where would you start if you wanted to try to change a states child care ratios?

Question

i recently posted a question about how other mothers would feel if they were to put there 2 year old in a child care center with ratios like these. There are no centers except 1 that do infants so i will leave out the infant ratio this center is the exception but thereis a year long waiting list and unless you sihn up your child before birth they won't get in not to mention it is over 150.00 a week at this peticular center here are the ratios
1 year olds 10 children to 1 care provider
2 year olds 12 children to 1 care provider
3 year olds 14 children to 1 care provider
4 year olds 16 children to 1 care provider
do you all get the picture most of these centers cost between 98 to 125 a week and many of them have had serious problems at one center a who was 8 months old pulled a crock pot down and recieved serious borns and brain damage one center locked a child on a bus for four hours and tried to cover it up many centers hire with out background checks where do i start to fix this

just so everybody knows i live in florida and there have been many accidents besides the 2 i wrote about but i didn't have enough room. would you leave your kid in one of these centers????????

Answer 1

Start with other parents who are upset with the ratios. Then start calling your local media outlets (newspapers, tv & radio). Contact your local governement officials. If your state capital is close, go knock on doors. If they are not close, start a letter writing campain (this is where the other parents come in handy!).

If you can generate enough noise in the media or get some of your state congressional folks behind you, you can get then get hearings and then, if all goes well, someone will write a bill and present it. It will then go to a committee that will have more hearings and IF it gets out of committee and goes for a vote & passes, it will go to the other house and after their committees and vote, you're still not finished. If the two houses of your state's congress don't match, they go to a joint committee and what comes out goes back each house for another vote. If your bill still survives, it will go to your governer. He has the option to sign it, reject it outright or let it go into law without signing. If it is rejected, your congress has the right to override his rejection (veto), but it isn't easy to do. It must pass with a 2/3's majority in both houses to become law.

If you're up for the challange, GO FOR IT!

Answer 2

This does seem really high -- In my state:
newborns - 1yr 4 children to 1care provider
2 - 21/2 6 children to 1 care provider
21/2 - 3 8 children to 1 care provider
4 yr old 10 children to 1 care provider

I don't really know where you should start but maybe find a politician in your area that shares your views and see if you can get a meeting, he/she may have some ideas for you.
Do some research find more evidence of how lack of supervision is causing harm to the children and write letters to your politicians -- and child organizations. If you can get a family group behind your effort it could be helpful. It will be a lot of work but I think those numbers are way off from where they should be.

Answer 3

At the welfare department, I believe they conduct all the investigations, and are in control of how the legislature is dispersed.