Dow Bay Area Family Y Child Development Center

R 400.8213(1)(a) · R 400.8213(1)(a) Staff; volunteer (1) All staff and volunteers present at the center shall: (a) Provide appropriate care and supervision of c hildren at all times.

Interviews were conducted with parents in the infant care classroom, wobblers classroom, and other classrooms at the child care center. Teacher 1 did not respond to attempts child care licensing made to interview her. Teacher 1 was interviewed by law enforcement and MDHHS worker Kerri Rupe and provided conflicting information related to the allegations. Parents reported no concerns about the care and supervision provided to the infants. The infants did not have marks, bruises, or signs of injuries.

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R 400.8213(1)(b) · R 400.8213(1)(b) Staff; volunteer (1) All staff and volunteers present at the center shall: (b) Act in a manner that is conducive to the welfare o f children.

After supplied medical documentation was reviewed, it was determined Teacher 1 is not conducive to the welfare of children as her disposition, temperament, and condition do not promote the safety and well- being of the children served.

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R 400.8280(2)(a) · R 400.8280(2)(a) Discipline (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, o r inflicting other forms of corporal punishment.

There is insufficient to support the allegation that program staff disciplined Child A and Child B inappropriately.

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R 400.8266(3)(a) · R 400.8266(3)(a) Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting (3) A licensee, licensee designee, or program administrator shall report to the child's parent and the department, directly or via phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of the occurrence of any of the following: (a) An incident involving an allegation of i nappropriate contact.

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R 400.8280(2)(a) · R 400.8280(2)(a) Discipline (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, o r inflicting other forms of corporal punishment. 2 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP Bureau

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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 3/3/2023 I spoke with the referral source on the telephone. Child A has been attending the Bay Area YMCA program since November of 2020. She has been bitten 16 times in the last year. Child care staff members have not been following the plan to keep her child from being bitten. She has personally witnessed staff members standing by, not watching while Child A was bitten. The issue has been addressed with the Program Director multiple times, but the issue was not able to be remedied. Different plans have been tried over the last year including staff shadowing other children who were prone to biting behaviors and then later having Child A shadowed by staff to ensure other children did not bite her. Neither plan was successful. The center sent home written reports each time Child A was bitten. Child A is no longer attending the center. On 3/3/2023, an onsite investigation was conducted at the Bay Area YMCA. Ms. Plewa was spoken with and said she had a good idea about who called in the complaint. She is sure that the Tykes room is the one being referenced in the complaint. There have been several children who had issues biting other children in that group over the last year. Child care staff try and stay on top of biting issues and talk with parents every time their child bites another child. She confirmed Child A was bitten frequently over the last year. They have used teethers with that group and have also shadowed frequent biters when possible. Biting is a developmental issue and a form of communication for some children. The goal of center staff is to assist children in communication and interacting in healthy ways where other children are not hurt, but this is a different process for each child and some children take longer to grow out of this habit than others. Child care staff member Lacy Erndt was spoken with. She has seen some biting in the Tykes classroom but nothing excessive. They have used teethers in the classroom and try and keep a close eye on some children who have bitten in the past. When possible, they try to remove a child from the situation or distract them if it appears they may bite another child. She has only worked in the classroom for a month and has not seen a great deal of biting. How to deal with biting has been discussed with her as part of her training. Every time a child is bitten, a report is 3 written and given to parents of the child who was bitten and the child who did the biting. Child care staff member Kaylee Rupp was spoken with. She has worked at the center four to five months and is the new lead child care staff member in the classroom. There are two children who have a history of biting other children. It has not happened as frequently lately, but was substantial in previous months. Child care staff members have a number of strategies to deter biting including the use of teethers, redirection or distraction of children when it appears they are upset or if they are in situations where they have bitten in the past, and direct shadowing of frequent biters when possible. After a child is bitten, child care staff members comfort the child and wash the area of the bite. The child who did the biting is spoken with about being kind to others. A report is written and given to the parents of the biter and the child who was bitten. They have discussed biting as a staff and try to ensure everyone in the classroom is up to date by recording incidents in the classroom log. Child care staff member Paulette Beckers was spoken with. She has worked at the center for nine years but primarily works in the infant room. She works with the wobblers occasionally. She has seen some biting in the wobblers' classroom and has received training on biting during her tenure at the center. The main strategies used by staff to deter or deal with biting are redirection, the use of teethers, and shadowing of children who are frequent biters or frequent victims of biting. Center procedure is to fill out a report to share

