The biggest leap of faith young families make is probably choosing a child-care provider to look after their youngsters for perhaps 40 or 50 hours a week. The selection doesn’t have to be as anxiety-filled as some parents think – and it’s about to get easier for them to obtain critical information in Washington state.

As early as mid-January – depending on when the technological details are settled – the state’s Division of Child Care and Early Learning will activate an upgraded Web site where parents can get detailed, current information about valid complaints that have been lodged against any of some 8,300 licensed child-care and home day-care centers in Washington.

Actually, that information is largely available now although not widely known. Yet the Associated Press reported last week that some child-care agencies are nervous about the agency’s planned new database. The reluctance expressed by some caregivers about the expanded resource underscores its value to parents.

For many families, reliable day care is a necessity. But it is costly and often hard to find, especially if transportation is an issue or infants are involved. Those barriers often cause desperate parents to turn to risky alternatives, such as a single mother’s boyfriend, to keep an eye on kids during work hours. The more the state can do to help all parents to get the information they need to make responsible decisions about day care, the less vulnerable the children involved will be to tragic outcomes.

As it is, information about licensed child-care providers – including complaints lodged against them – is available at a toll-free telephone line and the state agency’s present Web site. (The latter, which relies on manual data input, tends to be less current than the telephone line.) Those who want to know the details behind a complaint record can get in touch with the state field workers who investigate complaints.

State officials wisely caution that their system isn’t perfect. The absence of complaints doesn’t assure a quality program, and parents should take other steps as well, such as dropping in unannounced to check on conditions. The current Web site already provides a list of tips, as will the new one.

Although the new system initially will provide information that goes back only six months, plans call for extending it to three years, which would be more helpful in identifying patterns and trends in problematic behavior.

Unfortunately, not every family will or can invest the time and energy needed to choose and monitor child care, but a computerized system that provides current information about provider quality should be welcomed not only by families but also by quality providers who are proud of their service.