ABC/Algonac Childcare Program

Food services and nutrition generally (7) Infants and toddlers shall be fed on demand.

After speaking with multiple program staff members and parents of enrolled children, there is a lack of evidence to indicate that children in the Butterfly room are not being fed on demand as required by the rule.

View state record

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

After speaking with multiple program staff members and parents of enrolled children, there is a lack of evidence to support a violation that Teacher 1 has provided inappropriate care and supervision.

View state record

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

After speaking with multiple program staff members and parents of enrolled children, there is a lack of evidence to support a violation that Teacher 1 has provided inappropriate care and supervision.

View state record

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 4/21/2021 I made a telephone call to Child A's (3-year-old, female) Mother who stated that Child A has been enrolled in the center since she was 2 years old and has been in the current preschool classroom since Sept 2020. Child A's Mother denied having any previous concerns regarding Child A having any unexplained marks or bruises. With regards to Child A's current injury and how it happened, nobody knows for sure. She also indicated that Child A is 3 years old and she believes "she is making up stories as we go." On Monday, April 19, 2021, child care staff member, Anna Goldenbogen, told Child A's Mother her that Child A was limping. Ms. Goldenbogen told her that she did not know what was wrong with her leg and that Child A said that she fell. Then a few minutes later, child care staff member, Jill Szymanski, came in from outside with the preschool class and told her that Child A was limping. At that point it was time for lunch and naptime. When Child A woke up from nap she was crying and did not want to walk. Child A's Mother had to carry Child A. After they got home, she took Child A to McLaren Hospital where they took x-rays and indicated that Child A's knee may or may not be fractured. Child A's Mother then followed up with an orthopedic doctor who did not see any fractures. The orthopedic doctor recommended to keep her knee wrapped up and rest it for couple of days. Child A does appear to be getting better. Child A's Mother indicated that she asked Child A what happened to her leg. First Child A said she fell in the bathroom, then she said she fell at home, and then said she fell at her grandmas. Then on April 20, 2021, out of the blue, Child A said"Ms. Jill pushed me". Then Child B's (4-year-old, female) Mother texted her and told her that Child B said that Ms. Jill pushed Child A. Child A's Mother did not push for any other information. She did grant this consultant to forensically interview Child A. Child A's Mother stated that Ms. Szymanski is not that kind of person and that she has never seen her be anything but nice with the children. Child A's Mother honestly does not believe it happened and that she has never had any concerns before. Child A remains enrolled in the center. On 4/21/21, I also spoke with Cassidy Gordon, child care staff member by telephone. Ms. Gordon has been working at the center since September 2020 in in the Turtle Preschool Room. Ms. Gordon stated that on 04/19/2021, she did not notice Child A limping but noticed that she was walking way slower. Ms. Gordon did not think anything of it because she thought Child A was tired because it was nap time. Child A had just finished with lunch and was going to her cot to lay down 3 when she came up to Ms. Gordon and said "but Ms. Cassidy my leg really hurts, Ms. Jill pushed me". Ms. Gordon indicated that Child A just came up to her and offered that information and did not elaborate on where or when this happened. Ms. Gordon stated that Ms. Szymanski is the only morning caregiver in the room and that she is the only afternoon caregiver. However, their shifts do overlap a bit and after Child A told her about her leg, Ms. Gordon asked Ms. Szymanski what was wrong with Child A's leg. Ms. Szymanski told her that Child A fell downstairs at her house. Ms. Gordon did tell Child A's Mother that Child A's leg hurt and that Child A said she fell down the stairs. Child A did not fall down the stairs, at least that Child A's Mother knew of. When Child A's Mother woke Child A up after nap time, Child A could not stand up and put pressure on her leg. Ms. Gordon has never witnessed Ms. Szymanski be inappropriate with Child A. On 4/21/21, I privately spoke with Anna Goldenbogen, child care staff member by telephone. Ms. Goldenbogen has worked at the center since September 2020 and in the Dragon Fly Room. Ms. Goldenbogen noticed Child A limping on 04/19/2021. Child A was walking back from bathroom (which is in the hallway) and was walking weird and dragging her right l

