Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
In Indiana and other States, crimes are considered enhanced crimes or more serious crimes when committed near a school and / or day care center. In Lafayette, Indiana, a man was recently arrested for dealing drugs within 1000 feet from a day care center. Further investigation by police officials uncovered a drug operation involving the growing of marijuana and the selling of LSD. In addition, police officials found several guns. The safety of children were certainly at risks when drugs are being sold nearby. Drug sales lead to other criminal activity including but not limited to assault, battery, shooting, and other violent crimes. Fortunately, this story was not about the tragic shooting death of a child caught in a drug dispute shooting; nevertheless, the criminal activity should be punished since crimes were committed and children were put at risks You can read more about this story at Man Arrested for Dealing Drugs Near Indiana Day Care Center.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, FOX News and other media outlets reported a very disturbing story, as follows: Issac “Andy” Baker served the citizens of Alabama for 25 years as a patrol officer between 1975 and 2000. Mr. Baker’s wife ran an in home day care center. A young girl stated that Mr. Baker sodomized her at the in home day care center. As a result of the young girl’s allegations, a grand jury recently handed down an indictment of Mr. Baker. If the allegations are true, then this case is quite distrubing. Apparently, the grand jury took the allegations seriously enough to hand down the indictment.
In Columbia, South Carolina, a day care operator was recently sentenced to 20 years for the death of a child under his care. Willie Ritter, age 65, who served in the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, pleaded guilty to the crime. Mr. Ritter left a 9 month old child in a closed hot van. The child died from complications due to hyperthermia. Javon Simpson was not given the chance or opportunity to do so many things that a child or person should be able to do during a lifetime. His death was tragic and preventable.
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In Alabama, parents must considering various factors in selecting a day care center. These factors include: costs, location, staffing, size, programs, credentials of staff, licensing, insurance, history of the facility, and hours of operation. The 
California regulators file a complaint against the YMCA Children’s Station after two toddlers wandered off during an outing and were found on nearby railroad tracks. The day care center took these children and other children enrolled in the day care program to a local park. The two children wandered away but were found by others. Fortunately, the children did not suffer any serious personal injuries. The children were unsupervised and could have been abducted. The fact that the child were not seriously harmed or abducted does not and should distract from the danger that they were put in by the failed supervision. Further investigation by the Department of Social Services revealed that the day care center did not have the proper staff in place and were also deficient in its polices and procedures for signing in and out of the children.
The Mobile County Health Department is the only health department in Alabama that has undertaken the task of monitoring and inspecting day care centers. The Alabama Department of Human Resources is the state agency that is responsible for day care licenses, inspection, and the over all regulation of these facilities. The current structure of Alabama law and regulation allows day care centers affiliated with a church or faith based group to operate without a license from the Department of Human Resources. The day care centers that are licensed undergo an inspection every 2 years according to current regulations. Unfortunately, many day care centers that violate the regulations or have an unsafe environment in place go undetected. This, in turn, puts children at risk.
With the start of a new school year, traffic increases for everybody. Parents must rearrange their schedules to meet the demands of their children’s educational needs. In addition, parents must deal with another issue that seems to come up every school year – bullying. Allan L. Beane is the author of “Protect Your Child from Bullying”. Mr. Beane offers the following advice to parents: