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.

Consistent with R 400.8158(2)(b), the center contacted me on 05/13/2021 to self-report an allegation of inappropriate contact between CCSM 3 and Child A that occurred on the playground the prior day. The incident report provided indicated that CCSM 1 and CCSM 2 witnessed CCSM 3 push Child A away from the other children. This occurred on the playground after Child A was seen throwing woodchips and sand at other children and at CCSM 3. I made an unannounced on-site visit on 05/14/2021 and interviewed program director and designee Elizabeth Beck. She said CCSM 1 told her about the incident and that it was her understanding that she had witnessed the incident along with CCSM 2. 2 Tim Hunt, who is Senior Vice President-Operations, and Ms. Beck's supervisor, contacted Child A's parents to inform them of the allegation. Ms. Beck said that she assumed the role as interim program director about one month ago and has not had much opportunity to see CCSM 3 interact with children. She has not seen her engage in any physically or verbally inappropriate behavior with children and has not received complaints from parents or staff aside from this one. I interviewed CCSM 1 at the center. She said she did not witness CCSM 3 push Child A on the playground. While outdoors, CCSM 3 told her, "I just pushed him." When CCSM 1 asked who, she replied [Child A]. When CCSM 1 asked her why, CCSM 3 she said because he put dirt in my shoes." CCSM 1 said she believes CCSM 2 also heard this conversation that she had with CCSM 3. I interviewed CCSM 2 at the center. She said Child A put woodchips on CCSM 3 and that she shoved his head in response. He was sitting on the ground at the bottom of the slide at the time. CCSM 2 demonstrated with an open hand. When I asked how hard, she said CCSM 3 pushed him hard enough to move his head to one side and Child A did not cry. CCSM 2 said CCSM 3 did not appear angry or stressed. She did not say anything to CCSM 3 when she saw this happen and did not hear CCSM 3 say anything. She said there was no discussion about the incident on the playground, but she told CSSM 1 about it when they returned indoors. I interviewed CCSM 3 by phone, who was accused of pushing Child A. She said Child A was throwing woodchips in the faces of other children. CCSM 3 picked up Child A and moved his entire body away from the other children and said, "No thank you." Child A kept throwing woodchips at her and other children and she repeated, "No thank you." She redirected him to the slide. After he went down the slide, while sitting on it, he picked up more woodchips and put his hand on her shoe. She said she lightly moved his hand away and said, "No thank you." He still had woodchips in his hand but stopped throwing them at that point. Child A never cried. CCSM 3 denied touching Child A's head or pushing him at any time. She said she barely touched his hand, and she did not hurt him. She denies having any conversation with CCSM 1 or anyone else about pushing Child A. She said she was talking and laughing with CCSM 1 much of that time on the playground that day from 10:30 a.m. until noon and no one complained about her interactions with children. CCSM 3 said she is shocked to hear of the allegations and was adamant about never hurting a child. She realizes [Child A] is too young to know better with regard to throwing woodchips. She said that she loves the children and that they love her and that she is a good teacher. On 05/17/2021, I returned to the center and asked Ms. Beck for the written statement that CCSM 2 wrote on the date of the incident. In it, CCSM 2 wrote "[CCSM 3] shoved a child after the child threw wood chips at her feet." That was the 3 entire statement. Ms. Beck said she did not request that CCSM 2 document the incident. CCSM 1 said she thought it best for her and CCSM 2 to document the playground incident and that she document the two incidents that she had previously observed with CCSM 3. Beneath CCSM 2's note, CCSM 1 wrote the

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. 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.

On 07/24/2020, the child care licensing division received a complaint alleging that "right before COVID," child care staff member 1 (CCSM 1) was throwing babies across the floor and into cribs. She would shove pacifiers in their faces to try to get them to "shut up". The toddler staff member saw this, as well as the other infant staff member in the room. The other infant staff member reported it to the boss [Melissa Rejc] who said she would keep an eye on CCSM 1 but did not fire her. The staff member who reported CCSM 1 because of it. Afterwards, CCSM 1 was more careful but is still swearing at the in ants and shoving plates in their faces. CCSM 1 said that the state was in the facility yesterday (7/23/2020), but they were investigating someone else. The staff member did not know what to do because they are mandated reporters, but the boss won't do anything, so they didn't know what else to do. A couple of hours later, the licensing division received a complaint making consistent allegations and indicating CCSM 1 would yell at the babies and call them bitches. The complainant indicated CCSM 3 witnessed and reported the misbehavior to Melissa Rejc on more than one occasion, and Ms. Rejc did nothing about it. I was unable to obtain more detail about these two allegations since the individual(s) who reported it did not provide contact information. I was assigned to this case on 12/03/2020 and visited the facility on 12/16/2020. Ms. Rejc told me CCSM 1 is no longer employed at the center as of due to restructuring. Prior to my visit. I first reviewed the preliminary work competed on this nvestigationby formerly assigned licensing consultant Angela Doman, and i Together, they interviewed several staff members on 7/27/2020 ouotese while they were at the center completing another investigation (2020D0603011 ). Ms. Doman and interviewed CCSM 1, who works in the infant room. She admitted to being frustrated at times. She denied hurting, yelling, or swearing at the children. She denied that she had ever pushed or slammed down any child. She 3 indicated that there have not been any parents or staff members who have complained about her interactions with children. She said that when she gets frustrated, she walks away or asks for assistance. CCSM 2 said she has heard about concerns with CCSM 1 but isn't sure if they are true. She helps out in the infant room and has never witnessed anything inappropriate. CCSM 4 works in the infant room and denied observing CCSM 1 being rough with any of the children or hearing her swear at them. While conducting her investigation, indicates that Melissa Rejc provided the below documentation regarding concerns received about CCSM 1 and authored by curriculum specialist Sharon Hardy. Below is an excerpt from that note. On Thursday March 5, I had a detailed conversation with [CCSM 1]. Our discussion included support for sensitivity with her interactions with the infants that she is overseeing. It was brought to our attention by other caregivers in the ECC, that [CCSM 1] is frustrated at times with the infants in her care. [CCSM 1's] frustration shows up in her body language and her approach when trying to meet infant's needs. Following these staff interviews, . The investigation remained open with Child Care Licensing. Given Ms. Doman' s absence and the lack of a completed Special Investigation Report, I was assigned to complete the investigation on 12/03/2020. I interviewed curriculum specialist Sharon Hardy. She made classroom observations at least monthly in the infant room and said CCSM 1 was frustrated at times. She defined the appearance of frustration only as "body language," and said she would sometimes sigh. She denied seeing CCSM 1 doing anything physically inappropriate. She said she spoke with her individually and advised her to ask for help if she was frustrated. She denied that any staff member had brought any concerns about CCSM 1's interactions to her attention, then said that one person had

