Health inspections likely to return for child care centers

Health inspections of child care centers that were eliminated last year because of budget cuts likely will be restored, thanks to an unusual use of money from a federal program meant for needy families.

Under a plan to be considered today by the El Paso County Board of Health, inspectors with the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment will visit child care centers as they did before the program ended. But most of the costs of the program, $70,000, will be paid out of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which is managed by El Paso County Department of Human Services.

The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, which must also approve the arrangement, will take up the matter later this month, said Public Health Director Kandi Buckland.

Child care center inspections were among several services eliminated by the Health Department last year to cope with about $2.3 million in cuts from its county funding.

But cutting the inspection program posed a unique problem.

Without inspections, centers can't keep or renew their licenses, which are issued by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

That, in turn, created another wrinkle: El Paso County human services would not be able to help low-income families pay for child care at unlicensed facilities, said Elaine Johnsen, chief financial officer for El Paso County DHS.

The state's licensing requirements don't specify who performs health inspections for child care facilities, but the task usually falls to local health departments. When the Health Department said no, no one else stepped forward.

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark broached the idea of using the TANF funds with state officials. The rationale? TANF is designed to help families move toward self-sufficiency, and child care is critical to helping some families to reach that goal.

The Health Department is also planning to raise fees assessed to child care providers for their inspections. The department has held meetings with employees from many child care centers who are pleased to see the program return, even at a higher price.

The agreement, if approved, would last only through December. It would then need to be renewed, or officials would have to find another funding option, Buckland said.

It's the second Health Department program to be restored after initially being cut.

Inspections of tattoo and body-piercing businesses resumed after those establishments volunteered to collect funds to pay for inspection costs.

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