exemptions will only hurt the parents and inflict financial strain on families who utilize these services. How are parents supposed to exercise at the gym without the use of on-site child-minding services? How willing children attend Sunday school while their parents attend religious service? Or parents who use co-working sites that offer limited on-site child care? How are preschool-aged children supposed to attend dance class, or martial arts, or music, or STEM programs?
It is simply not feasible for most of these types of businesses to pursue child care licensing, whether because of actual physical restrictions (such as the indoor and outdoor space required of licensed child care centers), or because of actions that would be cumbersome to families for simply partaking in part-time child minding services, (example: families would be required to give the facility children’s immunization and physical examination records). These are just a couple of examples.
Eliminating these exemptions will only HURT PARENTS and inhibit them from utilizing helpful resources. Please reconsider this action so these crucial services can continue to be available for Virginia families."

CommentID: 64678