Adrian Community Preschool

R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

On 9/21/21 I reviewed an incident report submitted by the center. According to the incident report, on 9/20/21 around 9:25 a.m., Child A was momentarily left alone on the outdoor playground for a couple of minutes without being under direct supervision of a staff member. While the children were lining up to go inside, child care staff member Cheri Easter was getting children's masks as child care staff member Ms. Rosemary Orozco was helping children put them on. During that timeframe, Ms. Orozco took the children inside around 9:25 a.m. and had the children line up. One by one the children found their name tag. Both Ms. Easter and Ms. Orozco assisted the children with applying their face masks. Ms. Orozco looked up and asked Ms. Easter where Child A was? Ms. Orozco immediately ran back outside. Child A was approximately 3-4 feet from the center entrance door smiling while looking at a bush. Ms. Orozco told Child A it was time to come in, Child A took too Ms. Orozco' s hand and they walked inside. Child A then put on her face mask and found her name tag. On 9/21/21, I conducted an unannounced onsite inspection at the center and interviewed Ms. Rosemary Orozco, child care staff member, who worked at the center on 9/20/21 when the incident occurred. Ms. Orozco has worked at the center for 19 years and enjoys interacting with the children each day. I informed Ms. Orozco of the allegation. Ms. Orozco admitted to the allegation stating that on 9/20/21 at approximately 9:20 a.m., she and Ms. Easter had the children line up to come inside and begin preschool. During the warm weather months, Ms. Orozco said the children hang their backpacks outside. While the children were lining up to go inside, Ms. Easter went to get the children's face masks form their backpacks that were hanging on the fence located just outside of the center. Ms. Orozco remained with the children and helped them get their name tags once they arrived inside of the center. "Within a couple of minutes," Ms. Orozco realized Child A was not inside, as she did not get her name tag. She asked Ms. Easter of the whereabouts of Child A. Neither Ms. Orozco nor Ms. Easter saw Child A come inside of the center. Ms. Orozco immediately went back outside and saw Child A standing by the bushes just outside of the centers entrance. Ms. Orozco said Child A was in good sprites, smiling and looking at the bushes; she did not believe that Child A realized they went inside. Ms. Orozco told Child A that it was time to come inside, took her by the hand, and they both walked inside of the center. Ms. Orozco estimates Child A being alone outside for a "couple of minutes" before she returned back inside with the children. Child A washed her hands, grabbed her face mask and name tag, and began her preschool programming activities scheduled for that day. Ms. Orozco denied Child A or any other child ever being left alone outside and felt this incident was an unfortunate oversite by herself and Ms. Easter. Ms. Orozco said Child A has only been enrolled in the program for six days. She said Child A is still adjusting to their preschool program and suspects that this is Child A's first time being enrolled in a 3 child care center. According to Ms. Orozco, Child A has very limited verbal skills and Child A's Mother suspects she may be on the autism spectrum. Ms. Orozco reiterated that she felt this was an unfortunate oversight on the child care staff members part as she and Ms. Easter complete head counts randomly throughout the day. On this morning, Ms. Orozco said she was with the children lining up to go inside and get their name tags while Ms. Easter was getting the children's face masks from their backpacks. Since the incident occurred, Ms. Orozco and Ms. Easter have spoken about what they could have done to prevent this from happening to include completing head counts of the children before they go inside of the center. In addition, Ms. Orozco said during busy transition times, they position

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