E-mail sent to OCFS executives:

Hello,

As promised in our reform request e-mail sent on Thursday 11/30, we have gathered real-life experiences from providers of every modality across the entire state demonstrating the oppression and injustices of the current regulatory and enforcement process and intend to share them with you daily until our requests are satisfied.

A child was accidently injured by a rock in a fairy garden while participating in a supervised group activity involving a frog search and required 6-7 stitches in their finger.  The provider followed policy by calling 911 and self-reporting the incident to her licensor who directed her to self-report to CPS. The provider fully cooperated with the investigations.  The licensor contacted CPS again separately to re-report and had the provider indicted for child maltreatment and endangerment resulting in a 2-year long legal battle, $2,000 in fines, extensive trainings, and her decision to ultimately close the business.  Finding a new job in the field while the CPS case was pending was extremely difficult and the provider suffered significant emotional and financial damage.  The provider is an upstanding citizen, union member, NAEYC accredited, Quality Stars participant, member of countless local early childcare chapters, and had been open for 8 years.

- Family Daycare Provider in the Mid-Hudson Valley

Your urgent consideration and action is requested as a systemic reform is long overdue and there are elements of the current regulatory/enforcement process that infringe on our constitutional protections. We eagerly await your response.

NYS Childcare Providers