Childtime Learning Center #0631

R 400.8330(4) · PR19-R 400.8330(4) Food services and nutrition generally. A center shall ensure a child who has special dietary needs is provided with snacks and meals in accordance with the child's needs and with the instructions of the child's parent or licensed health c are provider.

Child had an allergic reaction to instant mashed potatoes. The child care center was aware of the child's allergies.

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

CCSM 1 did not provide appropriate supervision of Child B when she failed to follow the center’s transportation policy. CCSM 1 did not ensure that Child B was accounted for during bus pick up, resulting in Child B taking the wrong bus and being left alone. Appropriate care and supervision was not provided when Child A walked back over to the table and put another child's waffle in her mouth that was not thrown away. Child A has an egg allergy that staff is aware of.

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R 400.8330(4) · R 400.8330(4) Food services and nutrition generally. 2 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP A center shall ensure a child who has special dietary needs is provided with snacks and meals in accordance with the child's needs and with the instructions of the child's parent or licensed health care provider.

Child A’s information record was completed by Child A’s parent and listed special dietary restrictions. The center staff did not ensure that Child A’s meals and snacks were in accordance with the restrictions listed.

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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 6/1/2023, Ms. Jaynes, submitted an incident report to her licensing consultant, Nicole Gibby. The incident report states that a child was left behind in the preschool classroom while children were transitioning to the pre- kindergarten room. On 6/06/2023, I conducted an unannounced inspection at the center. I interviewed program director, Ashley Jaynes. She was informed, on 5/31/2023, around 5:05 p.m., CCSM 1 was transitioning children to another classroom. CCSM 1 was having trouble with another child not listening. She was not aware that Child A left the line while she was speaking with another child. Child A must have gone into the restroom. CCSM 1 did not complete a new name to face, after speaking with the other child and proceeded to take the children to the next room. A parent went to the preschool classroom to gather her child's things and observed Child A in the classroom alone. Child A was taken to CCSM 2, the manager on site. On 06/06/2023, I interviewed CCSM 1. Around 5:00 p.m., CCSM 1 was transitioning five children to prekindergarten. While lining up, a parent came to the classroom door and a child opened the door. The children took off running to the prekindergarten room while the door was open. CCSM 1 assumed they all ran off, 2 including Child A. She tried to catch up with the children that ran. CCSM 1 said she transitioned the children to prekindergarten and returned to her classroom. She was unaware that Child A was left behind in the room. She was made aware a couple minutes later by CCSM 2 that Child A was left behind in the classroom. On 6/06/2023, I interviewed CCSM 2. CCSM 2 was moving children around from preschool to young preschool in efforts to maintain ratios in the classrooms. CCSM 1 transitioned two of her children outside and transitioned the remaining five children to prekindergarten. Around 5:00 p.m., a potential parent arrived for a tour of the center and CCSM 2 saw CCSM 1 in prekindergarten. She was dropping her children off in the prekindergarten room. Around 5:05 p.m., a parent approached CCSM 2 in the prekindergarten room with Child A. It was a very short period maybe a few minutes that Child A was in the classroom unsupervised. I reviewed the sign in sheets and Child A was signed out from his classroom on the iPad at 5:06 p.m.

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

CCSM did not provide appropriate care when she Child A

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 1 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting other forms of corporal punishment.