View state record

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 10/19/2020, 1 received an incident report from licensee designee and program director, Susan Stringer. The incident report indicted that on 10/16/2020, Child A was in the crib when he took off his socks and climbed on the mirrored side of the crib and then fell out. After he fell, Child A immediately began crying, but was moving all his extremities. The child care staff member caring for Child A was Suzanne Jacobs, who immediately called down to the office. Attempts were made to contact Child A's Mother, who was not answering, so EMS was notified. The paramedics came and checked out Child A who said he was fine. Ms. Stringer was not in the building on 10/16/2020 when the incident occurred. 2 On 10/20/2020, I contacted Child A's mother and spoke with her by telephone. Regarding the incident, she was told that Child A was in the crib, took his socks off, and then put his feet his feet flat against the inside the boards and walked up it. When he got to the top rail, he then put his leg over. The child care staff member, Suzanne Jacobs, was with another a child by the diapering area. She saw Child A doing this and ran to him, but it was too late and he fell to the tiled floor. Child A's Mother did not know what other child care staff members were present or how many children were there. Child A's Mother was told that the incident happened at around 1:00. Child A's Mother reported that she was at the dentist getting fillings, which is why the center was not able to reach her. Child A's Mother is aware the center called EMS. The fire station is right around the corner from the center so someone from the fire department came to evaluate Child A. Child A was not taken to the hospital, he was evaluated in the center office and reported to be okay. Child A's Mother arrived at the center around 2:30-3:00 to pick him up and when she got there, he was full of energy and excited to see her. Child A had a small bruise on his cheek from the fall. His forehead did not really have a bruise but could tell it was a bit discolored. Otherwise he was okay and has been doing fine every day since. Child A's Mother reported that she did not take him to the doctor because she did not feel the need to. There were no signs of a concussion or broken bones. Child A's Mother reported that Child A does like to climb, but he has not climbed out of his crib at home. He will climb on the couch and climb out of his high chair. Child A's has been enrolled in the center since he was 5 weeks old and Child A's Mother does not have any concerns with care and supervision. She understands that things happen quickly and the same incident could have happened when Child A was home with her. Child A remains enrolled in the center. On 10/21/2020 I made a telephone call to child care staff member, Suzanne Jacobs Ms. Jacobs reported that she has worked at the center for 1 year. Prior to that she has worked for many years as a pediatric nurse. She also had worked as a supervisor for an early child development center with children birth to 6 years of age. On the date of the incident with Child A, Ms. Jacobs reported to having a total of 4 child care children in the room. She was the only child care staff member with an appropriate ratio of 1:4. There were two children on cots and two children in cribs. Ms. Jacobs was trying to get the children on the cots to sleep first, otherwise they will run around. One child in the crib fell asleep quickly. Ms. Jacobs was sitting on floor rubbing another child's back and Child A was in the crib. Ms. Jacobs reported that she had a direct line of sight on Child A and stated "he freaked me out". He climbed up wall of crib and she saw that he was going to fall but could not get to him in time. She described feeling horrified as she saw the incident unfold. Ms. Jacobs was afraid he hurt himself and looked at him first because he was crying. Ms. Jacobs then called the office and Nancy Nadrowski, child care staff member, came right away. Ms. Jac

