Shortchanging Child Care (Part 4):In 2006, Avonda Fox was a young mother working as a legal aid. She enrolled her children in the Dream House Learning Center, a daycare near her home in Dallas.

One day in June, she would receive devastating news regarding her youngest child, 4-year-old Jacob.

"I received a phone call at work," Fox said. "I hear the daycare owner telling me, 'Jacob's not breathing. You need to get to the hospital.' They were outside crying. And at that point I knew."

Jacob was dead. An investigation revealed workers had forgotten Jacob in a daycare van on that 100 degree day. They moved him to a playground before calling 911, according to police. The owner also had a criminal history never reported to the state.

"That daycare owner should've never been able to open up the center," Fox said. "They wanted to give her a chance. So that chance that they gave her made me lose my son."

Fox was determined not to let her son's death be in vain, so she lobbied the Texas Legislature for transportation safety training and tighter background checks for daycares.

Jacob's Law went into effect in Sept. 2009.

"He'd be proud," Fox said. "Everybody gets to know his name. Hopefully the law will save a lot of children."

In Austin, the compliance history of another daycare put into question the law's effectiveness. Sweet Dreams Child Care was cited 28 times in the past three years for failing to turn in background checks. Five of those citations came after Jacob's Law.

The center's director declined an interview, but offered Public Relations Spokesperson Jessica Hiler.

"I know all the teachers here have had their background check, and we're okay," Hiler said.

The latest state inspection, conducted on June 26, found Sweet Dreams is now up to date with background checks. But numerous other violations blotch its three-year history.

On May 1, a 2-year-old wandered into the field behind the center and remaining there unsupervised for at least half an hour. On June 10, 2008, a parent found a child sleeping alone in a room, with wall decorations in his mouth.

In June, the state informed Sweet Dreams it would be put on probation. The center has asked for an administrative review.

"It doesn't have an effect on any of us," Hiler said when asked about the probation. "If the state says, 'You have to do something,' alright, we will do it. So it's not rough at all."

A child care operator may ask for an administrative review within 15 days of receiving notice of corrective action, according to a state spokesperson. There is no deadline for when the review is conducted. Until such time, the state does not impose any restrictions on the child care center, nor inform parents.

Sweet Dreams is the area's only child care center open overnight and weekends. It serves up to 75 children a day, Hiler said.

The state spokesperson said the government couldn't comment on Sweet Dreams until after the administrative review was completed. This is the second time in two years the child care center has requested such action.

Child Care Licensing Assistant Commissioner Sasha Rasco said it would be unfair to compare a center with just compliance issues to the one in Dallas where Jacob Fox died.

"Those are criminal acts of negligence and homicide," Rasco said. "We do run background checks and require a level of training and ratios, but leaving a child behind on a van is beyond the day-to-day."

Avonda Fox asks at what point is the line drawn between day-to-day violations and acts that endanger a child.

"Accidents do happen, I do understand that," she said. "But I just really believe that there should be tougher punishments. Maybe if there is tougher punishments, then this won't happen."

But for there to be punishments, there must first be laws with teeth. If not, there's always the risk the same mistakes could happen again.