RIO VISTA, CA - Persia Nelson works from home.
So for now, she's dodged making the painstaking decision of allowing someone else to care for her kids.
"It gives me satisfaction knowing that I am the one who raised them and knows what's going on in their lives on a day to day basis," Nelson explained.
If her Nelson's situation changed, choosing one would be tough.
"I wouldn't even know where to start," Nelson said.
Those feelings are echoed by countless parents seeking day care.
Rio Vista in-home day care "Lots of Tots" looked like a well-manicured home on the outside. What happened on the inside is now part of a mounting investigation of child abuse allegations.
The owner's husband, Don Elliot, was arrested in connection to sexual abuse charges related to two victims. The day care's license was revoked by the Community Care Licensing Division of the health and human services agency Thursday.
RELATED STORY: Man accused of molesting kids at Rio Vista day care
Deputy Director of Social Services Michael Weston said parents need to do their homework.
"They should provide you with every complaint they received in the last year, or any facility evaluations they have received," Weston said.
The Department of Social Services is supposed to conduct unannounced inspections and background checks on anyone in the home over the age of 18.
"There are no looser restrictions with someone in their home versus a corporation," Weston explained.
Weston said parents should:
- Parents can thoroughly check the license history of the business
- There should be no more than eight children per caregiver
- Parents should look to see if the provider has emergency information cards per child
- You can request a copy of the background check on every adult in the home
In the Rio Vista case, Elliott passed a background check and did not show up on a sex offender registry. He and his wife were given access to caring for 8 children at a time.
"A lot of it had to do with gut feeling on how you feel about the people providing care to your children," Weston said.
"You kind of have to trust the universe and hope that things are gonna be okay," Nelson said.
News10/KXTV