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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 3/4/22, I called Child B's Mother and interviewed her. Child B's Mother was picking up Child B, (female, 4 years) from child care. She was in the hallway by preschool room during transition time. Some of the children were going to the bathroom and some of the children were in the classroom. Angie Buda, lead caregiver, was out in the hallway supervising children in the bathroom. Jamie Snyder, child care staff member, was in the classroom with the remainder of children. There was a very energetic boy who had blonde hair. I found out during my investigation that this child was Child A (male, 5 years). She believed that Child A has special needs. She observed Child A going to the classroom from the bathroom. Ms. Snyder told Child A not to run. She told him to go back to the bathroom and try walking to the room. She turned him around and ushered him back into the hall. Child A ran back to the bathroom and then returned to the classroom by running. Ms. Snyder blocked him from entering the room with her body. Ms. Snyder turned Child A around and told him to try again. Child A ran again; he ran back to the bathroom and then back to the classroom. Ms. Snyder blocked him with her body again and Child A ran into her and fell on the floor. Child B's Mother thought that Ms. Snyder grabbed Child A's hair during this time also. She believes that Ms. Buda saw her reaction to what Ms. Snyder did and came into the room. Ms. Buda picked Child A up and took him back out into the hall with her. Child A's Mother left the center and called to report her concern to the program director. She had to leave a voicemail message. Ms. Buda called her back at nap time. She informed Ms. Buda what she observed Ms. Snyder doing to Child A. Ms. Buda stated that she did not observe any of that. She just knew that Child A was having a difficult time and went to assist Ms. Snyder. Child B's mother also mentioned previous concerns regarding Ms. Snyder. In the fall some time she observed during lunch Ms. Snyder grabbing a child's hand out of his mouth because he kept on putting his hand in his mouth. This occurred while Ms. Buda was on sick leave and she ended up messaging Ms. Buda about her concerns. Ms. Snyder always seems to be negative regarding Child B's behavior. On one occasion Ms. Snyder reported upon pick up that Child B was pushing children on the playground. When Child B's mother investigated the situation further, she found out that Child B was trying to play tag with the other children. She did not really know how to do this because she has special needs. Child B was trying to tag the other children but she was doing it too hard and was not just pushing children to be mean. She feels that Ms. Snyder's tone and demeanor is very inpatient when speaking with the children. On 3/04/22, I made an onsite inspection to the center. I interviewed Wendy Plewa, program director. Ms. Plewa stated that she was aware of the situation the other 3 day with Ms. Snyder and Child A. She was told that Child A was running around the room screaming. Ms. Snyder spun Child A around and pulled his hair. When she discussed this with Ms. Snyder, she denied that she did this and that she was redirecting him to try again to come into the room appropriately. Child A gets triggered at nap time and they are working with the parents about how to best address his behaviors. Ms. Plewa stated that Ms. Snyder has been doing much better than she has in the past when she talks to children. Ms. Plewa constantly reminds Ms. Snyder that her tone is everything when communicating with the children. Parents can hear her and not like her tone with the children which can turn into a concern from the parents. Ms. Plewa has not received any complaints regarding Ms. Snyder from any parents. I interviewed Ms. Buda, lead caregiver. Ms. Buda was not in the room at the time that the incident happened with Ms. Snyder. The children were transitioning from lunch to nap time and some of the children were goin

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