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 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: (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.

CCSM 3, CCSM 5, and CCSM 6 described physical and verbal behaviors that they suspected may be abusive or negligent and did not immediately report it to children's protective services.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: recordkeeping. 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.

On 07/20/2020, the child care licensing division received a complaint alleging that child care staff member interacted inappropriately with Child A. The complainant indicated that Child was lying on ■ cot, "tossing and turning" at naptime. walked over to the child?s cot and yanked ■ off of it by wrist. She dragged 1 12 feet across the classroom and forcefully put 11 on E. e floor and threw the cot on top of The child was screaming and cryin an awakened the other children. Child was taken to another classroom for safety. Melissa Rejc was informed about the incident but stated she wanted to wai or another incident before she intervened. Child A`s parents were not made aware of the incident. Child A had no marks, bruises, or injuries, has a history of forcefully ndlin children at the center. Child A has eenpaired with another staff member so will not have contact with Child A. i Child Care Licensing consultant Angela Doman was assigned to complete this investigation in collaboration with the n Ms. uoman s ar)sence, i was complete this investigation and document the findings. on 7/27120, unless otherwise noted. When" was interviewed, she denied all allegations concerning the alleged inappropriate in actions with Child A. She said that she picks up Child A from beneath 1 arms if needs to be moved to a different part of the room and does not respond o he reques . She said she has never picked up, dragged, or pulled Child A by the wrist, or any other child, and has ever placed or thrown a cot on any child. She indicated Christiana Taylor and Lyda McRoberts have worked with her in the past. and Ms. Doman interviewed preschool staff member Christiana Taylor. She acknowledged that gets frustrated when Child A and Child B do not sleep and tells the children she is frustrated, or whatever emotion she is feeling, to teach the children about emotions. Instead of sleeping, some children may kick their feet against the wall or cupboard or play with their shoes. Ms. Taylor indicated that typically handles the problem by speaking to them. Sometimes one of the other preschool staff members will come and speak with these same children. Ms. Taylor denied witnessing' pull any children or drop a cot on them. She said she would hear the cot on the hard floor if this had happened. and Ms. Doman interviewed Lyda McRoberts who said she has concerns about actions during nap time. She said _ was observed pulling Child A by the wrist one time and that she moved Child A from one side of the room to the other, about 25 feet, The cot was then put on top of Child A, who was sitting on the floor, but slid off the side of ■ body on to the floor. Ms. McRoberts said Ms. Brooks, from the preschool room next door, took Child A into her classroom. Ms. McRoberts denied seeing any other concerning interactions between - and Child A or other children. Preschool lead caregiver Candis Brooks was interviewed by and Ms. Doman. Documentation indicates that she told them said she cannot see class from her classroom but sometimes goes into her classroom since works alone and does not have an assistant. Ms. Brooks denied any concerns with interactions with the children but acknowledged she could raise her voice at Child A during na time when the child does not want thoe taaMkeea nap. 4s. Brooks said she has overheard say 'l'm so frustrated." She once saw move Child A's cot across the room with Child A on it. Ms. Brooks offered to take Child A into her classroom. She let Child A sit on. cot gave •a box of books to look at, and there were no further problems. She never saw touch the child's wrist or any part of■ body. I interviewed Candis Brooks at the center on 12116/2020. What she said was consistent with what she shared in the 07/27/20 interview described above. She denied witnessing physically mistreat Child A or any child. She often heard telling PeN cW i ren she was frustrated. She confirmed that she once saw aggressively pull Child A's cot across the room with Child A on i

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. 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. Rejc did not report an allegation of inappropriate contact to Child A's parents or to LARA.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: health medication. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8188 · R 400.8188 Sleeping, resting, and supervision. (13) For children under school age who do not sleep at rest time, quiet activities must be provided such as reading books or putting uzzles together.

did not provide Child A quiet activities when did not want to sleep.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.