Nakuru County Assembly working on legislation to regulate childcare

Nakuru, Friday, 23 June 2023

KNA by Anne Mwale/Merciline Khaemba

A proposed legislation that seeks to streamline the operations of all Childcare facilities has gone through the first reading at the County Assembly of Nakuru.

The Child Care Facilities Bill 2019 which will be a game changer in the childcare sector if approved into law aims to regulate the baby care facilities by ensuring they are registered to enhance quality standards for child protection and has further been subjected to mutual discussions between various county departments and the County Assembly’s Education Committee.

Director of Social Services Mr Kiogora Muriithi said the Bill would enhance administrative services, promote special needs, ensure development of playing grounds for children and ensure that all the childcare personnel and entrepreneurs are trained and qualified to handle the young children.

Matters of children, he said, should not be taken lightly hence the Bill proposed the need for all caregivers and entrepreneurs to undergo training and at least have the bare minimum qualifications to operate and run a childcare facility.

“Day child care facilities in Nakuru County will be required to operate in safe and clean environments and hire staff qualified in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) from recognized Teacher Training institutions if the Child Care Facilities Bill 2019, is assented to. The Bill advocates for tough legal frameworks within which such centres will operate to ensure holistic development of children in order to bridge the gap of absent parents,” observed Mr Muriithi.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with a team from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) the Director disclosed that the proposed statute which makes it mandatory for these facilities to seek registration before starting operations also requires applicants to conduct due diligence and ensure that caregivers, ECDE teachers and support staff in their employment do not have previous convictions as prescribed under the Sexual Offences Act and the Children’s Act.

The APHRC team was led by its head of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) unit Dr Patricia Wekulo.

The meeting was a follow-up to the collaboration between the Directorate of Social Services, APHRC and the "Kidogo" organization that saw the launch of the Center of Excellence in Kaptembwa Estate in February this year.

The Center of Excellence hosts a model daycare facility and training hub for caregivers who are planning to open day care facilities and those whose daycare facilities are operating.

With regard to the Bill Mr Kiogora observed that due to the absence of a regulatory system for child handlers at these centres, given that the law only recognizes formal education from nursery school, almost anybody can seek employment in the child care facilities or start their own.

The Director warned that some of these untrained child minders may pass on bad behaviour to the young children due to the attachment children give to their handlers at that tender age.

“Some child care facilities are even run in dimly lit rooms in flats. This situation must be corrected. We urgently need to integrate child care into our education system. The starting point is establishing a tough legal framework to run the centres. The Bill proposes that licenses for Child care homes be renewed annually after thorough vetting of staff and inspection of facilities.

This will keep at bay those rushing for money at the expense of children’s health and cognitive development. We must also ensure the right qualifications. For now, the current porous situation only exposes our children to serious implications,” he said.

The proposed legislation provides that a child care facility will undergo compulsory inspection twice in every year to ascertain whether safety measures to help protect children from injury and illness such as emergency exits, adequate ventilation, lockable door and windows and ablution blocks suitable for children are in working.

A person operating a child care facility that is not registered will now be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh 200,000 or imprisonment of one year or both. They will also be required to keep proper annual reports and records with applicants meeting child-staff ratio.

Any childcare provider previously convicted of a sexual offence and who fails to disclose such conviction when applying for employment in a child care facility will upon conviction serve a jail term of not less than three years or be fined not less than Shs 50,000 or both if the Bill becomes law.

The anticipated legislation provides that a childcare provider who knowingly employs a convicted sexual offender in his or her facility be liable upon conviction to a jail term not exceeding three years or pay a fine not exceeding Sh 1 million or to both.

The Child Care Facilities Bill 2019 gives a parent the right to know how his or her child will be disciplined and be given a copy of the discipline policy in place upon enrolment of the child.

Parents will now have a right to visit the facility at any time while the child is there and will also be entitled to know the qualifications of caregivers.

If the Bill is assented into law any caregiver who takes advantage of his or her position and induces or seduces a child in their care to have sexual intercourse with him or her or commits any other offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2014 shall be deemed to have abused position of trust and shall be liable upon conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years without an option of a fine.

Dr Wekulo disclosed that they had held deliberations with various stakeholders over the Childcare Facility Bill and were in talks with the Directorate of Social Services to document the strides the department has made in fast-tracking the Bill.

She noted that though day child care centres for working parents were an easy option they were weighed down with serious complications. 

“Parents may find it easy to drop their baby in such centres. That may be a quick solution to make. But such a decision may affect the growth of your child unless the care is of high standard and readily meets the legal guidelines.

Most child care centres in our county have nothing to offer apart from the rooms they enclose the babies in, exposing them to serious behavioural, intellectual and health hazards. Unqualified care givers can inhibit moral and intellectual development of a child,” she stated.

Courtesy ; K. N. A