Free CO detectors for day cares nice, but not solution
Five months after a dangerous situation at an Allentown child care center, the state finally has taken action to protect kids elsewhere from suffering the same fate.
The Office of Child Development and Early Learning announced last week it would be offering two free carbon monoxide detectors to every licensed child care center.
The state said the giveaway was prompted by a CO leak at a child care facility last fall. It didn’t specify where, but the event that triggered this occurred at the Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown.
More than 30 adults and children were hospitalized in October after a leak that stemmed from a malfunctioning heating system and a blocked vent. The center did not have a CO detector at the time.
That’s pretty scary. You know what’s even more scary? Pennsylvania does not require child care centers to have carbon monoxide detectors.
Talk about government incompetence. This wasn’t just an oversight. The Legislature has known about the weakness in the state safety law for at least a decade. And it’s done nothing to fix it.
Offering free CO detectors is a good first step toward rectifying that blunder. But it’s not the solution and I hope state lawmakers don’t misinterpret the gesture.
There’s no guarantee that every child care center in the state will accept the free detectors. What’s needed is a law requiring CO detectors.
Child care centers in Allentown must have them under a city ordinance. The ordinance was passed before the leak at Happy Smiles Learning Center, but wasn’t effective yet at the time, as the city was giving centers time to comply.
That needs to be a statewide requirement. Some lawmakers have been trying for years. They’ve been stymied by partisan politics.
A few days after the incident at Happy Smiles, I documented the shameful way politicians have been endangering children. I explained how state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Allegheny, has been trying to correct that oversight.
He first introduced legislation to require detectors in 2014 in child care facilities that have oil or natural gas heating systems or appliances, a fireplace or an attached garage.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2018, 2020 and 2022. That’s as far as it got. The state House didn’t act on any of the bills and they expired.
“They just won’t run a Democratic bill,” Fontana told me in October.
“Nobody can tell me it’s a bad bill,” he said. “Not one of them can say it’s not the right thing to do.”
You’d think the sight of ambulances swarming Happy Smiles Learning Center would have scared lawmakers into swallowing their politics and doing the right thing.
It didn’t.
Two weeks after the incident, the Legislature had a golden opportunity. As the Senate considered an unrelated human services bill that had been passed by the House, Fontana asked that it be amended to include the CO detector requirement.
He cited the Allentown incident.
“The only safe way to know if carbon monoxide is present in a building is with a working alarm. They average around $20 for a detector; it is certainly a small price tag to put on any individual’s life,” Fontana said during the debate. “It is time to make carbon monoxide detectors a requirement in child care facilities in Pennsylvania.”
Fontana hasn’t given up. He reintroduced his legislation in January.
Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, said she plans to introduce legislation as well — again. A bill she introduced last year was buried in committee and expired.
This shouldn’t be so difficult. But there’s hope now because the political landscape has changed. If Fontana’s bill cruises through the Senate again, it can’t be blocked by Republicans in the House. The House now has a Democratic leader.
Of course, our overpaid Legislature is out of session until April 24. So it’s still going to take time.
Lawmakers shouldn’t worry about burdening child care center operators with another regulation. Cost is not a deterrent. As Fontana said, detectors don’t cost much.
Instead, taxpayers are paying the price because the state is buying detectors for child care centers.
It’s not a waste of money. The state’s job is to ensure centers are safe for children and staff. Because the Legislature failed to do its job, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration had to act.
But there is a tradeoff.
The Office of Child Development and Early Learning will buy the detectors with federal child care funds. That money could have been spent on other needs if legislators had required child care center operators to install detectors.
The state said all licensed child care providers were sent a promotional code to purchase two detectors from School Health, a company that provides health products and services to educational institutions.
I hope they take advantage of it. The offer ends April 30.