Federal buildings deemed dangerous for child care; audit suggests closing, moving sites

The federal government is delaying basic security improvements to its buildings that house day care centers, according to an inspector general’s audit, which found 80 of the 93 facilities still have “significant security vulnerabilities.”

The report follows up a devastating 2020 study that identified a “wide range of security threats” at the child care centers.

The General Services Administration’s public buildings service, which acts as the government’s chief landlord and oversees the 93 buildings with day care centers, made some changes after the earlier report. The audit said remaining gaps must be resolved or the centers must be moved.

“In sum, significant security vulnerabilities still exist for 80 (86 percent) of the 93 child care centers in GSA-controlled buildings,” the inspector general said.

GSA warned that some of the buildings probably could not be fixed and the only alternative would be to close the centers. Parents would have to scramble for care in other buildings that could be even less safe.

The specific vulnerabilities are not clear. They were redacted from the public report because of the sensitive security issues involved.

The nature of the threats seems to be physical security and potential terrorism concerns. The 2020 report cited recommendations by the Department of Homeland Security, and the original impetus for the review was the 1995 domestic terrorist bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

That attack killed 168 people, including 15 children at the day care center on the building’s second floor.

Twenty-five years later, in 2020, the inspector general audited 11 day care centers and found significant problems persisted. The specific details were redacted.

That report prodded GSA to assess its facilities and develop a decision-making process for addressing the vulnerabilities.

It didn’t cover all potential vulnerabilities and didn’t fix all those it did identify.

“PBS has not effectively addressed the recommendations included in our January 2020 report,” the inspector general said.

The centers are privately run but operate in government buildings and are not limited to children of government employees. Washington has the highest concentration of locations.

Some 7,000 children attended daily in 2020.

GSA disagreed with some of the evaluations. The agency said it follows its standards in reviewing risks and doubted the threats to some buildings were as high as the inspector general assesses.

Officials said following through on the inspector general’s suggestions would mean shuttering many of the centers, which could put the children at even greater risk.

“Lack of adequate space in the market, move cost and additional rent would force the closure of many child care centers and would likely result in those child care centers relocating to buildings that may or may not be less safe than the federally-controlled space where they are currently housed,” wrote Elliot Doomes, the buildings service commissioner.

He did agree with two other recommendations but pleaded poverty in making all the required changes. He said the agency has to operate within a limited budget.

It did request, and Congress allocated, an extra $15 million in 2022 to start to address the issues. GSA has spent $9.7 million of that and committed $1 million more to upgrade security at 24 buildings with child care centers.

It has asked for $14 million more in the spending bill for fiscal year 2025.

The inspector general said more than $400 million in upgrades are needed.

“Until PBS addresses the security deficiencies or moves the child care centers to safer locations, these child care centers remain vulnerable to significant security risks,” investigators concluded.