Criminal charges filed against two day-care staffers at the University of Colorado at Boulder for child abuse have raised concern among some working parents about their children’s safety. However, those who take their children to the Auraria Child Care Center should rest assured, says center director Gina Hamelin.

“The center has a strong record of quality child care. “In the seven years I have been here, we’ve never had any incident,” Hamelin says.

All center employees pass a thorough hiring process that includes a Colorado Bureau of Investigation background check and reference checking. “We don’t skimp on those. Because of the high cost, some day care centers wait to see if an employee will last before doing the background check. We conduct the check before they start work,” Hamelin said.

From a practical standpoint, the number of employees – 99 – is a huge deterrent to abuse, according to Hamelin. “We have a lot of people everywhere all of the time. “There’s not a lot of opportunity.”

The 300 or so children enrolled at the center, ranging in age from 12 months to 5 years, are each in an age-appropriate classroom staffed by a supervising teacher, assisting teacher and teacher’s aides.

The center was recently was reaccredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs and is fully licensed by the Colorado Department of Human Services. All supervising teachers have earned a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a closely related field or are Director Qualified through the State of Colorado. The supervising kindergarten teacher is fully licensed by the Colorado Department of Education. Assisting teachers are Group Leader Qualified through the State of Colorado and have at least six months experience working with children. Teacher Aides are often students enrolled in an education program on campus, receive training through a special staff development program.

Each classroom continually sets new goals, and administrators randomly pop in to observe progress made toward the goals. In addition, parents are welcome to observe and participate in the children’s classroom activities at any time.