After receiving the complaint, I conducted a telephone interview with program director, Ashley Johnson, on 12/21/2021. Ms. Johnson stated that on 12/13/2021, a parent observed child care staff member, Victoria Matuniak, yell at Child A, (2-year-old male) and pick him up by his arm pits. Ms. Johnson said Ms. Matuniak admitted to picking up Child A by the arm pits when confronted. The incident report that I received dated for 12/14/2021 states that Ms. Matuniak picked the child up by the arm pits. Ms. Johnson said Child A's Mother was notified and given an incident report. Ms. Johnson immediately reported the incident to licensing and Victoria Matuniak's employment with Childtime was terminated on 12/14/2021. Ms. Johnson informed me that following the termination of Ms. Matuniak, all staff were given a positive guidance course to ensure positive discipline was being practiced at the center. On 1/31/2022, I contacted Ms. Victoria Matuniak by phone to conduct an interview. I asked Ms. Victoria Matuniak what happened on 12/21/2021 that led to her termination from Childtime. Ms. Victoria said Child A bit a child and she rushed over to him to remove him to prevent him from biting another child. Ms. Victoria said after 3 Child A bit the child, she hurriedly picked him up with both hands under his arm pits. A parent saw it on a live camera that records the child's daily activity. The parent called the district manager. Ms. Victoria said Ashley Johnson came in her classroom not long afterwards and asked Victoria if she did anything differently today. Ms. Victoria said, "not that I'm aware of." She said Ms. Johnson told her to tell her everything she did that day. Ms. Victoria said she began to tell Ms. Johnson everything she did. She also told Ms. Johnson that she picked Child A up by his underarms. Ms. Johnson told her she couldn't do that. Ms. Victoria said Ms. Johnson then sent her home that day. The next day Ms. Victoria reported to work as normal. Ms. Victoria was brought in Ms. Johnson's office along with the district manager. They told her she no longer works there. Ms. Victoria said she was never told what she did wrong to be terminated. Ms. Victoria later telephoned some of her co- workers and learned from them why she was terminated. Ms. Victoria said she wanted to ask them to view the video that the parent saw so that it would show that she did not pick up Child A inappropriately but was not given that opportunity. Ms. Victoria asked "how you are supposed to pick up a child, if you don't pick him up with your hands under his arms." On 1/31/2022, I called Child A's Father to conduct a telephone interview. Child A's Father said he received an incident report and was told that his child was picked up inappropriately. Child A's Father was upset by the incident. On 1/31/2022, I called Ms. Ashley Johnson and asked if I could view the video camera from 12/21/2021 to further investigate the allegations. Ms. Johnson said she had to call me back after she spoke with her district manager. She called back and said the camera footage does not remain available after a week. I asked her why Ms. Victoria wasn't given the opportunity to view the video to discuss with her what is appropriate and inappropriate contact. She did not recall Ms. Victoria asking to view the recording. On 2/10/2022, I conducted a telephone interview with the parent who witnessed the incident. Mr. Travis Leonard said he randomly picked up his phone to check on his child. He has two children who attend Childtime. He said as he turned on the phone, he saw Ms. Victoria Matuniak with a child in her arms. The child she was holding was Child A. He said he didn't think anything strange about how she was holding Child A. He said she "forcefully put Child A in a chair and pushed the chair up to the table roughly." He said there was no sound on the video, so he did not hear her yell at the children or the conversation that took place. He said he did not appreciate the way the c

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

On 12/21/2021, I received an additional allegation that Child B (4-year-old female) was touched by Child C (4-year-old female), while in the bathroom together. I called Ashley Johnson to conduct a telephone interview. Ms. Johnson said she was informed on 12/02/2021 by Child B's Mother that Child B told her while in the bathroom at school, Child C touched her vagina. Child B's Mother said Child B did not know when the incident took place. Ms. Johnson interviewed child care staff member, Emily Ray. She did not report seeing any inappropriate behaviors from Child B and/or Child C at any time. I requested contact information for Emily Ray from Ms. Johnson. On 12/30/2021, I conducted a telephone interview with Emily Ray. Ms. Ray is a child care staff member in the preschool classroom. Ms. Ray said she was informed on 12/02/2021 by Ashley Johnson that on 12/01/2021, Child B went home and told her mother that while in the bathroom at school, she was touched on her vagina by Child 5 C. Ms. Ray said she told Ms. Johnson she was not aware the incident occurred. Ms. Ray said the bathroom has two toilets that are separated by a divider. She said the practice had been to send two children in at one time. Ms. Ray said Child B never reported to her that an incident occurred in the bathroom involving Child C. Ms. Ray said she completed an incident report on 12/02/2021, not as an observer of the incident, but as the lead teacher in the classroom. On 01/06/2022 I conducted a telephone interview with Child C's Father. Child C's Father said he received a telephone call on 12/02/2021 that his daughter, Child C, was in the bathroom with another child and touched the other child's vagina. Child C's Father said he asked Child C if she touched another child's vagina. Child C's Father said Child C told him that she pointed to Child B's vagina and said, "that's your vagina." Child C's Father said he and his wife thoroughly questioned Child C, and it was not concluded that Child C touched another child's vagina. On 01/07/2022, I conducted a telephone interview with Child B's Mother. Child B's Mother said on 12/01/2021 Child B told her that one of her friends touched her vagina while they were in the bathroom at school. Child B told her mother that her pants were down. Child B's Mother said she immediately notified the center and reported it to Ms. Johnson. Child B's Mother said she asked the center to please install a door between the two toilets in the bathroom. Child B's Mother said Ms. Johnson told her that a door could not be installed but they would change their bathroom practice to one child going in at a time. Child B's Mother stated that although she wanted them to install a door, she understood that the bathroom was small, and the space may have been limited to add a door. Child B's Mother said although she greatly appreciated the center changing their practice to limiting the bathroom to one child at a time, she decided to disenroll Child B from the center. On 01/11/2022, I completed an onsite inspection. I observed the bathroom in the preschool classroom. I observed the stationary divider between the two toilets. There is a curtain that hangs in the doorway of the bathroom. I observed the sign that was posted outside the bathroom that states their new policy that there is only one child allowed in the bathroom at a time. I interviewed child care staff member Emily Ray. During our interview, I asked how the new practice had been going of only allowing one child in the bathroom at a time. Ms. Ray said it has been a successful change. I told Ms. Ray that children must always be supervised and monitored, during bathroom times. I interviewed child care staff member, Derrick Johnson. Mr. Johnson is a child care staff member in the preschool classroom. Mr. Johnson was employed during the time the incident occurred but said he was not aware of the incident. I mentioned the center's new practice of children using the restroom one at a time as well as t

