Crib safety changes trip up Iowa City day care

IOWA CITY -- A new federal law that requires day care centers to replaced  “drop side” cribs may have some unintended consequences --  at least that's the conclusion of one small non-profit day care operation in Iowa City.

That federal ban on manufacturing, selling or even re-selling drop side baby cribs took effect at the end of June as a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 passed by Congress.  The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission said the old-style crib design contributed to the deaths of 153 infants over the years, including one 2008 case in Cedar Rapids.

Operators of Open Arms Childcare in Iowa City wanted to get a jump on the new rules and bought new cribs in early 2010. Director Joyce Kofron didn't discover until later that being early actually cost the center.

The new metal cribs that the day care purchased,  for $160 apiece,  didn't have the banned drop side feature.  But the final federal requirements for new cribs, which were formalized June 28,  also called for a completely new type of mattress, wider side slats, different connecting hardware and other design changes.  The cribs purchased by Open Arms barely more than a year ago couldn't meet those standards. So the center will have to toss the nearly-new cribs in the trash.

“We didn't realize the full magnitude of the changes going into it, so it's been a problem,” said Angie Briggs, president of the parents board for the day care.

Briggs said the center must replace other cribs at a cost of about $1,000.

Day care operations have until the end of 2012 to buy the new, safer cribs for sleeping infants.  For that reason, Debbie Brandt, owner of Kiddie Konnection in Iowa City, didn't start her crib replacement buying until last month.

Brandt expects to spend about $3,000 for a dozen new cribs for her day care and will  spread the purchases out over the next year or so.  Brandt said that's expensive for a small business, but it has to hurt even worse when you buy something new you legally can't use.

The new federal crib rules won't require parents to go out and purchase new cribs for their own use.  The rules do apply,  however, to any public use facility that provides sleeping space for babies.  That's not only day cares, but hotels and motels as well.