R 400.8280(2)(d) · R 400.8280(2)(d) Discipline (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (d) Inflicting mental or emotional punishment, s uch as humiliating, shaming, or threatening a child.

Teacher 1 placed a preschooler in the infant room as a punishment for having an accident and threatened that he would not go to kindergarten if he kept having accidents.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8219(3) · R 400.8219(3) Sleeping, resting, and supervision (3) Infants shall rest or sleep alone in cribs or portable cribs.

Infants rest or sleep in cribs.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8219(11) · R 400.8219(11) Sleeping, resting, and supervision (11) Infants and toddlers who fall asleep in a space that is not approved for sleeping shall be moved to approved sleep equipment appropriate for their age a nd size.

Infants are transferred to cribs when they fall asleep in a space that is not approved for sleeping. Child A was micro-napping on 12/16/2025 and had just fallen asleep in the saucer prior to her mother arriving. Teachers were in the middle of caring for other children at the time and intended on transferring Child A as soon as they were done.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8269(1)(a) · R 400.8269(1)(a) Emergency preparedness and response planning procedures (1) Written plans and procedures for emergency preparedness and response planning for the care of children and staff in each of the following emergencies must be developed and implemented: (a) Fires.

Little Tigers Learning Center’s fire emergency procedures indicate that all children are to evacuate the center following the sound of the alarm. These emergency procedures were not implemented as two classrooms did not evacuate after the sound of the fire alarm on 11/3/2025.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8182(3)(a) · R 400.8182(3)(a) Ratio and group size requirements. Infants and toddlers, birth until 30 months of age, child care staff member to child ratio of 1 to 4, maximum group size of 12.

The center exceeded group size requirements at the time of the inspection. There were 18 toddlers playing together on the playground.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8182(2) · R 400.8182(2) Ratio and group size requirements. At least 2 adults, 1 of whom is a child care staff member, shall be present at all times when 7 or more children over 3 years of age are present. A second child care staff member is required when needed to comply with subrule of this rule.

Little Tigers Learning Center maintains ratio requirements. There are always two adults in the building, one of them a child care staff member, at all times.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8182(1) · R 400.8182(1) Ratio and group size requirements. At least 2 adults, 1 of whom is a child care staff member, shall be present at all times when at least 3 children between the ages of birth and 3 years of age are present. A second child care staff member is required when needed to comply with subrule (3) of this rule.

Little Tigers Learning Center maintains ratio requirements. There are always two adults in the building, one of them a child care staff member, at all times.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.

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.

I made an unscheduled onsite inspection at Little Tigers Learning Center on 7/21/2023. Licensee designee/program director Whitney Reeds has never observed staff sleeping and staff have never expressed this concern to her. Child care staff member 1 (CCSM1) is the lead caregiver in the infant room, child care staff member 2 (CCSM2) is a lead caregiver in the wobbler room and child care staff member 3 (CCSM3) works in the toddler room. None of these staff members had ever observed staff sleeping on the couch at the child care center. I spoke on the telephone with Child A and Child B's Mother and Child C and Child D's Mother on 7/25/2023 and Child E and Child F's Mother on 7/26/2023. None on the parents interviewed expressed concern about the care and supervision provided at the child care center.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (d) Inflicting mental or emotional punishment, such as humiliating, shaming, or threatening a child. ........................... .........

Whitney Reeds informed me that there is a water table located on the playground outside. She has never heard staff threaten children and staff have never expressed concern to her about children drinking water from the water table. CCSM1. CCSM2 and CCSM3 had never witnessed staff threaten children. I spoke with the parents regarding discipline used at the child care center. Child A and Child B's Mother informed me that the center is using "behavior buddies" approach. This approach encourages feelings and positive behavior. Child C and Child D's Mother did not express any concerns and reported that staff take good care of her children. According to Child E and Child F's Mother, Child F is very 3 strong willed. Child E and Child F's Mother is very pleased with how they handle Child F's behaviors and also noted that staff are very good at communicating with her.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: recordkeeping. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8176 · R 400.8176 Sleeping equipment. (6) Car seats, infant seats, swings, bassinets, and play yards are not approved sleeping equipment. I

Whitney Reeds stated that infants do not sleep in swings. If an infant falls asleep in a swing, staff will move them to a crib. CCSM1 informed me that infants will often fall asleep in a swing. Once that happens, staff will attempt to transfer the child to the crib, however, they sometimes wake up during the transition. Staff respond quickly when a child falls asleep in a swing. The only delay is when staff are feeding another infant or changing a diaper. CCSM2 is rarely ever in the infant room. She knows that infants fall asleep in the swings, but she has never been in the room long enough to know if staff move infants to their cribs promptly after they fall asleep. CCSM3 does not spend time in the infant room and did not have knowledge about infants sleeping in swings. I visited in the infant room during the onsite inspection. I did not see any infants sleeping in swings. I did see an infant lying in a crib. Child A and Child B's Mother informed me that Child A was a challenging sleeper and staff would try to get him to sleep in a crib. She has never witnessed infants sleeping in swings. Child C and Child D's Mother has never noticed infants sleeping in swings. Staff move infants to their cribs when they fall asleep in a swing. 4 Child E and Child F were never in the infant room. Child E and Child F's Mother did not know if infants slept in swings.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8182 · R 400.8182 Ratio and group size requirements. ...... ............................. ............................. (3) In each room or well-defined space, the maximum group size and ratio of child care staff members to children, including children related to a staff member or the licensee, must be as shown in Table 4: 5 Table 4 Child Care Staff Member to Child Ratios Child Care Staff Maximum Member to Child Ratio Group Size (a) Infants and toddlers, birth until 30 months of age 1 to 4 12 .... _...... ........................................—............. ... Preschoolers, 30 months of age until 3 years of (b) 1 to 6 16 age. .... .............................—........ . Not (c) Preschoolers, 3 years of age until 4 years of age 1 to 10 Applicable Not (d) Preschoolers, 4 years of age until school-age I to 12 Applicable Not (e) School-agers I to 18 Applicable

