CHILD CARE IN CRISIS REPORT LINKS CRIME TO LACK OF ACCESS TO GOOD CHILD CARE.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

California children lacking access to quality child care programs are twice as likely to be involved in crime and have behavioral problems, a study to be released today says.

The study by a nonprofit coalition of law enforcement officials and victims-rights advocates says the state is in a ``child care crisis,'' especially for low-income families, and calls for California to do more to invest in the system or face rising crime rates.

``There is a dangerous shortage of quality, affordable child care in California that poses a serious threat to public safety,'' said Maryann O'Sullivan, the state director of Fight Crime: Invest In Kids, the group that conducted the study. ``Every day that quality child care is out of reach for California's most at-risk kids, we are putting ourselves and our community at risk for higher crime.''

Based on a series of surveys nationwide, the study - called ``California's Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy'' - goes beyond previous reports by linking youth crime to a lack of affordable, quality child- and after-school care programs.

The report says California's programs are woefully unprepared and says the government needs to invest more. Among the key findings:

-- Only 4 percent of the state's child care centers meet national accreditation standards;

-- Some 78 percent of the state's child care facilities were termed ``mediocre'';

-- About 75 percent of the state's law enforcement officials and prosecutors say the biggest impact on reducing youth violence is more ``educational'' child care and after school programs.

The study said much of the state's child care flunks quality standards, where teachers are underpaid, the staff is poorly trained and turnover is high and there's low parental involvement.

And it notes that many working parents, faced with long waiting lists and the high costs associated with child care - which the study pegged at six times the annual tuition of a California State University - are often forced to enroll their children into programs that amount to little more than ``child storage.''

Some of the blame rests on parents, experts said.

``People spend more effort making sure their golf clubs and TVs are more secure than their children,'' said Ventura County District Attorney Michael Bradbury, who is a member of Fight Crime's executive committee.

Lewis Yablonsky, a professor emeritus of criminology at California State University, Northridge, agrees that early child care can help prevent delinquent behavior but said, ``the best child care takes place in the home.''

``There needs to be a lot more training for parent responsibility,'' said Yablonsky, who has written 17 books on juvenile crime issues. ``Looking at the problem squarely, a mother with three, four, five kids is under enormous pressure to take care of them. Throwing the kids into a child care facility won't always prevent later delinquency because they may not be getting the close measure of love and nurturing a child requires.''

Still, experts said adult influence is paramount to juvenile crime prevention.

``The most critical piece of these programs are the adults in that care environment,'' said Laura Escobedo, the director of community relations at the Child Care Resource Center in Van Nuys. ``If those adults don't have a certain level of education in child growth and development, they will not be the best caregivers, and the quality of the program or service is diminished greatly.''

Law enforcement officials say there's a direct link between child care and criminal behavior.

``Most adults when they're surveyed assume that the biggest influence in their children's lives are their peers and the media,'' said Los Angeles police Cmdr. Eric Lillo, who oversees the department's juvenile crime unit. ``When most kids are interviewed they talk about the adults. I don't think parents realize the impact they have on their kids.''

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said without supervision and mentoring, children might wander down the path to crime. He noted children are most likely to commit crimes after school between 3 and 6 p.m.

``Idle minds tend to do things that may not be right,'' said Baca, a member of Fight Crime's executive board. ``Our future generation of adults is dependent upon how we educate our children and supervise them throughout their entire growth phases.

``It is critical to have this gap filled with productive uses of a child's time.''

The Fight Crime report comes more than seven months after a Los Angeles County study found that nearly half of San Fernando Valley families that need child care cannot afford it or have a hard time finding a licensed center with openings.

That study, released last July, found the demand for licensed, accredited child care exceeds supply as the child population explodes and more parents join the work force. The report found the Valley had child care spots for nearly 50,000 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years old, but 100,000 kids likely needed child care. It also reported that Valley residents can expect to pay from $45 to more than $250 a week per child.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors reviewed the Needs Assessment study and this week approved $1.5 million to build a 7,000- square-foot child care center at the Van Nuys Civic Center. Officials hope to begin operating the center in 2002.

Law enforcement officials are pushing for more. Several of Crime First's executive board met with state leaders in Sacramento on Tuesday to lobby for more money for child care programs.

Bradbury, the Ventura County district attorney, said the state would be wiser to put up money for quality child care than to pay to put adult criminals behind bars.

``I'd rather save a child,'' the prosecutor said, ``than have to put an adult in prison later.''