Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Scott Soutullo, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
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 the Press Register recently reported that the average cost of full time day care for infants in the State was $5,460. Parents, of course, should consider much more than the cost of the day care when selecting a facility. Prior to enrolling a child in a day care facility, a parent should inspect the facility, interview staff members, speak to other parents, review the licensing information and prior inspections, and contact the Alabama Department of Human Resources. It was reported that the Alabama Department of Human Resources licenses approximately half of the state’s day care centers.
Safe Kids Utah has a great website (
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.
New York legislators passed New York safety restraint / seat belt laws for the safety and protection of all occupants in a vehicle including the smallest and most vulnerable occupants of vehicles – children. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has a good summary of the New York Occupant Restraint Laws posted to its Official Website at 
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.
In Utah and other states, driveways are a very dangerous area for small children especially toddlers who have mobility but limited to no sense of danger. In Provo, Utah, it was reported that a 16 month old child was hit by a vehicle as the driver was backing out of the driveway. Fortunately, neighbors / bystanders were nearby and quickly alerted the driver about the child. While the child did suffer some personal injuries, tragedy was avoided by the quick thinking and actions of the neighbors / bystanders.
In Boise, Idaho, children were removed by the Sheriff’s office after a search warrant revealed dirty / squalid conditions at the home. The parents (Stacey Marie Cox and Michael Cox) were living in the home with four children ranging from the age of 3 to the age of 8. Adults generally have the right to live as they please as long as the health, safety, and welfare of others including children are not affected. In this home, detectives found what was reported as “deplorable” conditions.