Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Senate Committee Approves Day Care Bill

Alabama State House

The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced a bill aimed at getting more oversight for hundreds of faith-based day cares that currently go uninspected by the state.

Committee members voted unanimously yesterday in favor of the bill, described as a compromise between child welfare advocates and church centers. The measure has already passed the House and now moves to the Senate floor for debate.

For years, Alabama has exempted faith-based day cares from licensure and regulations such as maximum child-to-worker ratios. This bill would require that receive state subsidies to get licensed. Centers that remain exempt would still have to provide employees' criminal histories and proof of safety inspections.

Rep. Pebblin Warren, the bill's sponsor, says Alabama has had problems with the exempt centers. A 5-year-old in Mobile died last year after being left inside a van at an exempt day care, and dozens of young children were hospitalized in Montgomery in 2015 after getting food poisoning at an unlicensed day care.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.