1 R 400.8380 Maintenance of premises. (1) The premises must be maintained in a clean and safe condition and must not pose a threat to health or safety.
During the telephone interview with Child A's Mother. She stated she was not satisfied with the cleanliness of the center. One of the program director's, Debbie Marshall, walks around barefoot. There is also mold on the carpet outside of the Prek 1 classroom. Child A's Mother complained about the mold to Ms. Marshall and she was not satisfied with the response she received from Ms. Marshall. However, when she went back to show Ms. Minda the mold, it was no longer there and "must have been cleaned up." Ms. Minda handles things professionally, but Child A's Mother was no longer satisfied with the care and removed Child A from the center. When Child A's Mother informed Ms. Marshall that they were terminating care, Ms. Marshall said "That's ok, you can be done." Child A's Mother also explained that the rooms are dirty and messy when she picks up Child A at the end of the day. When she would drop off Child A in the morning, the same mess would still be on the tables and floors from the evening before. Additionally, Child A's hands and face are often dirty at pick up. Child A's Mother stated she felt the center's overall lack of cleanliness was contributing to illnesses going around the center including a two day shutdown of the center on 09/23/2021 and 09/24/2021. Child A was repeatedly ill while at the center. During the 10/12/2021 onsite inspection, I observed all of the classrooms at the center and did not find any classrooms to be dirty or messy. The floors, counters, tables and bathrooms were clean. I also observed a small patch of what appeared to be a bleached or white area on the carpet outside of the Prek1 classroom. I did not observe any mold on the carpet. During the 10/12/2021 interview with Ms. Janusch, she indicated that she was "an opener" in the Prek 1 classroom and she has not had any problems with the room 4 being left dirty by the closing staff. Ms. Janusch did not have any concerns about the cleanliness of the center. During the 10/12/2021 interview with Ms. Minda, she confirmed that she had received a complaint about mold on the carpet, but when she went to look at the mold, it was not there. Ms. Minda stated that paint had been spilled in that area a long time ago, but she did not see how that could be mistaken for mold. Ms. Minda stated that she is currently short staff so she has been opening and closing at the center. She is helping with cleaning the classrooms at the end of the day and knows that they are not being closed dirty and opened dirty. She reminds the new child care staff members of the cleaning duties and is currently overseeing the training of new child care staff members. During the 10/12/2021 interview with Ms. Neely, she denied that her classroom, the Prek 1 classroom is ever left dirty. She stated sometimes the closers do not make sure that toys are put back on the correct shelf, but the rooms are not left dirty. She denied being aware of any mold on the carpet. On 10/27/2021, I conducted a telephone interview with Ms. Minda. I asked Ms. Minda about the allegations that children's faces are dirty and that the center has been closed due to illnesses. Ms. Minda stated that at this time of year, the children's noses are constantly runny and they try to keep the children's faces clean. She confirmed that the center closed for COVID-19 and in September, the center was closed for two days because of a stomach virus that was going around the center. She denied receiving any parental complaints about the illnesses going around the center or the cleanliness of the facility. On 11/29/2021, I conducted a telephone interview with Child B's Mother. Child B's Mother denied having any concerns about the cleanliness of the center. She indicated that although there have been illnesses going around the center, she felt it was "normal" for the age group and did not have any concerns that the illness was because of lack of cleanliness. During the 11/29/2021 exit interview with Ms. Minda, I informed her I had n
R 400.8380 · Correction status not published