Parents and providers clash over proposed camera mandate for child-care centers

Members of the Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee heard emotional testimony for and against a proposed provision related to video cameras in licensed child-care centers as part of the DE1 discussion.

Supporters — many parents who said their infants were injured in care settings — urged lawmakers to include a camera requirement or retention standard, saying video often provides the only objective way to identify abuse in nonverbal or immobile infants. "So today we are asking the committee to support this bill as we feel it truly would keep children safe by having cameras present," testifier Christina Peck said, recounting a July 19 incident in which her infant was found to have a fractured tibia.

Medical, child-welfare and child-safety advocates also testified in favor. Dr. Lisa Hollensteiner, a retired emergency-room physician and chair of Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota, said cameras can both document abuse and protect staff…