Personal Privacy - Are their laws protecting us?

Please, anyone with any legal insight, it would be greatly appreciated. I provide in-home child care through a regional municipality, and therefore must consent to monthly home visits and quarterly home inspections. Up until now, while a tiny annoyance, not really a big deal. I understand the need to make sure the children are safe and happy. However, I was informed today that, going forward, I must grant access to private areas of the home for inspection, ie: personal bedrooms (no child in care enters the upstairs area of my home). I have a real problem being told that I must allow a stranger to inspect my personal bedroom (and my children's personal bedrooms - and thereby invading their privacy), or find another job (that is basically what I was told). Does anyone know if their is some privacy law that would prevent this? Nobody has any business in our bedrooms without invitation!

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Originally Posted by haydenjack

Please, anyone with any legal insight, it would be greatly appreciated. I provide in-home child care through a regional municipality, and therefore must consent to monthly home visits and quarterly home inspections. Up until now, while a tiny annoyance, not really a big deal. I understand the need to make sure the children are safe and happy. However, I was informed today that, going forward, I must grant access to private areas of the home for inspection, ie: personal bedrooms (no child in care enters the upstairs area of my home). I have a real problem being told that I must allow a stranger to inspect my personal bedroom (and my children's personal bedrooms - and thereby invading their privacy), or find another job (that is basically what I was told). Does anyone know if their is some privacy law that would prevent this? Nobody has any business in our bedrooms without invitation!

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I believe the issue is that by not having a look in private rooms they cannot prove that you are within the legal ratios because SOME people out there would hide kids for the home visit to appear within ratio. Try to remind yourself that these people coming are just coming to glance in the rooms and ensure there are no children, drugs or huge concerns...they go through so many houses each day, everyday they really could care less at seeing laundry on the floor, or what ever else is in your room. It sucks that some 'bad apples' out there ruin it for all home caregivers!

I still see no good reason for it, the woman who does the inspections comes during a time when I have no children in care, so no reason to look for hidden children. As for safety concerns, no child will be on the second floor let alone in the bedrooms, so no safety risk. Looking for clutter as a fire risk perhaps? Maybe, but I live in a townhouse and share a wall with my neighbours, no fire safety wall. Is the next step inspecting my neighbour's home since they may be hoarding newspapers and lighter fluid?? I really just need to find out if there are laws that protect us from what I consider an invasion of privacy. I was told today, comply or quit, which got my back up I'm afraid. Now I'm on a mission.

Oh! I assumed they came during daycare hours...to check on the ratios and to see that the children were being watched etc. I'd be annoyed with a visit outside of daycare hours! Though, I'd be annoyed with one during daycare hours too as it would mess up the day!!

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Originally Posted by haydenjack

Please, anyone with any legal insight, it would be greatly appreciated. I provide in-home child care through a regional municipality, and therefore must consent to monthly home visits and quarterly home inspections. Up until now, while a tiny annoyance, not really a big deal. I understand the need to make sure the children are safe and happy. However, I was informed today that, going forward, I must grant access to private areas of the home for inspection, ie: personal bedrooms (no child in care enters the upstairs area of my home). I have a real problem being told that I must allow a stranger to inspect my personal bedroom (and my children's personal bedrooms - and thereby invading their privacy), or find another job (that is basically what I was told). Does anyone know if their is some privacy law that would prevent this? Nobody has any business in our bedrooms without invitation!

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Legal matters - now we are talking my game! LOL

When you provide care through a regional municipality, do you mean that you are registered and able to take subsidiary clients? (the terminology seems to vary across the Provinces).

If that is what you mean, then to an extent your business is funded by tax payers money. This means that the government has a right under that agreement to check you are meeting all the terms and conditions.

With people who hide children, work under the table, etc, they are absolutely entitled to check your entire premises. Just because you claim that the private areas aren't used for day care, that doesn't mean that others having made the same claim, have been honest.

They have a right to check the entire premises.

But, you also have a right to privacy too. What goes this mean? It means that whoever is checking your home, can look in every single room, (and closet) to ensure no one is there who shouldn't be. They should be accompanied by you or an adult you choose - they don't have the right to do so alone. They don't have the right to open your chest of drawers and look inside. They don't have the right to dig through your personal possessions.

If you don't wish this to happen, then your only option is to run a private day care that has no income from the government. i.e. all clients who pay your full rate themselves and no ability to take subsidary clients. But when you go into partnership with anyone (and this is a partnership between you and the government), then that partner is entitled to ensure you are doing what you are meant to be doing, and how they determine that, is up to them. You can choose to accept their terms and conditions of the partnership or you can opt not to work with them.

