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Pulling inspections, violations, and complaints.
Home › MI › Birmingham › Our Shepherd Lutheran Early Childhood Center
2225 East 14 Mile Road, Birmingham MI 48009 · License #DC630293949 · Center · Center
Not published by the state. Owners can add hours via profile claim.
When they operate
Ages served
R400.8125 · R400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (3) All supervised volunteers shall receive a public sex offender registry (PSOR) clearance before having any contact with children in care. A copy of this clearance must be kept on file at the center.
On 02/11/2021, I completed an unannounced onsite inspection. I informed the program director, Ms. Gottschling of the allegations made against the facility. Ms. Gottschling confirmed this allegation to be true. She shared last week (2/2/21) she had the cleaning staff work in the older toddler 1 (OT1) classroom due to being short staffed. She confirmed her name as Deola Bailey. She shared Ms. Bailey is not hired by the child care facility and has not had any criminal background checks, including the Public Sex Offender Registry (PSOR) clearance, and a written self-certifying statement regarding her awareness of abuse and neglect, the center's policies on child abuse and neglect and the knowledge of their responsibility to report suspected abuse and neglect to children's protective services. completed by the child care facility. She worked in the room for approximately 1 hour until another staff member came, and she was relieved. Ms. Gottschling denied that she's ever used Ms. Bailey in this capacity before and confirmed knowledge of the requirements regarding both volunteers (supervised/unsupervised) and hired employees. Ms. Gottschling shared this is the only time Ms. Bailey has worked in a classroom. I spoke with office manager, Paul Dwyer. Mr. Dwyer confirmed knowledge of Ms. Bailey working in their OT1 classroom to help out due to staffage issues. Mr. Dwyer shared she worked in the classroom from 8:30am to 11:00am with one other staff member. He confirmed knowledge that Ms. Bailey is not an employee for the facility and has not met the requirement to be considered a volunteer. I spoke to CCSM A, and she confirmed knowledge of Ms. Bailey working in the OT1 classroom because she worked with Ms. Bailey until another staff member came in to the classroom. She stated that Ms. Bailey came in to help at 8am. CCSM A denied any knowledge of Ms. Bailey working in classrooms during other times. On 02/12/2021, I spoke with Ms. Bailey. She confirmed working for the church where the child care is located. She is a cleaning staff. Ms. Bailey recalled being asked to work in a classroom. She could not recall the name of the specific room but was able to identify the location which is the OT1 room. She shared she was never alone and only provided the CCSM who was working in the room support. She was not sure of the specific timeframe she was in the room but believed it was less than 2 hours. She said this was the only time she's ever worked in a classroom. On 02/18/2021, I spoke with designee, Janet McLoughlin. Ms. Gottschling made her aware of this allegation after my initial onsite inspection. Ms. McLoughlin shared that she understands the rule requirements for volunteers and staff members, and to her knowledge this is the first time anything like this has happened. I reviewed the facilities' staff and volunteer screening and supervision policy. The policy indicates "All supervised volunteers shall receive a PSOR clearance before having any 4
On 02/02/2021, a parent asked who was supervising her child in the older toddler 1 classroom and the parent was told the janitor who is not a child care worker was providing care. The young toddler 2 classroom has not had a lead caregiver in several months. Classrooms are out of ratio and the program director is aware of ratio concerns.
Disposition: Substantiated
The center is not following their illness policy regarding children with temperatures. A couple children had fevers and returned to care prior to 72 hours and without a doctor's note. The center is understaffed. The center lost power and the inside temperature was over 90 degrees. Parents were not called for three hours.
Disposition: Substantiated
Generated from this facility's specific inspection record
Data synced from Michigan MiLEAP, Child Care Licensing Bureau on Jul 9, 2026 · Source records · Report an error
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.
