KinderCare Learning 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 o f children at all times.

Based on interviews with parents and staff, there is no evidence to support that children are biting and fighting because they are not being properly supervised.

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R 400.8263(3) · R 400.8263(3) Child accidents and incidents; child and staff illness (3) Items and facilities used by an ill child or adult must not be used by another individual until cleaned a nd disinfected.

Based on interviews with parents and staff, there is no evidence to support the allegation of teachers not taking care of children’s hygiene and causing children to get sick.

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R 400.8140(2)(a) · R 400.8140(2)(a) Discipline. Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting other forms of corporal punishment.

Based on the interview of CCSMs and PD and due to lack of evidence, I am unable to determine if CCSM 1 used a form of corporal punishment with Child A.

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R 400.8125(2) · R 400.8125(2) Staff; volunteer; requirements. All staff and volunteers shall act in a manner that is conducive to the welfare of children.

Based on our findings, investigation, and review - which includes considering the investigation and findings of MDHHS -CCLB determines CCSM 1 is conducive to the welfare of children and is eligible to be associated with a child care organization.

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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.

Based on the interview of CCSMs and PD and due to lack of evidence, I am unable to determine if CCSM 1 used a form of corporal punishment with Child A.

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R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 Outdoor play area. (13) All pieces of playground equipment that have an elevated playing or climbing surface, regardless of the height of the playing or climbing surface, must be surrounded by a shock absorbing surface and meet the guidelines defined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Handbook for Public Playground Safety, which is available at no cost at www.cpsc.gov. This handbook is also available for inspection, and distribution at no cost, at the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems, Child Care Division, 611 West Ottawa Street, Lansing, MI 48933. The shock absorbing surface material may be either unitary or the loose-fill type. An exception to this subrule is provided for natural Dlavarounds.

On 06/05/2023, the department received an incident report. The report states, "Child A missed his step or stumble while trying to climb a foam block and fell down and hit his mouth/front teeth on the gym floor". On 06/12/2023, I interviewed Child A's Mother over the phone. She said Child A's tooth was pushed up into his gums after the fall. The dentist removed his tooth, and he is recovering. Child A's Mother had no supervision concerns, and her son will continue his enrollment at the center. On 06/28/2023, I conducted an onsite inspection. I observed the outdoor and indoor play areas and found the ground coverings to be sufficient. The playground including the turf has "A" rated and approved inspection report on file with the department dated 05/25/2018. The indoor play equipment has an inch of padding on the floor with the equipment sitting in the middle. All fall impacted spaces under the indoor and outdoor play equipment is appropriately covered per licensing rules. I interviewed the program director, Julie Balestrieri, and Child A's childcare staff members (CCSM) while at the center. Mrs. Balestrieri said CCSM1 and CCSM2 were caring for six children ages, 3 to 4 years old. Child A fell approximately three 2 feet off a piece of indoor playground equipment in the large motor room. CCSM1 saw that the tooth was displaced and administered first aid. The bleeding stopped and Child A's Mother was notified. The director once notified that medical treatment was sought notified the department verbally and then in writing per licensing rules. CCSM1 and CCSM2 was interviewed and provided the same information as Mrs. Balestreri. The internal incident report and the report submitted to the department were identical in the account of events. On 07/20/2023, an exit conference was held over the phone with Mrs. Balestrieri. I told her I was recommending no change in the status of the license.

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

CCSM 4 did not provide appropriate care when she yanked Child A by the arm to get him to move out of the way.

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (1) Positive methods of discipline that encourage self- control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation must be used. ...............

CCSM 4 did not use positive method of discipline that would encourage cooperation, when she "yanked" Child A by the arm. .............. .........................................._...............................................................

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

CCSM 4 use a form of corporal punishment to make Child A sit down.