View state record

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 09/24/2020, the center self-reported an incident involving in appropriate contact between Child Care Staff Member 1 and Child A (1 year old, '/2 male. I completed an unannounced, on-site inspection on 09/28/2020 and arrived at the center at 9:45 AM. I first privately spoke with Licensee Designee/Program Director, 3 Susan Stringer. Ms. Stringer stated that she was not in the building on 09/23/2020, but received a message from Child Care Staff Member 2, regarding an incident that she observed between Child Care Staff Member 1 and Child A. Child A smacked Child Care Staff Member 2 in the face and then Child Care Staff Member 1 took Child A's hand and smacked it. Ms. Stringer indicated that Child Care Staff Member 2 also reported to her that earlier in the morning, on 09/23/2020, Child Care Staff Member 1 had pushed Child A in the head to move him and he ended up falling. Ms. Stringer stated that she spoke with Child Care Staff Member 1 on 09/24/2020, who denied hitting Child A. She stated that she only grabbed his hand and admitted he did cry when she did so. Ms. Stringer stated that Child Care Staff Member 1 also denied pushing Child A but admitted that she put her hand on top of his head to redirect him to another direction. Child Care Staff Member 1 denied this resulted in Child A falling, but rather he threw himself on the ground. Ms. Stringer stated that on 09/24/2020, she sent Child Care Staff Member 1 home, notified Child A's Mother of the incident, and then notified licensing. Ms. Stringer indicated that Child Care Staff Member's 1 employment has been terminated. On 09/28//2020 I privately interviewed Child Care Staff Member 2. She stated that on 09/23/2020 she and Child Care Staff Member 1 were the only two child care staff members in the Butterfly Room. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that in the morning, around 8:30 AM, she was sitting at the table while Child Care Staff Member 1 was putting contact paper on the climber. Child A went over to where Child Care Staff Member 1 was, bent over, and reached for the roll of contact paper. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that she then observed Child Care Staff Member 1 push Child A on the head and he fell backwards on his butt. Child A did not cry and was not injured. Child Care Staff Member 2 reported that approximately 15 minutes later, Child Care Staff Member 1 asked her to help her with the contact paper. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that Child A then came over and smacked her in the face. Child Care Staff Member 1 reacted by grabbing Child A by the wrist, pulled his arm into her and smacked his hand "hard". She then placed Child A in the crib. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that Child A began to instantly when his hand was cry smacked. Child Care Staff Member 2 indicated that she left the room to report the incident. When she came back to the room, she took Child A out of the crib at which time he stopped crying. Child A had been in the crib and crying for approximately 10 minutes at that point. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that Child Care Staff Member 1 was still trying to put the contact paper on the climber and she made no effort to console Child A, talk to him, or play with him. Child Care Staff Member 1seemed "irritated" towards him the rest of the day. Child Care Staff Member 2 did not observe any marks on Child A. On 09/28/2020 I reviewed Child Care Staff Member 1's file and found a signed Zero Tolerance Child Abuse Policy and Discipline policy, which she signed at dated on 09/10/2018 acknowledging that she read and understood the center's discipline 4 policy. There is also documentation dated for June 21, 2019 at which time the center policies were reviewed with Child Care Staff Member 1, which included the discipline policy. Additionally, there was a Certificate of Completion for a 2 hour on line training which was titled Responding to Challenging Infant Toddler Behavior dated 12/01/2019. Ms. Stringer stated that she had Child Care Staff Member 1 co

View state record

R 400.8140 · 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.

Appropriate discipline was not used with Child A when he was smacked on the hand on 09/23/2020 by Child Care Staff Member 1.

View state record

MCL 722.115m Child care center, group child care home, or family child care home; requirements for licensure. .. ................................ ................. ............................................................................................ (2) ... If the department determines that a service, facility, applicant, licensee, child care staff member or member of the household is not conducive to the welfare of the children, the department shall deny that application or revoke the licensee's license according to section 11.

Child Care Staff Member 1 is not conducive to the welfare of children based on her utilizing inappropriate discipline methods. She was observed by Child Care Staff Member 2 to push Child A on his head to re direct his movement and to smack his hand. She was also observed by Child Care Staff Member 2 to place Child A in his crib so she could calm down and walk away. Child Care Staff Member 1 was also observed by Child Care Staff Members 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 to be "rough" with the infants and toddlers, to have low frustration tolerance, and to yell at them.

View state record