Does My Child’s Daycare Center in Celina, Texas, Need to Have Cameras?

If Cameras Aren’t Required, Why Should I Look for a Celina Daycare Center That Has Them?

Even though cameras are not required, they can be instrumental in protecting your child’s safety and giving you peace of mind while your child is at the center, especially if he or she is too young to explain what is happening in the classroom.

Our team, which has more than a decade of experience advocating for families against bad and unsafe daycare centers, highly recommends enrolling your child at a daycare center with cameras. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Accountability for caregivers and staff. Cameras deter unsafe practices like a lack of supervision by encouraging caregivers and staff members to follow the minimum standards and treat kids with respect.
• More transparency. Daycare directors in Celina are able to keep an eye on multiple classrooms at once and make sure caregivers are actually following safety rules and supervision requirements outlined in the minimum standards.
• Parental peace of mind. Some local centers allow parents to log in remotely to view their child’s classroom throughout the day, which can be comforting to a parent who wants to see that their child is safe and happy.
• Reveal answers if something goes wrong. If a child is injured, video footage can show what led up to the incident, and whether negligent care or abusive actions were involved. This is especially important in centers with infant nurseries and toddler classrooms, where a child may not have the language skills to clearly share their experience with a parent.

In our eyes, Celina daycare centers with cameras signal to parents that they prioritize child safety. In our guide to finding a safe daycare center, we encourage parents to look at centers equipped with cameras.

What Should I Ask a Celina Daycare Center About Its Cameras and Safety Policies?

Cameras in a Celina daycare center are only helpful when they are working and footage is closely monitored, so do not be shy to ask detailed questions when you tour any daycare center in Celina.

Some questions that our experienced daycare injury lawyers recommend asking local daycare centers:

• Do parents have access to the footage?

It is ideal for parents to be able to access cameras in a specific classroom for monitoring their child.

• How long do you keep camera footage?

While the state does not have a minimum standard that addresses this, we recommend that daycare centers store footage for a minimum of six months. In case something happens, it is vital to be able to revisit old footage to see how widespread a safety issue is and how long it has occurred. For example, in a past case, a mother witnessed a caregiver abusing her son when she checked the live feed. In watching a few months of footage from the center, it turned out this was not a one-time incident, and more children had been impacted.

• How often do you monitor the cameras and review recordings?

As we previously shared, cameras in a Celina daycare center are only helpful when they are closely monitored by a director or dedicated staff member. Thus, monitoring should happen at least once per day. This oversight stops unsafe practices or a negligent caregiver as quickly as possible. In addition, the minimum standards require daycare directors to make daily visits to each classroom unannounced to ensure compliance. 

• What happens with the surveillance footage if a child gets hurt?

A Celina daycare center’s response to this question will be telling. Ask if the center automatically saves footage when there’s an incident and if they will share it with you automatically when your child is injured, or if you have to request it.

• Where are your cameras located?

Daycare centers in Celina that are equipped with cameras should have them in classrooms, hallways, entrances, and playgrounds. Due to privacy laws, they should not be in or near bathrooms.

The way a Celina daycare center answers these questions can be telling about how safely it operates and whether it prioritizes child safety. We also recommend that you ask multiple caregivers these questions in addition to the center’s director to ensure consistent answers.

How Can Cameras Uncover What Happened If My Child Is Hurt at a Celina Daycare Center?

It can be incredibly unsettling if your child comes home from a daycare center in Celina with a bruise or a bump on the head, or if the child is acting out of sorts. Your concern may then be compounded if the story you were told by your child’s caregivers or daycare director doesn’t quite add up.

Camera footage can be critical in those situations because it can:

• Establish timelines, including the exact time your child was injured and how long it took for a caregiver to respond or notify you.
• Explain exactly how your child’s injury happened.
• Reveal if minimum standards were followed. For example, you may be able to see whether or not the classroom was “in ratio,” if the kids were being properly supervised, and if any minimum standards were ignored.
• Support or contradict written incident reports. Per the minimum standards, a daycare center is required to provide you with a copy of the incident report. But, there is a red flag if the written report doesn’t match what’s on camera.

Surveillance footage has played a major role in uncovering abuse and neglect at local daycare centers and it can be a powerful piece of evidence if you end up taking legal action to hold the center accountable.

How Can The Button Law Firm Help My Family in Celina After a Daycare Injury?

When your child is seriously hurt at a daycare center in Celina, you shouldn’t have to figure everything out on your own. Our experienced and compassionate team of daycare injury lawyers understands the minimum standards and safety shortcuts that many centers take, even when they have cameras throughout the facility.

We can help secure and save important video footage that can be vital to holding the Celina daycare center accountable and getting justice for your child. Call us at 214-699-4409, email us at intake@buttonlawfirm.com, or fill out a contact form for a free case evaluation.