Whitney Reeds explained that classrooms reduce to just one staff member once all children in the room are asleep. The other staff remain at the center and return to the classroom once children wake up. I explained that the center must follow ratio requirements at all times, even when children are asleep. It was discussed that former licensing rules permitted reduced staff ratios when all children were asleep, however, that changed with the implementation of new child care center rules in 2019. Whitney Reeds admitted that she did not know the rules had changed. CCSM1 and CCSM2 both explained that when children fall asleep, one staff member remains in the classroom, while the other staff take the non-nappers into the pod to play. CCSM3 stated that all staff remain in the classroom to clean when the children are napping. All parents informed me that the child care center follows ratio requirements.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 Outdoor play area. .............................. ... .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. (10) An outdoor play area and any equipment located on the center's premises must be maintained in a safe condition and inspected daily before use to ensure that no hazards are present.

I spoke on the telephone with Child A's Mother on 11/15/2022. Child A was running on the playground designated for toddlers located at Little Tigers Learning Center on 11/11/2022. Child A tripped over a tree stump and fell injuring her thumb. Child A's Mother expressed concern about the tree stumps located on the playground as they create a tripping hazard for children. I made an unscheduled onsite inspection at Little Tigers Learning Center on 11/16/2022 and spoke with licensee designee/program director Whitney Reeds and child care staff member and Rae Blank. Whitney Reeds informed me that there are two tree trunks located on the playground. Children are aware of the stumps and know to avoid them. The stumps have been there since the center opened and that the playground was inspected and approved by a certified playground inspector. Ms. Reeds took me outside to the toddler playground. The playground is located on a hill and surrounded by a fence. There is a slide built into the hill for the children to use. I observed two tree stumps that were cut low to the ground and were partially covered by snow. Staff and children were outside during the inspection. Child care staff member Rae Blank informed me that she was present when Child A fell on 11/11/2022. Child A did not trip over the tree stump; however, Child A did fall on or near the stump. Whitney Reeds emailed me a copy of the inspection completed by certified playground inspector Matt Lawton of Lawton and Associates, Inc. The playground was inspected and approved for children ages two through twelve on 4/30/2021. I spoke on the telephone with Child B and Child C's Mothers on 11/22/2022. Neither parent expressed any concerns regarding the safety of the toddler playground. I left a voicemail message for Child D's Mother requesting a return call. As of this date, I have not heard back from Child D's Mother.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

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.

Child A's Mother informed me that she received a missed call from Little Tigers Learning Center while she was at a doctor appointment on 11/11/2022. Child A's Mother called the center back and was told that Child A was able to bend her thumb and seemed to be doing ok. Staff also provided her updates throughout the day. She did not realize the severity of the injury until she came to the center to pick Child A up at the end of the day. At that point, it was too late to schedule an appointment with the pediatrician. Child A was taken to urgent care that evening with a follow up appointment with the pediatrician the following morning. Child A was diagnosed with trigger thumb. The thumb is locked in position and will need to be surgically corrected. Staff did leave Child A's Mother a detailed voicemail stating that Child A's finger was bent and swollen, however, her phone did not notify her of the voicemail message until two days later. Child A's Mother is upset that staff assumed she had listened to the message and did not reiterate that Child A's thumb was bent and swollen during their phone conversation. Whitney Reeds informed me that child care staff member Megan Vandenberg called Child A's Mother on 11/11/2022 at 11:32 a.m. and left her a message about Child A's injury. Child A's Mother returned their call at 11:34 a.m. Pictures of Child A's thumb were sent to her mother at 11:35 a.m. and again at 12:12 p.m. Staff continued to update Child A's Mother throughout the afternoon until she was picked up at 4:46 p.m. Ms. Reeds showed me the pictures and updates that were sent to Child A's Mother following the injury. I also spoke with child care staff member Megan Vandenberg during the onsite inspection on 11/16/2022. Ms. Vandenberg stated that she left Child A's Mother a voicemail after Child A injured her thumb. According to Ms. Vandenberg, she informed Child A's Mother when her call was returned that Child A's thumb was not straight and appeared jammed. She also stated to Child A's Mother that Child A was not crying and that ice has been applied to the injury. Photos of the injured thumb were sent to Child A's Mother as well. Child B and Child C's Mothers did not express any concerns regarding the care and supervision provided at the child care center and informed me that staff are good about communicating concerns with parents by sending messages or communicating with parents at the end of the day. 4

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.