Bill requires day-care soil tests - 3/19/05
State Senate considers bill that calls for arsenic and lead tests by 2009
Mandatory testing of soil in daycares and schools closer - 3/16/05
Arsenic, lead taint soils at many 'child-use areas' - 11/29/04
High arsenic levels have been found in the dirt at parks, school playgrounds, preschools and daycares around Vashon Island and the South End.
Arsenic poisoning's impact seen over long term - 11/29/04
With a few steps, you can minimize the health risk of arsenic exposure. There is a increased chance for cancer as a child grows up.
'This is a matter of bureaucratic indifference' - 3/31/03
King County parents who pay for day care are often among the last to know when their children are exposed to harm.
Overburdened licensors usually don't intervene until after children have been put at risk, and even the worst centers are allowed to stay in business - getting chance after chance to make amends.
This special report examines the county's troubled child care system.
Who's minding day care?
In King County, more than 5,800 children in licensed day cares were exposed to potential harm between January 1999 and December 2001 -- enrolled in dangerous, abusive or badly run facilities, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has found.
Day care a huge expense for parents
Day care for the first four years of a child's life is almost twice as expensive as four years of tuition at the University of Washington.
Day care search can be daunting
Finding and holding on to good day care is more challenging than most new parents anticipate. Waiting lists can be long. Care is expensive. If a parent is searching for infant care, part-time hours or care for children with special needs, the search becomes even harder. And parents often find themselves scrambling for alternatives when a provider closes shop.
Job marked by low pay, long hours
A day care worker's job is marked by long hours and low pay. Many are being driven out by low wages, mounting regulations and inconsistency in how individual licensors apply state rules.
Other states have made big strides
To improve the safety and quality of licensed child care in Washington, the state needs a better watchdog -- armed with more licensors and an enforcement policy that addresses problems quickly.
Childtime's long road to change
Serious violations piled up at the Childtime Learning Center in Kent over two years, exposing hundreds of children to substandard care -- and potential harm. Today the center is still on probation, but it is on the brink of satisfying minimum standards.