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

On 08/23/2022, licensing consultant Brandon Robinson and I arrived onsite to conduct an unannounced inspection. We interviewed program director LaQuanta Junious about the allegation. Ms. LaQuanta was not present on the day of the incident but was informed of the incident by Assistant Director, Nina Gonzales who was present and was informed of the incident. Ms. LaQuanta reported that Child A has challenging behaviors and was not surprised to hear he had to be redirected during an in-school activity. We asked Ms. LaQuanta about Ms. Debbie's character. She said Ms. Debbie is a strong worker with an excellent rapport with the children and she has never had any issues with Ms. Debbie. We interviewed Nina Gonzales, assistant director. Ms. Gonzales said on 08/18/2022 in the late afternoon at pick-up time, child care staff member Shelby Trinder was leaving for the day. Ms. Shelby teaches in the toddler classroom. Ms. Shelby is Child A's dad's girlfriend, and she usually picks him up daily when she leaves for the day. Ms. Shelby reported to Ms. Gonzales that when she picked up Child A, he told Ms. Shelby that a teacher pushed him down. He said, "it's the teacher with blonde and curly hair." Ms. Gonzales said she went to Ms. Debbie because she fit the description. When she told Ms. Debbie what Child A reported to Ms. Shelby, Ms. Debbie immediately wanted to speak with Child A and Ms. Shelby because she said the allegation was not true and she denied pushing Child A in the head. Ms. Debbie told Ms. Shelby that during the performance, Child A was disrupting the performance by constantly jumping up and down. Ms. Debbie walked him over by the wall and held his wrist while walking and they both sat down against the wall together. Ms. Debbie told Ms. Gonzales that Child A did not want to be removed from the area where he was being disruptive to sit over by the wall. While Ms. Debbie explained what happened to Ms. Shelby and Ms. Gonzales, Child A kept hiding behind Ms. Shelby. Ms. Debbie kept asking Child A, "tell me what I did.. .tell me what I did." Ms. Gonzales said Ms. Debbie was visibly upset that Child A made the allegations. We asked Ms. Gonzales about her interactions with Child A. Ms. Gonzales said during her interactions with Child A, he has to be spoken to often and can be challenging. We asked Ms. Gonzales about Ms. Debbie's character. Ms. Gonzales said, "Ms. Debbie is one of our best teachers and what Ms. Debbie explained happened, was not inappropriate." We interviewed child care staff member Ms. Shelby Trinder. Ms. Shelby said she picks up Child A everyday due to the relationship she has with his father. She said when she ended her shift on 08/18/2022, Child A, told her that the teacher with the blonde curly hair pushed him down. Ms. Shelby said she did not know the staff very well, so she went to the teacher board with Child A. He pointed to Ms. Debbie's picture as the one he was referring to. Ms. Shelby went to Ms. Gonzales and told her what Child A said. Ms. Shelby said when Ms. Gonzales addressed it with Ms. Debbie, she was upset. Ms. Shelby said, "I know Child A wouldn't lie about that." Ms. Shelby said Child A always listens to her and she never has to go in Child A's class to redirect him. 3 We interviewed child care staff member Brittney Winger who teaches the school age children and was Child A's teacher. Ms. Brittney said on 08/18/2022 she did not see Ms. Debbie do anything inappropriately. Ms. Brittney said Ms. Debbie intervened because Child A was not listening during the performance, and she had to step away for a moment. Ms. Brittney said "Child A can be difficult. He refuses to listen, and he lies a lot." She said Ms. Shelby comes in the classroom often to intervene when he is being disruptive or to check on him. I asked how often in a day would she say that Ms. Shelby comes in the classroom to check on Child A. Ms. Brittney said, "Multiple times in a day." I asked Ms. Brittney to tell us about Ms. Debbie's charac

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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. 3

On 02/09/2022, I interviewed Child A's Mother over the phone. She was told by Mrs. Junious that Child A's teacher put him down roughly on his cot and pushed his head down. She was concerned about what happened. Prior to this incident, she had no concerns about the service provided by the center. On 02/16/2022, I interviewed the program director and license designee, LaQuante Junious. She notified licensing when she was told by another CCSM what was 2 observed. Piper Kwasniak has worked at the center for several years without incident. She was the lead caregiver in Infant Room 2 and was Child A's primary caregiver. As a result of the center's internal investigation, Ms. Kwasniak no longer works at the center. Ms. Junious said during their investigation, Ms. Kwasniak was interviewed and also reenacted what happened. Based on the reenactment she was observed to be inappropriate. She was rough in how she handled Child A but did not seem to feel she was wrong. While demonstrating what happened, Ms. Kwaniak tossed the doll down and put a blanket over its head. Ms. Kwaniak did not say why she did this, as she did not understand why her behavior was inappropriate. I obtained a copy of Ms. Kwasniak's phone number so that she could be interviewed at later date. While at the center I reviewed Ms. Kwasniak's employment file. The file was complete with required employment forms including a signed child abuse and neglect statement and a background check eligibility letter. While at the center I interviewed the classroom assistant Samantha Brawdy. Ms. Brawdy said she observed the inappropriate handling and informed her manager. She could not recall seeing it in the past. She was not comfortable with how Ms. Kwasniak put Child A down. She did not believe the act caused any injuries or bruises but did not fully observe Child A later that day. She said Child A, like many 1- year-olds, did not want to stay laying down but that is not the way to assist. I also interviewed Amanda Griffin while at the center. She was a floater, but she is now the new lead in the classroom. She was not in the room the day of the incident and had no information to share. She denied seeing Ms. Kwasniak be inappropriate in the past. On 03/18/2022 and 05/03/2022, a phone call was attempted to Ms. Kwasniak. A voicemail message was left requesting a return call. To date, she has not returned my call. On 05/03/2022, I interviewed Child B's (10-month-old male) Mother and Child C's (12-month-old female) Mother over the phone. Neither parent had any concerns about the care and supervision provided by the child care center. Both spoke highly of the care provided by Ms. Kwasniak and did not appear to be aware of why she was no longer working at the center. On 05/03/2022 an exit conference was held over the phone. I informed Mrs. Junious of the rule violation findings. She said she would draft a corrective action plan.

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (1) Positive methods of discipline that encourage self- control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation must be used.

On 02/01/2022, child care staff member, Piper Kwasniak, did not use positive methods of discipline that encourage self- control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation when she aggressively put Child A on his cot, pushed his head down, and covered his head with a blanket.

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