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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 member to Child Ratio Group Size a) Infants Ito 4 12 and toddlers, birth until 30 months of age 4

On 9/22/2021, I conducted an unannounced inspection at the facility. I interviewed acting program director, Jessica Sawyer. Ms. Sawyer stated she is aware of the staffing issue and is currently interviewing. Six staff members resigned within the last two weeks without explanation. Ms. Sawyer is looking to replace the staff who resigned. She was conducting an interview on the day of my inspection. On 10/21/2021, I interviewed Ms. Sawyer a second time by phone. She stated that she has hired two child care staff members and waiting on fingerprint clearances for a third person. Management has placed themselves in a classroom to assist with ratio. On 10/18/2021, there were five call offs. Ms. Sawyer emailed parents to inform 2 them of the call offs asking if they could keep their child at home. She offered to refund tuition for the day of those children who did not attend. Ms. Sawyer stated that ratio in the classrooms has improved since my visit. She has staggered staff times in the morning and scheduled herself to assist with morning drop offs. Ms. Sawyer has temporarily canceled bus runs for school age children, closed a classroom and adjusted the hours of the center. On 9/22/2021, during my inspection, the caregiver to child ratio was 12:1 and was not maintained in the young preschool room. There should have been a second child care staff member. On 10/12/2021, I conducted telephone interviews with child care staff member 1 (CCSM 1), CCSM 2, CCSM 3, CCSM 4 and CCSM 5. CCSM 1 stated classrooms are out of ratio daily. Management does not assist staff in the classroom. Child care staff member Ellie Ellison steps in a room sometimes, but she usually does bus runs. Ms. Ellison also works the front desk assisting Ms. Sawyer. Ms. Sawyer and Ms. Ellison both are aware of the ratios in the classrooms through parents signing in. Child care staff members are assigned to classrooms knowing they do not have enough staff to maintain ratio. Staff call off all the time due to illness or being over worked. Mornings and evenings are usually the worst because there is not enough staff in the morning to separate children. There is not enough staff in the afternoon due to morning staff leaving for the day. Classrooms are combined and caregiver to child ratio is not maintained. CCSM 2 stated the children in the older classrooms are suffering more than the children in the younger classrooms. Classrooms are at capacity, and they are unable to move children to maintain ratio. CCSM 3 stated caregiver to child ratio is maintained in her classroom now. In the past, before licensing conducted a surprise inspection, the classroom was not maintaining ratio. There have been several call offs by staff. Ratio in the classrooms is causing everyone to not want to be there anymore. The caregiver to child ratio in the infants and toddlers' room is more of a problem than any other class. The toddler room has more children than any of the other classes. CCSM 4 stated the number of children in her classroom varies day to day. Her classroom is never in ratio. Parents are aware of the staffing issue and have expressed their concern about the safety of their child. During the onsite inspection, I obtained a copy of the center's attendance records, which shows the following: 3 On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in infants was 10:2. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in infants was 16:3. The classroom was over in group size. On 9/22/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in infants was 10:2. There should have been a third staff member present. On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in toddler one was 6:1. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in toddler one was 8:1. On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in toddler two was 28:2 by 8:00 a.m. There should have been seven staff members present. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio in toddler two was 23:1 by 8:44 a.m. On 9/22/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 35:1 by 8:30 a.m. On 9/20/2021,

