Good childcare a safety issue

Stories like the article below just absolutely break my heart: Soldier, wife accused of staging kids fight - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

I'm a father of two young daughters, and I can attest first-hand that childcare issues are always high on my mind. My wife or I have stayed home with the children almost the whole time. Since I work at home, when they've had nannies, I'm still around. We feel a lot safer that way. Not everyone has this option, and reputable childcare is financially out of reach for probably 75% of Americans.

What options are they left with? Family, friends, acquaintances, and sometimes total strangers who conduct non-accredited businesses on the side. Clearly, most people take very good care of the children in their keep. There are exceptions to this, and we just shouldn't allow that in this richest of all countries for all time. Subsidizing childcare would be a huge step in the right direction. I bet if we counted up the number of baby-sitter child abuse cases in the country, we'd be absolutely horrified.

Of course, we also have to make childcare a professional pursuit that pays more than minimum wage. I'm outraged when Republicans kill bills that include childcare subsidies. When it comes down to safety or money, they side with money every time.