R400.8125 · R400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (5) A written statement must be signed and dated by staff and volunteers at the time of hiring or before volunteering indicating all of the following information: (a) The individual is aware that abuse and neglect of children is against the law. (b) The individual has been informed of the center's policies on child abuse and neglect. (c) The individual knows that all staff and volunteers are required by law to immediately report suspected abuse and neglect to children's protective services
On 02/11/2021, I completed an unannounced onsite inspection. Ms. Gottschling confirmed this allegation to be true. She reported the Young Toddler 2 (YT2) classroom has being without a lead caregiver since December 23, 2020. She has been unable to find a qualified worker to take the role. She said she has used several hiring systems to locate possible candidates but has continued to be unsuccessful. I interviewed Mr. Dwyer who confirmed the allegations regarding the YT2 classroom being without a lead caregiver. He shared efforts on the part of the facility, however, they have not been successful in obtaining qualified staff to fill the role. On 02/18/2021, I nterviewed designee, Janet McLoughlin. Ms. McLoughlin confirmed knowledge about YT2 being without a lead caregiver. She shared concerns the facility has run into regarding issues with finding applicants for the position. On 03/12/2021, I interviewed CCSM H. She confirmed knowledge that the YT2 is without a lead caregiver and has been for a few weeks. She wasn't sure of the specific timeframe. She shared that the Older Toddler 1( OT1) room is without a lead caregiver because the previous lead caregiver was terminated from employment. I pulled the rule book out and went over this new change with Ms. Gottschling.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: recordkeeping. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8122 · R 400.8122 1 Lead caregiver; qualifications; responsibilities. (2) At least 1 lead caregiver shall be assigned to each group of children in a self-contained or well-defined space and shall be present and providing care in the assigned group in the following manner: (a) Full time for programs operating less than 6 continuous hours. (b) At least 6 hours per day for programs operating 6 or more continuous hours. C~
On 02/11/2021, I completed an unannounced onsite inspection. Ms. Gottschling confirmed there was a day last week (02/02/2121) when the facility operated out of ratio due to staff shortage and Covid-19 issues. They were without six staff due to Covid-19 and staff being out for other preplanned obligations. In addition, she was out due to quarantine as well. In addition, on 02/02/2021, they had one staff call off that morning, so they were out of ratio in 3 of the 4 classrooms. Other than this she shared both she, Mr. Dwyer and the enrichment staff will fill in to help maintain ratio. She denied staff having brought to her attention concerns regarding ratio issues. She said the facility has had concerns in the past over ratio issues, however, this has not been a recent issue over the last few months (with the exception of 02/02/2021). I specifically asked Ms. Gottschling and all CCSM's about ratio concerns between the months of December 2020 to current due to another special investigation (2020D0429012) addressing ratio concerns prior to this one. I interviewed Mr. Dwyer. He shared they do their best to maintain ratio. There are times when a room may be out of ratio but it's only for a brief moment because staff will call Ms. Gottschling, himself or their enrichment worker to fill in. There have also been times they've utilized workers for their other site to assist with maintaining ratio. He confirmed knowledge of ratio noncompliance for 02/02/2021 due to illnesses, call offs and quarantine due to Covid-19. I interviewed with CCSM A. She reported being out of ratio a number of times within the past couple months and "a lot." She believes it's at least once per week and she knows from other CCSM's that they have ratio issues within their rooms as well. She could not recall all the specific dates but shared last week (02/02/2021) as being the last time she recalls. She had five children by herself from 7am to 8am. At 8am a cleaning staff came in to help her, but she isn't an employee. A hired CCSM came in a couple hours later at which time she had 9 or 10 children total. She shared another incident on 01/20/2021. Her room had a total of 10 children with 2 CCSM's for approximately 45 minutes starting at 4pm. She informed Mr. Dwyer that she would be out of ratio but both he and Ms. Gottschling left for the day. 7 I interviewed CCSM B. She shared no concerns regarding ratio issues. However, she oftentimes hears other CCSM's expressing concerns. During the times she's scheduled to work she has not had any ratio concerns in the room she's working in. I interviewed CCSM C. She denied having any concerns regarding ratio issues. She shared when there are times that the room will be out of ratio, administration staff will help out. I interviewed with CCSM D. She shared she only works part time, and, on the days, she's scheduled, the rooms she's in have been in