Three Month Old Child Dies in Unregulated Day Care Facility in Virginia
A Virginia toddler died while in the care of an unlicensed day care provider, one of 43 such deaths in Virginia in the last 10 years. Logan Guralny, the second child of career naval personnel, was found unresponsive in a portable playpen and pronounced dead at a local hospital later that day. The day care provider admitted that she had put Logan to sleep on his stomach. Virginia has banned this sleeping position in all licensed day care centers since 2010.
Under Virginia law, a day care provider can watch up to five children without the requirement of a license. Accordingly, authorities concluded that the day care provider had not violated any laws. Nor was there any evidence of neglect or abuse. Though health care experts have expressed concerns about placing a child face down to sleep since the 1990s, the bans that have gone into effect in some states are only recent.
Ensuring that Your Child Gets Safe and Effective Care
Because Virginia and other states allow unregulated day care with certain limitations, many parents rely on online advertising or word of mouth to secure day care services. Authorities caution that day care advertisements can be misleading. For example, many may state that they have a “business license,” but it may simply be a license to conduct a business—any business—in their home. It may not be reflective of any training, skill or standards of care.
Some unregulated day care centers may misrepresent the number of children under their care. In states like Virginia, which limits unregulated day care to five children, it’s not uncommon to find many more under the provider’s care. In another infant death in 2010, investigators discovered 10 children at the facility the day of the toddler’s death.
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