"This website will make information about critical licensing violations at child care centers more accessible to parents, so they will know what questions to ask the child care centers they are considering, and they will be able to make better decisions for their families," Gov. Lynch said.
On March 2, after stories about the Circle of Learning in Nashua, Gov. Lynch directed the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Information Technology to place the information online within 30 days.
"I spoke to a woman whose child attended that center. She was understandably upset about what had happened, but also frustrated. She had tried to find out information about whether Circle of Learning had any licensing violations, but instead found that the state's existing system of getting that public information to the public was too cumbersome," Gov. Lynch said. "This was a problem I knew we could - and that we should - fix."
The website at www.childcaresearch.dhhs.nh.gov lists licensed child care centers across the state, and a summary of any critical violations they have received since Jan. 1, 2003. Parents will be able to see whether the center submitted a corrective action plan, and whether it was accepted by the department. Links on the website will allow parents to easily request the full report of any violation.
New Hampshire has 1,200 licensed child care facilities, with the capacity to care for 46,000 children.
