Health Minister Patrice Minors will be taking steps to make sure day care centres where young children are cared for do not go undetected and unregulated.

Mrs. Minors said the Department of Health will conduct a review of smaller day care centres after former day care owner Jacquelyn Fubler admitted last week in Magistrates' Court to injuring ten-month-old Stephen Ebbin on July 6, 2001.

Her conviction has sparked widespread debate on day care licensing and registration.

Estlyn Harvey, Chief Environmental Health officer told The Royal Gazette on Friday that the department did not know about Fubler's day care centre until she contacted them for permission to care for up to ten children in her home.

In the aftermath of Fubler's trial, Mrs. Minors said the Ministry has recognised the challenge of identifying smaller, home care centres and making sure owners are properly qualified to care for young children.

“It does indeed warrant a review, we want to make sure people who want to make it into a professional thing are following rules that have to be followed,” she said in an interview yesterday.

“We're not saying people can't provide care, we just want to make sure they're equipped to do so,” said Mrs. Minors.

She added that since the trial, the department had only received one enquiry about the regulations.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley said the number of working parents on the Island means a system should be put in place to carefully regulate the newly booming industry.

“Day care has changed in the last few years which puts a strain on parents. It seems like anyone can open a day care and and keep it out of the limelight,” he said.

“It's hard for people to know about these places which indicates why a proper structure needs to be put in place.”

Mrs. Minors said the annual inspection of day care centres will be reviewed if it proves to be insufficient.

Many parents in Bermuda rely on word of mouth to find a quality day care and one working mother said she went looking for a day care run out of a private home only to come across shocking conditions.

“The first thing I came across was a Doberman, the house was filthy,” she said.

“The woman running it was just starting up, she had no qualifications. The room was dirty and small with hardly any light and she thought it was a fair proposition.”

The Health Department has shut down four day care centres in the last year for failing to meet required standards, according to Mrs. Harvey.