ratio. However, she hears complaints from other CCSM's about ratio issues. I interviewed CCSM E. I inquired about ratio issues within the facility. She could not recall the specific date but shared a couple months ago she was out of ratio when a staff left at 4pm. She was out of ratio for 1 to 2 hours. She could not recall the number of children she had. She shared this was the only time she could recall being out of ratio. I interviewed CCSM F. She denied having any ratio concerns. She shared her classroom is always in ratio. She shared if there are times when they know they will be out of ratio, they always let administrative staff know and they will help out or other staff will be assigned to come in. I interviewed CCSM G. I inquired about ratio issues within the classrooms she's worked in. She shared there have been times but it's only for a small timeframe. She denied knowing any specific dates or times but knows that it has occurred between December to current. She shared other staff has complained about being out of ratio. On 02/12/2021, I interviewed Child A's mother. She de
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: ratio. 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: Age Child Care Staff Maximum Group Size member to Child Ratio a) Infants and toddlers, 1 to 4 12 birth until 30 months of age
Program director, Ms. Gottschling confirmed the facility was not in ratio in 3 of the 4 operating classrooms on 02/02/2021. Several other CCSM's reported multiple times between the months of December 2020 to current that their classrooms have been out of ratio.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8140 · ........................................ I R 400.8140 Discipline. (1) Positive methods of discipline that encourage self- control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation must be used.
Positive methods of discipline that encourage self-control, self- direction, self-esteem, and cooperation were not used. Multiple CCSM's; CCSM D, CCSM E, and CCSM G reported concerns regarding verbal aggression used against the children by CCSM A.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (i) Time out must not be used for children under 3 years of age.
CCSM's have used timeout for children under the age of 3.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8158 · R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting. (2) A licensee, licensee designee, or program director 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: (b) An incident involving an allegation of inappropriate contact.
Ms. Gottschling did not report the two mentioned incidents to the department within 24 hours of the allegations of inappropriate contact by a CCSM.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: health medication. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8146 · R 400.8146 Information provided to parents. ............................................. ................................................. .... (1) A center shall provide a written information packet to each parent enrolling a child that includes at least all of the following: (k) Exclusion policy for child illnesses.
The complainant did not leave contact information, so I was unable to obtain additional information, but they stated in the complaint that the center has a couple children ages 2 years and 3 years who had fevers. The children are supposed to stay home for 72 hours. To return to care, they need to have a doctor's note. The children came back before 72 hours without a doctor's note. The director said the children went to the doctor. A staff member called the parents and found out they did not go to the doctor. The director said not to worry about it and keep it to themselves. The director Emily Gottschiling stated there were two children from two different families that did have fevers. They were out of the center for 72 hours or more and came back to the center on July 15, 2020.. The parents were in touch with their pediatricians and they stated there was no need for testing the children and there were no other COVID symptoms, just fevers. When the children came back, she took their temperatures before they entered the building and they were both fever free. She stated staff never came to her to talk about the fevers; however, she heard that staff member Maho Abbo was upset that the children did not have doctor's notes. Ms. Gottschiling stated they followed their illness policies. Staff member Kami Ott stated she was aware of one child in the Older Toddler room that had a fever. She was helping the director with health checks at the front door one day and the director was asking the questions and taking temperatures and Ms. Ott was escorting children to their classrooms. When she took one child to the Older Toddler room, the staff member in that room, Maha Abbo, looked in the child's bag for a doctor's note and did not see one. Ms. Ott told Ms. Abbo that the director just told her to bring him to the classroom, she did not say anything about a doctor's note. Ms. Ott stated the child was out of the center for 72 hours, but they just did not have a doctor's note stating they could return. Staff member Maho Abbo stated there were two children in her classroom that had fevers. They were out for 72 hours but came back without doctor's notes. The director stated it was fine for them to be back without a doctor's note since they were fever free. Ms. Abbo was upset they did not have doctor's notes because her co- workers have health issues and she is worried about them getting sick. Staff members Paul Dwyer, Danielle King, Cathy Bolton, and Faith Goedge all stated they were unaware of any children with temperatures. Staff member Ruthann Flint stated she just heard that a child in the Infant 1 room had a fever, but she is unaware of which child. 