Boy's tragedy drives Georgia mother to change daycare laws

<p>When Juan Boatwright was 14 months old, he suffered severe brain damage when he was found headfirst and motionless in a bucket of mop water at his daycare in Augusta.</p><p>His mother, Jackie, was equally stunned when she learned that the licensed daycare facility where her child was injured had no liability insurance to cover his mounting medical bills.</p><p>Why? The daycare didn't have to have the insurance. Georgia law doesn't require it.</p><p>Ever since the September 2001 accident that left Juan permanently confined to a hospital bed, living off a feeding tube and ventilator, Jackie Boatwright has been fighting to change daycare laws across the country.</p><p>Through Boatwright's efforts, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2004 signed what is known as Juan's Law, which requires daycares to inform parents if they don't carry liability insurance. The facilities must post signs and obtain signatures from parents that show that they are aware that their children's daycare does not have the insurance.</p><p>Earlier this month, a similar measure was signed into law in Virginia, and legislation is being crafted for consideration in the Alabama and Michigan legislatures in the next year.</p><p>Boatwright said parents can be misled by daycare licenses.</p><p>"When I saw the state license, I just assumed everything was in order. But the state license meant nothing, no more to me than the money they paid to get it," Boatwright said. "If you're not going to carry it (insurance), I have a right to know that when I walk in the door. My plumber is required to be licensed and bonded, so are the people who did my yard."</p><p>Most of the large daycares in Georgia have the insurance, but some smaller ones don't, said former state Sen. Don Cheeks of Augusta, who introduced the legislation in Georgia.</p><p>"There is a need for it because you would assume, or most people would assume, that if I had a state license at a daycare they would have insurance," Cheeks said.</p><p>Twenty-one states, including Virginia, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania, require child care centers to carry liability insurance, according to the National Child Care Information Center.</p><p>States such as Georgia do not have liability insurance laws for daycares because most businesses are not required to carry insurance, Cheeks said.</p><p>"There are very few mandates in this country" for businesses, he said, adding that Juan's Law pressures many daycare centers into getting the insurance. "The only reason it's not mandated is so the mom-and-pop shops can operate for the families."</p><p>Virginia's version of Juan's Law would require operators of family day homes _ care centers that hold 15 or less children _ to provide parents in writing how much liability insurance is carried. The notification must be updated if the insurance coverage is ever decreased, said state Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke. Those who do not provide this information face fines of up to $500.</p><p>Edwards said market pressure will force day homes to provide insurance or lose business to those that are insured.</p><p>"Not many parents will want to have their beloved children stay in a family day home without insurance coverage," Edwards said. "It's all about peace of mind. Parents should have the sense that their children will be well taken care of. If something should go wrong, there is some liability insurance coverage ... I think parents are entitled to that peace of mind."</p><p>Back in Lithonia, where Boatwright moved in July from Augusta, with Juan and her other son, 16-year-old Dereck, to be closer to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Boatwright checks on Juan in his room.</p><p>Connected to a ventilator and unable to move, the boy's eyes remain open as he stares at the ceiling. A child's pictures in crayon are posted on the wall above Juan, who is now 5.</p><p>"Aren't you handsome? I know you are," Boatwright says.</p><p>"I don't care what you say, I'm going to give you some sugar anyway," she adds, giving him a kiss, dark red lipstick staining his cheek.</p><p>Juan's medical bills have exceeded $3 million, an amount his single mother knows she'll never be able to pay out of her own pocket. Instead, Georgia's taxpayers _ through Medicaid _ have had to pick up the bill, a burden Boatwright says could have been avoided by requiring daycares to carry liability insurance.</p><p>Boatwright is hopeful that her son's condition will improve.</p><p>"He still has a chance, he's still going," she said. "He's been through a lot. He's sacrificed a lot so other children could be safer. My goal is to just make that happen."</p><p>___</p><p>On The Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1d084e8)</p>

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