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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 member to Child Ratio Group Size b) Preschoolers, 1 to 8 16 30 months of age until 3 years of age

On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 11:1. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 10:1. On 9/22/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 12:1. There should have been a second child care staff me .m ......b ....e ....r .. ..p ... . resent all three days.

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R 400.8182 · .............p... .............................................................. ........................ R 400.8182 ..R.....a.....t..i.o.... ..a....n....d.............g.rou size requirements. .................................................... .................. ..................... ............... .... ............................................. (3) In each room or well-defined space, the maximum group size and ratio of child care staff members to children, 5 ..... ....... . . including children related to a staff member or the licensee, must be as shown in Table 4: Age Child Care Staff Maximum member to Child Ratio Group Size c) Preschoolers, 1 to 10 Not applicable 3 years of age until 4 years of age

On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 25:2. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 14:1.

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R 400.8182 · R 400.8182 Ratio and group size requirements. (7) If there are children of mixed ages in the same room or well-defined space, then the ratio and group size is determined by the age of the youngest child, unless each group of children is clearly separated and the appropriate child care staff member-to-child ratios and group sizes, if applicable, for each age group are maintained.

On 9/20/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 15:1 consisting of mixed ages 3-5 years. There should have been a second caregiver. On 9/21/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 22:1. On 9/22/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 15:1. On 10/11/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 24:1. On 10/18/2021, the caregiver to child ratio was 17:1.

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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 July 13, 2021, I initiated this investigation during an unannounced on-site inspection. Ashley Johnson, assistant director was present. The allegation was explained to her. Ms. Johnson denied any knowledge of Childcare staff member Allysa Hope being at work under the influence of alcohol. She stated that none of Ms. Hope's actions showed that she had been drinking alcohol. Ms. Johnson reported that she had never received any reports from other staff members or parents that would cause any concern regarding Ms. Hope. On July 13, 2021, childcare staff member Allysa Hope stated that has been employed with Childtime since January 2021 as a lead teacher. She denied that she has ever drank alcohol prior to coming to work. She denied being under the influence of any substance while working with the childcare children. Ms. Hope denied that she has an alcohol "problem". Ms. Hope's behavior and demeanor did not give any indication that she was under the influence of alcohol. On July 13, 2021, childcare staff member Shannon Blankenship reported that she has worked for 16 years as an assistant director at another Childtime location. She said that she has been at this Childtime location only during the summer. She stated that during her time here, she has not noticed Ms. Hope to appear "drunk". She stated that Ms. Hope works really well with the children in care. She said that she enjoys working with Ms. Hope. On July 13, 2021, childcare staff member Melissa Stirgus reported that during her month of employment at Childtime, she has not had any concerns regarding Ms. Hope. She said that Ms. Hope has not appeared to have drank alcohol prior to work. She said that she has not smelled liquor on Ms. Hope. On July 14, 2021, the complainant was interviewed via telephone. The complainant stated that Ms. Hope disclosed the alleged information to a couple people at their facility. On August 5, 2021, Child A's mother reported that she and her child "love" this Childtime location. Child A's mother said that she does not have any concerns with Child A's teacher, Ms. Hope. She described Ms. Hope as highly attentive and awesome. She stated that Ms. Hope has shined during her months at the center. On August 5, 2021, Sue Quinn, program director, said that she has never smelled alcohol on Ms. Hope. She denied that Ms. Hope's behavior has given the appearance of being under the influence. She stated that she has no reason to suspect that Ms. Hope is coming to work under the influence of alcohol. 611 W. OTTAWA. P.O. BOX 30664. LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909 www.michigan.gov/lara . 517-335-1980

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