While a daycare abuse law firm can help you file a case after the fact, it’s best to spot an abusive facility before any damage is done. There are a few warning signs that you can keep in mind when you’re looking at facilities to enroll your child in. Some of these warning signs will require that you take a good look at the building, how the staff interacts with the children and, in some cases, that you ask some questions of the staff that may not be taken all that well but that are necessary, nonetheless.
When you’re inspecting the building, look for the following:
- Is the building lay out generally open, i.e., no hidden places where children can be isolated
- Does the staff work together or are they all working alone with different groups of children
- Are all the entrances and exits monitored?
- Is there a sign-in sheet at the front door?
- Were you asked for ID when you came in?
- Is there safety equipment—fire extinguishers, etc—clearly visible?
The answers to all of these questions should be “yes”. One of the warning signs of daycare negligence is a facility that isn’t up to standards. It should be comfortable, well-lit, well-monitored and absent of any places where children can be isolated by an adult. This removes the opportunity for abusers to find a place to take children, or to at least be out of the sight of other daycare workers. Check the entire facility for this, including the bathrooms, and inquire as to how much supervision the workers are given when they’re working with the children. One of the most hazardous situations is when a daycare facility fails to properly background check their employees.
Sometimes, daycare child abuse is perpetrated by someone who never should have been close to children to begin with. This happens, in some instances, because those individuals were not checked out prior to being hired. Make sure you ask if bus drivers, maintenance staff and administrative employees are checked for criminal histories. This is necessary, though some facilities that are driven more by greed than anything else may try to save a buck or two by not going through with it. This sort of negligence is exactly what oftentimes leads to children being abused at such facilities.