3 Child A's Mother stated she is very happy with the center and the care they provide her child. The center is well organized, and they are handling COVID well. The center is very clean, and she has no complaints. She stated there has been some staff turnover; however, that is to be expected and she has no concerns with ratio. Child B's Mother never returned by phone call. I received the center's regular illness policy and it states children with fevers shall not return to the center until 24 hours of no fever. The center's COVID policy states children should stay home until they have been fever free for 72 hours. The center followed their policies.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: ratio. 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: Age: Infants and toddlers, birth until 30 months of age Group Size: 12 Child Care Staff member to Child Ratio: 1 to 4
The complainant did not leave contact information, so I was unable to obtain additional information, but they stated in the complaint that the center is understaffed and there is constant staff turnover. The director Emily Gottschling stated staffing is a problem and they are doing the best they can. Now with the health checks, staff are pulled from the classrooms to help escort the children to their classrooms from the front door, so some days from 8:30 to 9:00 AM, the classrooms will be out of ratio for 5 to 20 minutes. She has placed adds on Indeed, through 4 C's, and at the colleges; however, they are not getting many candidates to hire. Staff member Paul Dwyer stated that Young Toddler 1 was out of ratio on 7/21/20 from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. The caregiver had 6 children by themselves during that time. Other than that, he cannot think of any other times the center was out of ratio. If a classroom is out of ratio, they move staff around or the director or Mr. Dwyer will go in the classrooms to help. 4 Staff member Kami Ott works in the Young Toddler 1 room and stated the center was out of ratio daily the week of July 6, 2020. She stated this happened between 8:30 — 9:00 AM each morning. There were 6-8 toddlers with 1 staff member during that time. She also stated on 7/21/20 she was escorting children to classrooms from the front, and between 8:30 — 9:00 AM the Young Toddler 2 class had 6 children with 1 staff member. Staff member Dainelle King stated she works in the Infant 1 room and there are no ratio issues in her room. When they get their fifth child and there is only one staff in the room, they call Ms. Gottschiling or Mr. Dwyer for help. Staff member Cathy Bolton works in the Young Toddler 2 room and she stated there have not been any ratio issues in her room. Staff member Ruthann Flint works in the Infant 2 room and stated there is always two staff in her room, so there are no ratio issues. If they need help, they call Ms. Gottschilling or Mr. Dwyer and they come to the classroom. Staff member Faith Goedge works in the Young Toddler 1 room. She stated her room has been out of ratio a few times during bathroom breaks, but that is it. There are no issues with ratio in her room, and if they need help, they would call Mr. Dwyer to come to the room. Staff member Maha Abbo works in the Older Toddler 1 room and her room is always out of ratio. The bathrooms are down the hall so when her co-worker takes one child to the bathroom, she will have 6 or 7 children by herself. She does ask Mr. Dwyer for help sometimes. Child A's Mother stated she is very happy with the center and the care they provide her child. The center is well organized, and they are handling COVID well. The center is very clean, and she has no complaints. She stated there has been some staff turnover; however, that is to be expected and she has no concerns with ratio. Child B's Mother never returned by phone call. This is an infant/toddler center, so all classrooms require a 1:4 ratio. During my inspection on 7/21/20, the center was in ratio as follows: Infant 1 Room: 6 children, 2 staff Infant 2 Room: 4 children, 2 staff Young Toddler 1 Room: 6 children, 2 staff Young Toddler 2 Room: 6 children, 2 staff Older Toddler 1 Room: 9 children, 3 staff I received the attendance sheets and staff schedules for July 6— 10 and for 5 July 20 — 21. I was unable to tell from these documents which mornings the classrooms were out of ratio because each day for each class, one staff comes in at 7:30 AM and the second staff comes in at 8:00 AM and for all the days I looked at, it appears on paper that the center is in ratio; however, it does not show which staff are pulled out of the classrooms to be at the front door to help with temperature checks and escorting children to the classrooms.
