California child care providers push to delay inspections

Child care providers are balking at a California plan to resume in-person inspections, after a year of pandemic restrictions have kept parents and others away from child care centers to curb disease transmission.

The state recently notified providers that inspections would begin again in the spring. More than 2,200 California child care providers have signed a petition asking the Department of Social Services to hold off on in-person inspections. They would prefer virtual inspections, citing safety concerns, as Cal Matters reported. 

The pushback comes at a time when the long-beleaguered child care sector has been hammered by the pandemic. About 40,000 child care workers across the state are now represented by the Child Care Providers United union, which is currently negotiating with the state over the release of covid relief stipends.