Vote could create 1,000 new day care spots in Fairfax Co.

WASHINGTON – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is expected Tuesday afternoon to approve a zoning change that will create as many as 1,000 new home day care slots.

The change would allow the county’s 500 licensed home day care centers to watch 12 children, up from 10. By voting for the change, the county will be in compliance with state law.

Board Chairwoman Sharon Bulova says in-home day cares will still need adequate physical facilities and must comply with rules on parking for that number of children.

At the same time, the county will be looking for illegal operators by, “making sure that there is sufficient training for day care providers, making sure that the workplace is safe,” says Bulova.

“We’re not even sure who might be operating outside the law or outside of the county permit process – but we’ll find out.”

Facilities with seven or fewer kids don’t need a license.

WTOP’s Hank Silverberg contributed to this report. Follow @hsilverbergWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

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