In the wake of a fatal fentanyl operation discovered at a daycare center in the Bronx, that left a 1-year-old boy dead and three other children hospitalized, the city’s childcare system is being heavily scrutinized by elected officials.
Committee on Youth Services Chair and Councilmember Althea Stevens reviewed the ongoing safety and staffing shortages in child care centers in a joint oversight hearing with youth services and the health department on October 12.
They found that months-long backlogs in comprehensive background checks for essential early childhood services employees has led to high turnover in employment, closures, staffing shortages, limited enrollment, and as of late, deeply concerning safety issues.
Stevens said that the tragic death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici was “every parent’s worst nightmare.” The Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx, where Dominici lost his life, was reportedly properly registered, licensed and operated by Grei Mendez. Her husband’s cousin, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, was renting a room for $200 inside the daycare/one-bedroom apartment on Morris Avenue. The pair face federal murder and drug charges after a one-kilogram brick of fentanyl was found inside the home.
“As a former youth services provider who has direct experience with this complicated background checks process, I am passionate about how the city can update and simplify their outdated systems to address solvable problems,” said Stevens. “The importance of this is timely, [and] background checks and inspections have renewed significance.”
Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, who represents the district where Dominici died, added that this is especially painful for the Kingsbridge area. She said that there needs to be a conversation for more thorough inspections that look for drug substances. “These children should have been safe at daycare. Their parents did everything right,” said Sanchez. “We believe that government protocol failed.”
The city testified that inspections are usually conducted unannounced at least once annually. The Divino Niño Daycare had a routine inspection that it passed this year, reported NPR.
Two councilmembers proposed bills to ensure access to affordable and safe childcare citywide.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu introduced Int 1159-2023, which would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to coordinate with the Department of Education (DOE) to complete background checks for current or prospective child care providers, employees, and volunteers. His other bill, Int 1160-2023, would demand DOHMH fast track and complete background checks within 14 days as opposed to the standard 45 days.
The city testified that they are working on improving completion times for some 50,000 background checks a year with a better online forum and more staff to handle more volume. In terms of the bills proposed, the city said that a mandate to check with the DOE for every application could slow down completion times since they already consult the DOE database when information is available.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.