Texas State Rep Joe Pickett spoke with KFOX14 News on the phone Tuesday.

He's making a formal request to the Texas Department of Family Protective Services to regulate the practice of child care centers performing health checks on children underneath their clothing.

KFOX14 News reported on Thursday that one family was upset after finding out that Lullabies Day Care performed daily health checks under their toddlers' clothes.

Lullabies said the checks are done to detect child abuse and to protect the business against lawsuits.

Pickett said he's not waiting for the legislative session next January on this issue.

"The story that you all (KFOX14 News) broke was kind of the first time anybody had heard about this," Pickett said. "Now that this is an issue in El Paso, I guarantee you we're going to hear about it in some other places. We might as well see what we can do in the interim."

Pickett said one rule that definitely needs to be in place is a rule that requires parents' permission for day care employees to check underneath their children's clothing.

"The parent has got to be informed from the beginning," Pickett said. "This can't be a 'by the way' or 'did you know?' This has got to be a disclosure right off the bat. If a child care centers policy is created because it's not prohibited to do these so called health checks, then the parents have got to be made aware and their permission has got to be asked for."

If you have a story that you feel deserves media attention, contact Ric Dupont at ric.dupont@kfoxtv.com.