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.

On 3/3/2026, Teacher 1 provided appropriate care and supervision of children at all times when she used her cell phone to find music for children to listen to while in aftercare.

R 400.8280(2)(f) · R 400.8280(2)(f) Discipline (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (f) Excluding a child from outdoor play or other g ross motor activities.

On 3/3/2026, Teacher 1 did not exclude a Child A from outdoor play or other gross motor activities.

R 400.8266(3)(a) · R 400.8266(3)(a) Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting (3) A licensee, licensee designee, or program administrator 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: (a) An incident involving an allegation of i nappropriate contact.

Program Administrator did not report to the department directly or via phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of the occurrence of an allegation of inappropriate contact between Teacher 1 and Child A.

R 400.8280(1) · R 400.8280(1) Discipline (1) Positive methods of discipline that encourage self-control, self- direction, self-esteem, and c ooperation must be used.

On 3/3/2026, Teacher 1 did not use positive methods of discipline that encourage self-control, self- direction, self-esteem, and cooperation when she grabbed Child A's face and yelled in her face.

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.

Former Child Care Staff Member is conducive to the welfare of children. There is insufficient evidence that Former Child Care Staff Member forcefully shoved children's heads down on their cots.

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.

Former Child Care Staff Member did not provide appropriate care and supervision, as she was observed yelling at the children on more than once occasion. She also stated, "I may have yelled at a child once or twice."

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

Former Child Care Staff Member did not utilize positive methods of discipline that encourage self-control, self- direction, self-esteem, and cooperation, as she was observed yelling at the children on more than once occasion. She also stated, "I may have yelled at a child once or twice."

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.

Lead Caregiver and Child Care Staff Member 1 did not provide appropriate care and supervision when Child Care Staff Members did not know that Child A and Child B were in the bathroom together.

R 400.8330(10) · R 400.8330(10) Food services and nutrition generally. Menus must be planned in advance, dated, and posted in a place visible to parents. Food substitutions must be noted on the menus the day the substitution occurs.

The child care center is in compliance of providing dated planned menus to parents. Menus are posted on the board at the entrance of the child care center and outside classrooms. Menus are also posted in the Kindercare application. Parents are notified of substitutions in advance on the Kindercare application.

R 400.8335(1) · R 400.8335(1) Food services and nutrition; provided by center. Food and beverages provided by a center must be of sufficient quantity and nutritional quality to provide for the 2 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP dietary needs of each child according to the minimum meal requirements of the child and adult care food program (CACFP), as administered by the Michigan department of education, based on 7 CFR part 226, 1(1)(18) edition, (2018) of the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, CACFP, and is hereby adopted by reference. A copy can be obtained at no cost from CACFP at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/meals-and-snacks. In addition, a copy is 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 center is in compliance of providing food and snacks of nutritional quality that provide for dietary needs of each child according to the minimum meal requirements of the Child And Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

R 400.8122(5) · R 400.8122(5) Lead caregiver; qualifications; responsibilities. Lead caregivers shall meet 1 of the following qualifications shown in Table 3:

The child care center is in non-compliance of having qualified Lead Caregivers for Infant 1, Infant 2, Toddler 1. Toddler 2, Toddler 3, Discovery Preschool, and Pre-K classrooms.

R 400.8182(7) · R 400.8182(7) Ratio and group size requirements. 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 3 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP staff member-to-child ratios and group sizes, if applicable, for each age group are maintained.

The child care center was in non-compliance when there was a mixed age group of children in the Preschool and Pre-K classrooms and ratio was not determined by the age of the youngest child in the group. In the Preschool classroom on January 7, 2025, eighteen children ages 2 1/2-3 years were present with one child care staff member. On January 9, 2025, sixteen children ages 2 1/2-3years were present with one child care staff member. In the Pre-K classroom on January 9, 2025, thirteen children ages 2 1/2- 4 years were present with one child care staff member. On January 10, 2025, fifteen children ages 2 1/2-4 years were present with one child care staff member.

R 400.8122(7) · R 400.8122(7) Lead caregiver; qualifications; responsibilities. Lead caregivers for infants and toddlers shall have 3 semester hours, 4.5 CEUs, or 45 hours of MiRegistry approved infant and toddler development and care practices within 6 months of hire. These semester hours or CEUs may satisfy a portion of the requirements of subrule (6) of this rule.

The child care center is in non-compliance of having qualified Lead Caregivers for Infant 1, Infant 2classrroms that have completed 3 semester hours, 4.5 CEUs, or 45 hours of MiRegistry approved infant and toddler development and care practices.

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.

Appropriate care and supervision were provided by child care staff members, as there is insufficient evidence that children were left unsupervised in the Preschool classroom on December 10, 2024.

R 400.8350(6) · R 400.8350(6) Toilets; hand washing sinks. Soap and single service towels or other approved hand drying devices must be provided near hand washing sinks.

There is insufficient evidence that the child care center was in non-compliance of not providing soap in the Preschool bathroom.

R 400.8380(1) · R 400.8380(1) Maintenance of premises. The premises must be maintained in a clean and safe condition and must not pose a threat to health or safety.

There is insufficient evidence that the child care center was in non-compliance of maintaining the premises in a clean and safe condition or that underwear with feces were on the bathroom floor and toilet paper and a garbage can were not available in the bathroom.

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.

Appropriate care and supervision were provided by child care staff members, as there is insufficient evidence that children were left unsupervised in the Preschool classroom on December 10, 2024.

R 400.8350(6) · R 400.8350(6) Toilets; hand washing sinks. Soap and single service towels or other approved hand drying devices must be provided near hand washing sinks.

