Bill would allow 16-year-olds to provide child care without supervision

Teenagers as young as 16 would be able to provide child care without adult supervision under a bill moving through the Iowa House. 

House Study Bill 539 would change Department of Human Services rules to set 16 as the minimum age of an unsupervised child care provider. That would allow 16-year-olds to provide care at a child care center, preschool or registered child development home without an adult present.

Currently, individuals must be 18 before they are allowed to independently supervise children at Iowa child care centers. 

If the bill passes as it currently stands, Iowa would be the only state to allow minors to independently supervise children, according to Department of Human Services official Janee Harvey.

“With this current change, you could have a 16-year-old alone with up to 12 kids,” she said.

Harvey noted that Iowa law prohibits fingerprinting minors for employment purposes, which would hinder the ability of the state to do a background check on employees under 18. That could pose a problem for federal approval.

“We cannot do the full record checks that one would expect if you’re going to have somebody unsupervised with kids,” she said. 

Wade Riedinger, executive director of the Iowa Alliance of YMCAs, said the proposal would help shorten the waiting list for YMCA child care centers.

“We feel that it will create another tool in the toolbox for child care centers,” Riedinger said.

The proposal comes from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ child care task force, which suggested several solutions to grow the state’s child care workforce and provide more access to care for Iowa families. Harvey said this was not a formal recommendation of the task force, due to concerns with federal guidelines.

Rep. Ann Meyer and Rep. Joel Fry, both Republicans, voted to advance the bill with an amendment, although they did not say how they plan to change the legislation ahead of committee consideration. Democratic Rep. Tracy Ehlert abstained from signing and said she would consult with DHS on the proposal.