Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Steven Smith, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Potsdam, New York, the Watertown Daily Times reported that a day care center was cited with violations of day care laws and regulations. The New York Office of Children and Family Services is the New York government agency charged with licensing and supervising day care center. It was reported that Build Blocks Day Care Center was cited with over two dozen violations over the past two years. See N New York Day Care Center Cited with Violation of Day Care Regulations. It was noted in the article that the violation of a day care regulation does not necessarily mean that a facility is a “good” day care facility or a “bad” day care facility. This is probably an accurate statement; however, compliance with New York day care standards including those pertaining to safety, playgrounds, staffing, and supervision can help prevent or avoid many incidents that do cause serious personal injuries to children enrolled in a day care program.
In West Virginia, day care centers and child care centers are regulated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Title 78 of the West Virginia Code of State Rules governs the licensure and regulation of day care centers. The applicable provisions depend on the number of child in the facility and the type of services provided by the day care center. See 
In Montana, a former 72 year old day care owner was convicted of criminal charges involving the sexual abuse of toddler. The Montana day care owner pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl for a period of a yea and one half. Albert Gaub unfairly and immorally assaulted this child. See 
In Monroe County (North Greece) New York, a child injury was reported at the YMCA located on Long Pond Road. Fire fighters / paramedics with Monroe County EMS responded to the YMCA and reported that a child was in a crawl tube with a neck injury. The story was posted on the site Monroe County Fire Wire which is a website owned and managed by Scott Ellman who is a firefighter with the Brighton Fire District. The website provides good public service information to residents served by hard working men and women who work as firefighters and paramedics in the area. See 
The Louisiana DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) is the governmental agency in charge of licensing, supervising, and disciplining licensed day care centers in the State of Louisiana. For a day care center to remain in good standing and to retain its state day care license, the facility must follow the rules and regulations set forth and enforced by the Louisiana DCFS. These regulations include those related to documentation, attendance records, and staff to child ratios. Unfortunately, many day care centers violate these policies and put children under the supervision of the day care center at risks for serious personal injuries and, in some instances death. The Louisiana DCFS recently revoked the child care license of a facility due to alleged violations of the State day care regulations and rules. See 
In Georgia, a jury awarded the parents of a 2 year old child over $9 Million dollars in a lawsuit that was filed against a day care center. The case involved the drowning death of a 2 year old (Abiola Bankolemoh) who was not properly supervised by the day care center employees. As a result of the lack of supervision, the child drowned in a Georgia swimming pool. While swimming pools can be great fun for children, swimming pools also pose a significant risks to children. Because of the inherent risks associated with swimming pools, it is vital that proper supervision is in place at all times when children are in or near a swimming pool area. In particular, gates should be locked, pool fences should be secured and in place, and supervision should be consistent and constant. See 
In Kentucky, parents rely on day care centers to provide care and supervision to their children. It was reported that a child choked on a push pin while she was at a Louisville Kentucky day care center – Trina’s Daycare Center. It was reported that day care workers at the Kentucky day care center observed that Jacorey Davis, age 2, was having convulsions at the day care center. It was not known at this time why the child was having the convulsions. The child was later rushed to Kosair Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later concluded that the child choked on a push pin. Recently, owner of the day care center – Katrina Clyburn gave a statement about the incident and her feelings regarding the death this child. See 