Just as with your contracts - a day care parent can opt to abide by your terms and conditions, or they can go elsewhere. A day care parent cannot pick and choose which elements of the agreement they like and don't like and therefore which elements they will abide by.

The fact the inspections happen outside of business hours is foolish but inspections are mandated and the person doing the inspection has to visit all the homes at a set frequency. I would be challenging them on the logic of coming outside business hours but that doesn't mean they can't do so. It's less effective for sure with regards to the things they are meant to look for, but at the end of the day, they are mandated to get around everyone.

Is the person who comes in your province, part of an agency who you are registered with? They are funded by the government to ensure all of their carers meet the requirements for the provincial day care regs. However, you should have an agreement in writing between you and the agency which details fully what your responsibilities are and also what they are responsible for. Ask them directly why they come outside business hours - you don't have the right to deny them still but you can make the point that it would be more valid (and convenient) during opening hours.

If you have no children from the agency in care at the moment the inspector comes to your house - ie in the evening then I would think legally you wouldn't have to let them in with the idea of your premises is now your own home and you are free to have open liquor bottles or knives or blow torches if so choose out, visible and accessible. The inspection would therefore be pointless in terms of your home as being suitable for childcare.

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Originally Posted by playfelt

If you have no children from the agency in care at the moment the inspector comes to your house - ie in the evening then I would think legally you wouldn't have to let them in with the idea of your premises is now your own home and you are free to have open liquor bottles or knives or blow torches if so choose out, visible and accessible. The inspection would therefore be pointless in terms of your home as being suitable for childcare.

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That's not quite right.

If you have an agency agreement, the agency is acting on behalf of the government who pays out for subsidized care. That agency is also paid by the government for over-seeing your business and ensuring you comply with the regulations.

You absolutely have the right to decline an inspection however, in doing so, you are in breach of the agreement in place and therefore an agency can revoke your registered status and that means that the agreement between the carer and the government is also ended so no more subsidiary payments will be received.

What you can do, is request these inspections happen at a mutually convenient time i.e. during business hours but that would be a request and not an entitlement. The agency should actually come at varying times - and sometimes unannounced but the unannounced visits should occur in business hours with the objective of catching a real insight into the business vs a scheduled visit where additional cleaning, and prep might take place in preparation for the inspection.

Not sure about the day care regs in every province but essentially this is a contractual issue.

A day home is contracted with the agency. The agency is a government appointment representative. They must complete inspections as part of their role and the day home has to comply with them.

What it boils down to is someone offering care to subsidized clients has agreed to provide a min level of care and a government agency is checking that criteria is being met. Refusal to participate means the agency cannot confirm wholly that all regulations are being followed and as a consequence of that, they likely will not be willing to endorse your service by having you as part of their family of day homes. The agency is responsible for ensuring all their day home meet the requirements and for acting to support and correct any short-fallings. Their failure to do so might cost them their license which is why, if they aren't able to fully inspect all they need to, they are able to cancel their agreement with you, and revoke your registered status with them.

I absolutely agree that the validity of an inspection outside business hours is questionable, but I am aware of some agencies who have too many homes for their staff to inspect in day care hours. This is why I feel that a request to the agency/inspector, that the inspection happens in business hours is valid.

There are still some elements that could be checked outside of business hours (is there a fence, is there a washroom accessible, etc).

Ask the agency/inspector, why inspections aren't happening in business hours and see what the reasons are.

But the original post was expressing privacy concerns in the private areas of the home, and the agency is absolutely entitled to look in these rooms.

Oh well, guess all I can do is fill the room with "inappropriate toys" and make whoever does it as uncomfortable with being in my bedroom as I am with them being there :) lol

haydenjack thanks for this post! I would never work for either an agency or the region, for so many reasons, but I was not aware that this was another reason! I would never agree to my bedroom or my kids bedrooms to be "inspected". Regardless if they have the legal right to do so, I think it is a complete invasion of privacy, I would find another job.

It's exactly like running a hotel or B&B. Even though some rooms are out-of-bounds to guests, the health inspector (in this example) would expect to see the entire business premises.

The fact that it's also your home is irrelevant.

A health inspector wouldn't just look in the kitchen of a restaurant and a hotel inspector wouldn't just look in the guest rooms. Any inspection taking place to ensure a business is meeting the regulations would be fully and completely checked.