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Survey: ‘Sketchy’ location No. 1 deal-breaker in child care search

WASHINGTON — Two out of three parents say it’s a struggle to find child care they feel is up to snuff when it comes to health and safety standards, and those concerns are the biggest deal-breakers for most parents choosing a facility.

That’s according to the new nationwide poll of parents conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan.

About 62 percent of a parents said they find it difficult to find child care options that meet their safety standards, and only half of parents said they’re confident they can tell if a facility was actually safe.

Among the biggest deal-breakers cited by survey respondents?

“Seventy percent of parents said it would be a deal-breaker if the location of the facility was in a ‘sketchy’ area or somewhere that just didn’t seem safe,” Sarah Clark, the poll’s co-director, told CBS News.

About 56 percent of respondents said they would not consider a facility with guns on the premise and nearly half — 48 percent — said they would find the presence of adults who aren’t staff members unacceptable in a child care setting.

About 40 percent of parents said they would not consider a facility that allowed unvaccinated children to attend.

What parents prioritize differs depending on the type of facility they’re considering.

For parents seeking child care centers and preschools, the No. 1 factor was safety, according to the survey. That includes whether staff members undergo background checks and whether the front entrance is locked and secured.

Parents looking for in-home child care prioritize healthy food and clean kitchens first, followed by the availability of books and educational toys.

Overall, nine out of 10 parents said they thought in-home child care centers should have the same health and safety standards as other child care facilities.

The survey includes responses from a nationally representative sample of 307 parents who had at least one child between the ages of 1 and 5.

Best cars for teens 2020, as picked by US News

Looking for a car for a young driver can be nerve-wracking, but some cars are designed to give nervous parents a little more peace of mind. And that’s why they’re on US News and World Report’s Best Cars for Teens list for 2020. “The best cars for teens and new drivers are cars that have safety features that can really keep them accident-free while they're still developing their skills,” said Jamie Page Deaton, US News’ executive editor for cars. “They're going to encounter situations once they're on their own that they did not encounter while they were in driver's ed.” She gave emergency braking as an example — “a lot of teens won't practice that maneuver as part of driver's ed. Some driver's ed programs do have that, but a lot of them don't.”
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