The nation’s largest corporate day care chain agreed Thursday to accept diabetic children and monitor their blood sugar as part of a settlement negotiated by the Justice Department.
To settle a private lawsuit brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, KinderCare will require all its 1,143 child care centers in 38 states to accept diabetic children and have its own staff members administer simple finger-prick tests to monitor their blood sugar levels.
Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, announcing the agreement, said it “will make a difference in the lives of thousands of children across this country.”
“Children with diabetes shouldn’t be left on the sidelines,” Reno said. “Now we hope that other child care facilities will do the right thing and follow KinderCare’s lead.”
Earlier this year, 3-year-old Jesi Stuthard of Grove City, Ohio, was unable to enroll in a KinderCare center near Columbus, because, as a diabetic, he required blood-sugar monitoring, Reno said. “KinderCare worried that the care for such children would be too burdensome,” she added.
