‘Temporary’ child-care centers say staffing rule burdens them; domestic-violence orders are down, but domestic murders are up

As news develops about the coronavirus and its covid-19 disease, this item will be updated. Official state guidance is at kycovid19.ky.gov.

• Most child-care centers in Kentucky are closed, but 79 are open as “limited duration” centers for children of essential workers. They have to follow special rules, the most costly of which is that no staffer can be left alone with children, doubling payroll costs, reports Jared Bennett of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. Jennifer Washburn, executive director of the iKids Childhood Enrichment Center in Marshall County, told him that the rule made sense at first because the state didn’t know who would operate the centers. “As it turns out, most are run by existing child care centers,” Bennett reports, so most “are trained professionals who have already passed a background check. At the same time, tuition is down significantly.”
• KCIR also reports on a steep decline in domestic-violence orders, coupled with an increase in murders of and by domestic partners in some areas. The pandemic “has created a situation ripe for domestic violence,” Eleanor Klibanoff reports. “Victims may be isolated with their perpetrator, and tensions may be running high because of financial insecurity or children being home from school all day. . . .Custody issues are flaring up as co-parents disagree about how to handle social distancing and homeschooling. People are moving back into bad situations after being laid off. And the federal stimulus checks distributed last month have also caused conflict. . . . Advocates worry there are many more of these situations that are not being reported,” and Administrative Office of the Courts data shows that between early March and mid-April, the number of protective orders dropped nearly 25% compared to the same time last year. “