30:5B-25.1. Findings, declarations

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The need for a variety of child care options for families with children between birth and 13 years of age has grown significantly in the past 20 years. As a result, family day care has become one of the most used forms of child care in the State.

b. In 1987, New Jersey implemented a voluntary registration system through the "Family Day Care Provider Registration Act," P.L.1987, c.27 (C.30:5B-16 et seq.). The purpose of the act was to provide Statewide health and safety standards to protect children in family day care homes. Through this voluntary system, providers are able to qualify for the purchase of insurance, enroll in the Child Care Food Program, list their homes with Statewide child care resource and referral agencies, and provide care for children through State-funded programs. Parents were assured that minimum safety standards were met and the training of providers and the monitoring of homes was taking place.

c. When the 1987 law was amended in 1991 to require criminal history record background checks for all adults in the home of a family day care provider, both registrations and renewals dropped significantly. This was due to the cost of criminal history record background checks. Since the family day care registration system is voluntary, providers chose to continue to operate without State supervision. In 1992, the State established an 18 month moratorium on background checks during which time, an alternative procedure for checking the background of prospective family day care providers could be developed.

d. It is therefore in the best interests of the State to find a system of background checks which balances the rights of family day care providers with the State's duty to protect the safety of its youngest citizens.

L.1993,c.350,s.1.