PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A woman in Northeast Philadelphia is facing a slew of child endangerment charges after she allegedly ran an unlicensed day care out of her home and improperly cared for at least nine children under her watch.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said 53-year-old Edna Leighthardt kept the children in her care confined to car seats for entire days and didn’t give them any food or water.
An investigation was launched in August of last year by the Special Victims Unit. Leighthardt is charged with unlawful restraint and endangering the welfare of children.
She turned herself in but was released on bail due to a serious heart condition.
Unlicensed child care providers are hard for officials to keep track of.
“Because unlicensed child care providers are unlicensed, we don’t know where they are,” said Diane Barber, executive director of the Pennsylvania Child Care Association. “We don’t know who they are. And we only find out that they’re operating illegally when they’re reported or something bad happens.”
When it comes to finding adequate child care in Pennsylvania, parents should always look for a child care license issued by the state — it’s required.
“Overall, licensing is about health and safety and making sure that not only is the facility safe, but also that the individuals that are working in a facility have an understanding of what it means to take care of another person’s children,” said Barber.
She noted this situation and others are byproducts of the current shortage of child care workers in the state. And, desperate parents will sometimes turn to unlicensed providers.
“It’s not that there aren’t programs,” she said. “It’s not that there aren’t rooms in those programs. It’s that there’s no teachers to fill those rooms. … For families who want to work but can’t work because they don’t have child care, they fall into this catch-22.”