By Zach Patberg
The package is the most recent in a series of day care reforms by both city hall and the health department following the August death of 7-month-old Matthew Perilli, who suffocated in a Forest Hills day care center after unsupervised toddlers piled toys on top of him in his crib.The legislation passed in the General Welfare Committee includes four bills. One, sponsored by committee chairman Councilman Bill de Blasio, requires regular reports to the council from the health department listing the number of all valid licenses and violations issued to child care centers or providers in the city. “The reporting requirements put in place with this bill will help us monitor their continuing progress and identify trouble spots, if they arise,” Blasio said.A second bill would provide parents with information on any day care center they might consider using. A third would post inspection report summaries on the Web and be available through the city's 311 phone system. The last bill, introduced by Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), insists child care providers post signs telling parents how to access inspection reports online.”Through providing more information to parents on the quality of child care facilities, parents will be able to make more informed decisions on who they trust to care for their children,” Katz said.The package was to be voted on in the full council on Wednesday.
