Three infants died in separate home day care settings in 2016: one in March in Fairfield; and two in July, one in Stamford and the other in Sterling. The Fairfield and Sterling homes were unlicensed and operating illegally, and each provider was caring for at least eight children at a time. State police determined that there was no criminal aspect to the Sterling death, but the Fairfield and Stamford deaths were ruled homicides, and the day care operators were arrested. The owner of the center in Stamford was charged with first-degree manslaughter and first-degree risk of injury to a minor; the infant’s death was caused by blunt-force trauma to the head. The infant in Fairfield died due to toxic levels of over-the-counter drugs in his system, drugs not administered by his parents. That owner has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor. And just recently, a Waterbury day care voluntarily surrendered its license after a day care worker was arrested for breaking a 3-year-old’s arm.
These deaths point to a larger problem in overseeing day care in Connecticut and nationally. A report by the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, based on surprise inspections of home day care centers in Connecticut and across the country, found hundreds of safety violations and a lack of required background checks. In Connecticut, 23 family day care centers were examined, including some in Bridgeport, Hartford and Waterbury. The providers were not identified by name, and all were approved to accept federal and state subsidies to reduce the cost to parents. Inspectors concluded that 96 percent of the 227 child care facilities examined over three years were in violation of at least one safety or health regulation, according to a summary published in March.
