Newsday's Day Care Investigation
In 1999, Newsday launched an eight-day series on day care in our area. It was the product of an 18-month investigation. Brian Donovan was the lead reporter, working with researcher Eden Laikin. They were joined by reporters Sandra Peddie, Amanda Harris, Curtis Taylor, Sarah Kershaw and intern Sascha Brodsky. The project was edited by Investigations Editor A.J. Carter.
Who's Minding the Children?
On the last day of Alexa Laureano's short life, her mom dropped her off at what she thought was a safe and friendly day-care home.
The Criminal in the Next Room
Caring for day-care children in a drunken stupor, Holly Hanemann of South Setauket passed out on her couch while a baby in a crib went hungry for hours, Suffolk Child Protective Services reported in 1997.
No Force Behind Enforcement
A day-care teacher in Hempstead hit a 4-year-old in the face, state records say, splitting his lip.
A Case Study In State's Failures
When Denine Dixon was looking for day care for her 3-month-old son, Matthew, an ad caught her eye. It said, "Ellen's Day Care. Licensed. Insured. CPR. Former kindergarten teacher offering preschool program in a warm, loving, educational home atmosphere. Outdoor playground. Ages six weeks and up. Reasonable rates."
Laws Don't Scare Illegal Providers
Salvatore Visconti, a one-time sex offender with a 30-year history of criminal activity and a penchant for using different names, took charge of a Southold church's day-care center in the autumn of 1997. And by the time the church banned him from the center, court papers show, he had terrorized a 3-year-old girl and her father.
Faulty Lines of Communication
Nichola Csere knew Alpha Beckford as an elder in her church, the Upper Room Tabernacle in Dix Hills, and liked her sweet, soft-spoken manner. And she felt sure Beckford's home was safe because she was a state-approved day-care provider. So when Csere took a job as an ultrasound technician and needed child care for her 15-month-old son, Chance, she turned to Beckford.
A Lack of Resources, but Not Complaints
Last year, Tareyon Johnson, a mother of three with a high-school equivalency diploma, applied for work as a bus driver at the Learning 4 Life Day Care center in Hempstead.
Scant Training With No Tests
New York state doesn"t let just anyone style hair or polish fingernails for a living.
