COLUMBUS, Ohio -- More and more parents are working, and that means more children are in daycare.

According the Child Welfare League of America, 11 million children younger than the age of 6 in the U.S. are enrolled in child care.

And according to an NBC 4 new poll with survey USA, 70 percent of the 600 adults polled think the state could do more to make sure child care facilities are properly inspected.

Thursday, Target 4’s Ana Jackson showed viewers a resource to help parents pick the best center for their children.

Kids wake up from naptime to spotless classrooms at the ABC Academy Daycare. The rooms don’t smell like diapers, the environment is colorful and the children are separated by age groups.

It’s really kind of hard to make everything perfect, but we do try our best,” Peggy Male said.

Even so, last November licensing inspectors with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services found 20 violations at the center.

“I think the things we have been written up for in the past were things we missed and really needed to correct, Male said.

Since then, the center has cleaned up significantly, but still has a few minor corrections to make.

Child-care centers across Ohio are inspected at least twice a year.

Inspectors have the tedious task of making sure each center meets 43 minimum health and safety standards.

And the results of every inspection are at your fingertips--- in an online database.

Just type in the name of the center at the Jobs and Family Services Web site, and the results pop right up. You can read details of every inspection.

Action For Children—a child care advocacy resource for parents—said it’s an important place to start.

“You’ve got to do the research and find a situation that’s good for the child,” Mike Middendorf said. Middendorf is a senior leader for AFC.

Ohio is one of only seven states with the online tool.

NBC 4 followed an inspector at the Rainbow Station Latchkey.

Are the children engaged in activities? Is there an adequate staff on hand? Is emergency paperwork on file? These are just some of the questions inspectors set out to answer.

Armed with high tech resources, every finding is logged and results are printed right on site for the director.

“All the areas we addressed last year have improved a lot. That’s very good,” an inspector said.

Inspection reports are posted online overnight and child care centers have 30 days to fix any issues.

According the ODJFS, the five most frequent compliance issues last year were employee records, safe indoor environment, medical records, criminal background checks and attendance.

While the Web site is a helpful took, ODJFS stresses it’s only a resource. Parents need to be actively involved in choosing a center.

“The parents actually have control they. They can push the quality,” Carol Ankrom of ODJFS said.

Visit the center and ask questions. Only you can truly rank the best center for your child.

Jobs and Family Services reported 11 childcare centers were shut down after failing inspections last year.

There are more than 4,200 licensed centers across the state.

To look up the history of your child’s center, go to http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/cdc/query.asp

Stay tuned to NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for more information.

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