R 400.8365 · R 400.8365 Heating; temperature. .............................................. (1) The temperature in child use areas must be maintained at a safe and comfortable level so that children in care do not become overheated or chilled.
The complainant did not leave contact information, so I was unable to obtain additional information, but they stated in the complaint that the center had a power outage and the inside temperature of the center was over 90 degrees. The parents were not called for three hours. The director Emily Gottschiling stated on 7/10/20 there was a storm and the power went out around 1:00 PM. The children were napping so she decided to let them sleep and they started calling parents around 2:30 PM. Ms. Gottschiling called the infant parents first and then had the toddler staff call their parents closer to wake up time. They monitored the rooms and they did not get over 82 degrees. They kept the refrigerators closed unless they needed something, and nothing spoiled. The last child was picked up around 4:30 PM that day. Staff member Paul Dwyer stated there was a storm on 7/10/20 and the power went out at the center around 1:00 PM. It was naptime so the children were sleeping. The director called the infant parents but told them they did not have to pick their children up immediately. They called the rest of the parents around 3:00 PM when they woke up from nap. The last child was picked up around 4:30 PM. Mr. Dwyer was not sure about the temperature inside. He stated it was warm, but not super-hot. Staff member Kami Ott stated there was a power outage at the center on 7/10/20. The power went out sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 PM. The children just went down for nap. Ms. Ott stated the director was trying to contact DTE to find out when the power would come back on and that she was going to wait to call the parents since the children were sleeping. At 2:45 PM, staff member Paul Dwyer told her she could start calling parents because they still did not have an estimated time that the power would be restored. The room gradually got warm, but not super-hot. She is unaware if it got over 82 degrees. Her last child was picked up by 4:00 PM that day. Staff member Danielle King stated on 7/10/20 the power went out around 1:00 PM. She stated the children and staff were fine and that it was hot, but not too hot in the classrooms. The thermometer in her room did not go over 82 degrees. They kept the refrigerator closed, and when she would get food and bottles out, they were still cold. The director called DTE to see if the power was going to come back on. At 3:00 PM she was told to call the parents. Her last child was picked up at 4:45 PM. Her and Mr. Dwyer were the last staff to leave the center that day. Staff member Cathy Bolton stated she was not at the center the day of the power outage. Staff member Ruthann Flint stated the power went out around 1:00 PM on 7/10/20. She is unsure of what the temperature went to in her room, but the room felt okay because the air had been on prior to the power outage so the room stayed comfortable. They kept their refrigerator shut and only opened it to get bottles and food out and everything stayed cold. The director called all the parents in her room and all her children were picked up by 3:00 PM. Staff member Faith Geodge stated the power went out around 1:00 PM on 7/10/20. The children were down for nap and they were all sleeping. The room did not get too hot because the air had been on prior to the power going out so it took a while for it to warm up. Lunch was over so they did not have any food in their refrigerator. They only had almond milk in there and they did not open the refrigerator. She left at 2:00 PM that day, so she is unsure of when the parents were called and when the last child was picked up. Staff member Maha Abbo stated the power went out around 1:00 PM on 7/10/20. She is unsure of what the temperature got to in the classroom, but it was 90 degrees outside. The children were sleeping so the director said not to call the parents until 3:30 PM. She wanted to call the parents before that because it was starting to get 7 hot in the classroom. Lunch was over, so they did not have any food in their r
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: nutrition. Open / not marked corrected.