DENVER (CBS4) – A mother who says her daughter was molested by a preschool teacher is pushing for tougher state laws.

Even though that case was dropped, the mother from Nederland wants extensive background checks on all child care providers. She believes parents should be able to see those checks.

There are already state background checks required for child care providers. If a person has a record outside Colorado, that doesn’t show up.

At the vast majority of daycare centers, parents don’t have access to those background checks, or knowledge that people with some criminal histories can work around children.

New legislation would change how much parents know about the people who care for their children.

“I had specifically asked the director, ‘Do you do background checks?’ She said yes, but omitted that several of the teachers had significant criminal history,” said one mother who didn’t want to be identified.

She said had she known about the backgrounds of the other employees, she wouldn’t have sent her daughter there.

Licensed facilities aren’t even required to run FBI checks on everyone. Representative Beth McCann, (D) Denver, hopes to change that.

“When you’re entrusting your child to a facility, parents need to have assurance that employees have not been involved in inappropriate behavior,” said McCann.

McCann introduced a bill that would require FBI background checks on all providers. Those checks are currently conducted on those who have lived in Colorado less than two years.

Job applicants are the ones who pay for background checks, so the additional background checks aren’t expected to cost taxpayers.

Making the information available to parents may have an additional cost.