House child care bill moves forward

A bill that would increase the number of children allowed to be supervised by unlicensed home providers advanced with full-throated Republican support over the concerns of Democrats on Wednesday.

House Bill 1102 would allow such home-based providers to supervise up to seven children before licensing, an increase from the current maximum of five. Additionally, programs operating out of schools will be exempt from licensing requirements, so long as they meet health and safety standards. 

But Sens. Shelli Yoder and J.D. Ford, both Democrats, worried about increasing the number of children supervised by home providers because children related to the provider don’t count toward the state maximum. 

Testimony from the Family and Social Services Administration shared minimum staffing ratios for center-based providers, which are: one adult for four infants and one adult for five two-year-old children. By age three, one teacher can supervise up to ten children.

Theoretically, she said, a home provider could have four young children at home on top of the seven allowed under the bill. 

“This just makes me uncomfortable … expanding in this way without addressing the number of children that might be present in the home already from the parent,” said Yoder, of Bloomington.

Indianapolis’ Ford additionally wondered about background checks for visitors at home-based centers, which prompted Sen. Liz Brown to fire back about government overreach in private homes and she implored the committee to “put our reasonable hats on.”

“For some people having 11 to 12 children in a home might be too much, for others that might be just their family,” said Brown, R-Fort Wayne.

Requiring something like background checks for every visitor would be an astronomical cost, she said, and “the very families who need help, who need more opportunities and choices, we would be undercutting them” if implemented.

The bill moved on a 8-2 vote with support from Republicans and moves to the Senate.