Members of the Child Care Advisory Cuncil and child care providers, who had raised issues earlier about new proposed regulations, are voicing more concerns after the state Department of Health shared revisions.
Over 200 child care providers attended a meeting Friday of the Child Care Advisory Council along with members of the advisory council and Nicole Barnes, director of the child care bureau at the Health Department, to discuss the new proposed revisions to child care regulations in the state.
The advisory committee had a week to review the new proposed revisions, which have not been released to the public. They also weren’t shown during the meeting.
Advisory council members Vincent Burke and Roberta Avila spoke on the need for a clearer process for discussing and passing changes to child care regulations. Burke suggested giving council members at least 30 days to review regulation changes. “We feel uninformed as an advisory board,” he said.
Avila explained her point in an email after the meeting. “There is a need for clarity of the process in discussing and approving changes to the Licensure Regulations,” she said.
The council voted to meet again in March to further discuss the new regulations.
During the open comment period, several providers raised concerns about the licensing agency’s conduct. Debbie Ellis, who owns and operates The Learning Center in Greenwood, criticized the licensing agency’s handling of the regulation changes, saying that it was “disrespectful” and “alienates” child care providers.
Two other providers who are also part of the advisory council, Regina Harvey and Lesia Daniel, spoke before the meeting about the advisory council’s role.
“Regulations should not be released to the public until the advisory board has had a chance to read them and advise,” said Harvey, who runs SMART Beginnings Preschool in Ocean Springs. “This is what the board is supposed to be — made up of industry leaders and providers. My experience so far is that this is not happening.”
Daniel, owner of Funtime in Clinton, said that having a week to look at all the new revisions wasn’t practical. “The document is hundreds of pages and so taking the time to compare each section to the current regulations to identify the proposed changes is a waste of everyone’s time. To me, that communicates a lack of respect to providers.”
Barnes explained in the meeting that the revisions were done to comply with the Child Care and Development Block Grant’s health and safety standards. There are no federal child care regulations.
The licensing agency filed its first round of proposed regulation changes in November. Many child care providers criticized the previous revisions and how the licensing agency debuted them. They also felt the licensing agency wasn’t considerate of their perspectives.
The licensing agency acknowledged they did not get input from the Child Care Advisory Council or the Small Business Regulatory Committee. Providers said they were not notified of the revisions until weeks after they were filed, when they should’ve been notified three days after they were filed. The licensing agency maintains that it followed the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act.
The controversy over regulations comes at a crucial time for the child care industry. Labor shortages, high prices, and more are contributing to a child care crisis in the U.S.
The licensing agency is set to bring the proposed revisions to the Board of Health in April, as well as all public comments from providers. According to Barnes, the new regulations would take effect in May if the Board of Health approves them.
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