FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Federal inspectors found that Florida is not adequately enforcing its rules at child care facilities, discovering violations that exposed children to potential electrocution, poisoning and other injuries.
Reports released Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services are the latest in a series looking at how well states enforce their own rules governing child care centers.
Violations were found at all 24 Florida facilities inspected. They included kitchen knives and cleaning chemicals left in places where children could get them and an unlocked gate allowing children access to a high-voltage circuit box.
State officials acknowledged they could always do better, but said the sample size was too small.
The department found that out of 227 facilities inspected in nine states and Puerto Rico, only nine had no health or safety violations.
