Child care in this state has been overcrowded for years. Working parents find waiting lists instead of open doors, and annual bills that are higher than university tuition. By enacting welfare reform, the state has placed a stress on the entire system. It follows, then, that the state has an obligation to fund child care for Workfirst mothers at a level that makes work possible. It also has an obligation to keep welfare reform from making the child-care system unhealthy for all.
Funding includes beefing up the number of inspectors.
Each inspector is responsible for about 125 facilities. If inspectors had more time, they would be more likely to notice the crying, bruises or emotional problems that can foreshadow disaster. Leaving one's child in someone else's care can be agonizing, particularly after hearing nightmare stories like the Wetzels', whose child-care provider seemed ideal. Most parents will never know their sorrow. But they know their children will be shaped by their days in child care, and all but the luckiest parents know that what they're getting is not enough.