Here’s why Grand Prairie home child care providers are cheering the city’s new change
A group of home day care providers in Grand Prairie are celebrating a change to a local ordinance which previously limited the number of children they could care for and the amount of funds they could receive from federal and state grants by not allowing them to become licensed.
“I’m excited for the family child care businesses in the city that have options now,” said Jerletha McDonald, the founder of Arlington DFW Child Care Professionals, after the decision.
The city council approved the change Tuesday.
McDonald said the previous ordinance was dissuading providers from operating, and limiting their ability to serve parents, even as the need continued to grow.
“Without us, parents could not go back to work,” she said. “And without them going back to work, there is no economic recovery at all.”
City ordinance regulated beyond state guidelines
In the state of Texas there are multiple classifications of home day cares allowed, including listed, registered and licensed.
Registered and licensed homes are both able to care for up to 12 children, but registered homes can only care for six children the first half of the day and another six after school, while licensed homes can care for 12 children all day.
Licensed homes are also inspected by the state once a year, while registered are only inspected every other year.
While the requirements are almost identical, licensed homes are eligible to receive greater amounts of funding from both state and federal resources, both of which were increased greatly amid the pandemic.
But many providers in Grand Prairie already adhered to higher standards including yearly inspections in order to receive subsidies, along with receiving specialized training and certifications in order to participate in a state quality rating program called Texas Rising Star.
That includes Roslyn Chaney, who runs a 24-hour day care in Grand Prairie.
“Before I came into child care, I had a bachelor’s degree in psychology,” Chaney said. “So I am qualified to become a licensed home provider. Basically it is just the wording we would have to switch over to become licensed providers.”
When she got the news of the change, she became emotional.
“I was elated,” she said.
Chaney is also an apprentice through the Camp Fire First training program aimed at helping early educators expand their qualifications and incomes.
Before the change, Chaney said, she might not have been able to take full advantage of her new certifications.
Chaney and other providers spoke before a City Council committee earlier this year, after asking for the ordinance to be changed in letters and phone calls over the last several years.
The providers are counting the change as a win.
Ordinance change addresses safety of children
While the ordinance allows home providers to apply and become registered child care homes, it also contains stipulations meant to enhance the protection of children.
This was a key point in the early discussion for officials in Grand Prairie, which is one of only two municipalities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that regulates child care beyond what is required by the state.
Cindy Mendez, the director of public health and environmental quality for the city, told the Star-Telegram in February that the decision to regulate the homes was made decades ago.
“The City of Grand Prairie in the ‘80s made a decision to regulate and to have an extra layer of protection for children who are being cared for in a home or in a licensed child care center,” she said. “Any extra protection you can give to children is better.”
Mendez said the regulation came after an incident where a child was kidnapped.
Regulations in the ordinance provide extra layers of security when a student is being picked up, including requiring photo identification for anyone who is picking up a child, and giving a four-digit security code to parents that must be provided in any instance where an unlisted adult is picking up a child.
The regulations are in-line with those enforced by the state, except for added requirements for fire inspections.
Sprinklers will not be required, despite earlier concerns that other city ordinances would require them.
Providers who spoke to the Star-Telegram said that they appreciated the city’s attention to safety and welcomed the continued regulation along with the allowance for them to become licensed homes.
“They wanted to make sure that they were doing due diligence and making sure that the kids are safe,” Chaney said. “I understand it, because, you know, that’s what we do as providers, we make sure the kids are safe.”
McDonald echoed that sentiment.
“It is always good to have that second look, and Grand Prairie goes the extra mile to make sure that children and families are safe,” she said.
Change could lead to more child care seats
McDonald and other providers are hopeful that the change in ordinance will give parents more options for child care in the coming months and years.
“There is not enough child care in Grand Prairie and expanding the potential to serve can help,” McDonald said.
Chaney said that the ordinance comes at a good time, as the conversation surrounding pre-K preparedness and expansion threatens to siphon potential students from home and center-based day cares to public schools.
“We have to get our certifications and move up to show that we’re fit for the job,” she said. “We’re here and it starts at the beginning, 0-5 early child care educators, so we’re just trying to make sure that we are meeting the standards and going above and beyond to be the best educators and providers we can be.”
According to a child care desert map created by the Center for American Progress, areas across Grand Prairie have scarcity of child care.
Rosemary Simon, another provider who spoke at the city council committee meeting, said she has seen the demand grow along with the population.
“Grand Prairie is booming over in my area … they are popping up so many houses and apartments, and these people are going to need child care,” she said. “I have one family in particular that I was watching their older son from 2-11 and they want me to take the baby. If I was licensed I could.”
But without the license, Simon is at capacity.
The provider has also been on a single income since 2006 — making the ability to take care of as many kids as she can a necessity.
Amy Sprinkles, the marketing, communications and library director for the City of Grand Prairie, said in an email that the city will be will be sending out letters to all Registered Family Homes with updates on the ordinance.
