Parents could read them and be more aware of quality standards. New Mexico limits the amount of time children in day care can watch television and videos to one hour a day. New Mexico also requires all day-care workers have first aid and CPR knowledge. In Florida, only one staff person on site must be trained in it. Mississippi makes providers give parents an organizational chart that shows a day care's lines of authority.
Parents know who monitors situations and who handles complaints.
In some cases, changes to quality can be left to Florida's county commissioners. For example, Sarasota County is among nine of Florida's 67 counties that require family child-care homes to be licensed rather than registered. That subjects homes to twice yearly inspections from state counselors. No Southwest Florida county commissioners have created such a law. Also, eight Florida counties have adopted standards that exceed state standards in some areas.