Idaho holds a couple of dubious distinctions when it comes to the health and welfare of the state’s children. For one, it’s the only state without a system for examining the causes of child deaths. For another, it’s dead last in a state-by-state survey of day-care oversight.

The state will hang on to the latter black mark, because for the fourth consecutive year it has rejected an effort to require licensing for smaller day cares. This year’s bill would have required criminal background checks on workers at centers with four or more children. It would have mandated annual health and fire inspections.

This was Rep. George Sayler’s fourth attempt to get basic regulations for smaller day cares. This year the Coeur d’Alene Democrat was joined by Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who came armed with reports from the state Department of Health and Welfare about problems in North Idaho day cares. The list included child battery, inappropriate touching, drug and alcohol use, unsanitary conditions and poor supervision.

But some members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee chose to nitpick rather than address the issue. Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, said he needed to be convinced of a higher percentage of problems at small facilities. With no licensing for them, such numbers would be impossible to obtain.

This is a ridiculous hurdle. When setting up health standards and inspections at restaurants, the state didn’t wait for comparative statistics on small diners vs. large restaurants.

Sen. Patti Ann Lodge, R-Huston, said she worried that the bill would lead to an “unfunded mandate,” because the licensing fees might not raise enough money to fund enforcement. But the Legislature could have come back and found the necessary money.

Fortunately, six Idaho cities, including Coeur d’Alene, have adopted their own rules to protect children. The latest, Ammon, had 19 applicants for licenses. Four people were rejected after background checks, but all they have to do is open up shop outside the town limits.

Lawmakers can redeem themselves somewhat by passing the bill that calls for child-death reviews. The state had such a system from 1997 to 2003 but ended it when new federal privacy laws made access to health information more difficult. This legislation would allow a qualified team to gain the data it needs on unexpected child deaths.

The information would then form the basis of public health campaigns to head off accidental deaths. Past safety campaigns addressed unfenced canals, child-safety restraints in cars and the storage of weapons in homes. Seat-belt laws have also resulted from child-death reviews.

The legislation has a five-year expiration date, at which time the effectiveness of the review system can be evaluated.

It’s too bad such a prudent provision couldn’t have been attached to the day-care bill.