There is insufficient evidence that the child care center was in non-compliance of not providing soap in the Preschool bathroom.

R 400.8380(1) · R 400.8380(1) Maintenance of premises. The premises must be maintained in a clean and safe condition and must not pose a threat to health or safety.

There is insufficient evidence that the child care center was in non-compliance of maintaining the premises in a clean and safe condition or that underwear with feces were on the bathroom floor and toilet paper and a garbage can were not available in the bathroom.

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 Group Size member to Child Ratio a)lnfants and toddlers, 1 to 4 12 birth until 30 months of age b)Preschoolers, 30 months 1 to 8 16 of age until 3 years of age c)Preschoolers, 3 years of 1 to 10 Not applicable age until 4 years of age d)Preschoolers, 4 years of 1 to 12 Not applicable age until school-age e)School-agers 1 to 18 Not applicable 4

During the onsite inspection on March 14, 2023, program director/licensee designee Elizabeth Halsey stated that the center is never out of ratio. She stated that it is her mission to ensure that the center is never out of ratio. The center is short staffed so enrollment has been paused until more child care staff members are hired so that the center is not out of ratio. Ms. Halsey stated that the discovery preschool classroom, preschool and pre-k rooms all require one child care staff member in order to be in ratio. There are eight children enrolled in discovery preschool, 10 enrolled in preschool and 12 enrolled in pre-k. All of the children enrolled at the center are full time and attend five days. She does not enroll part-time students as a way to maintain ratio. Child Care Staff Member 1 has been employed by the center for 3 years and she works in both Infant 1 and Infant 2 classroom. Children in Infant 1 classroom range in age from 6 weeks to 8 months and 8 months to 18 months in Infant 2 classroom. Child Care Staff Member 1 stated that the infant rooms are never out of ratio. She stated that a ratio of 1 child care staff member to 4 children is always maintained. If she is the only child care staff member in the room and a fifth child arrives, she notifies Ms. Halsey and another child care staff member comes into the room immediately. Child Care Staff Member 2 has been employed by the center since September 2022 and she always works in the Infant 2 classroom with children ranging in age from 8 2 months to 18 months. Child Care Staff Member 2 stated that the Infant 2 classroom is never out of ratio. There are always two child care staff members in the room if there are more than four children present. Child Care Staff Member 3 has been employed by the center since February 2023. Child Care Staff Member 3 works in the Toddler 1 classroom every day with children ranging in age from 18 months to 2 years. Child Care Staff Member 3 stated that at most there are eight toddlers present in the room with two child care staff members. If the two toddler classrooms combine in the morning there are always three or four child care staff members. When all 16 children have arrived for the day, the rooms are divided with eight children in each room and two child care staff members in each room. Child Care Staff Member 3 stated that the Toddler 1 room is never out of ratio. Child Care Staff Member 4 has been employed by the center for one year. Child Care Staff Member 4 works in Toddler 2 classroom every day with children ranging in age from 2 years to 2 years. There are always two child care staff members in 1/2 Toddler 2 with no more than eight children. Child Care Staff Member 4 stated that the Toddler 2 classroom is never out of ratio. Child Care Staff Member 5 has been employed by the center since September 2022. Child Care Staff Member 5 works in Discovery Preschool every day with children ranging in age from 2 to 3 years. Child Care Staff Member 5 stated that she works 1/2 alone in the Discovery Preschool classroom where there are only eight children enrolled. She stated that for a long while there were only seven children enrolled in the Discovery Preschool room. She stated that the classroom is never out of ratio. Child Care Staff Member 6 has been employed by the center for over two years. Child Care Staff Member 6 works in the preschool room every day with children ranging in age from 3 years to 4 years. She stated that there are only 10 children enrolled in the preschool classroom, so the room is never out of ratio. Child Care Staff Member 6 stated that the center has been good about maintaining ratio for the two years that she has worked at the center. Child Care Staff Member 7 has been employed by the center since January 2023. Child Care Staff Member 7 always works in the Pre-K classroom with children ranging in age from 4 years to 5 years, and sometimes covers breaks in other classrooms as needed. Child Care Staff Member 7

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: (a) Infants and toddlers, birth until 30 months of age. Child Care Staff Member to Child Ratio: 1 to 4 Maximum Group Size: 12

I interviewed the complainant. The complaint stated that they did not have any first-hand information, saying that they heard this allegation third hand from other people. As such, the complainant acknowledged that the allegation may not be true. In addition, they did not specific times or dates. They decided to report the allegation due to concern for the children in care. I reviewed the licensing file. According to the file, the center uses two infant rooms. Infant 1 has a capacity of 13 children ages 6 weeks to 6 months. The maximum group size for children of this age is 12 children. As of the date of the original licensing report, 6/18/2019, the room would accommodate 8 children based on the number of cribs in the room. Infant 2 has a capacity of 12 children ages 6 months to 12 months. As of the date of the original report, the room would accommodate 8 children based on the number of cribs in the room. I completed an unannounced on-site inspection. I observed the center's two infant rooms. Infant 1 contained five children with two child care staff members (CCSMs). Infant 2 contained two children with one CCSM. Both rooms were in compliance with CCSM to child ratio requirements. I interviewed licensee designee and program director, Ms. Halsey. She denied the allegations. She stated that the center uses two rooms for infant care, with each room caring for up to eight children. The center currently has 16 infants enrolled; however, several of those infants attend part time. The center maintains the required CCSM to child ratio requirements of one CCSM to every four children. She works hard to be aware of both the children's and CCSM's schedules. If there is an additional CCSM on site, the second caregiver will go into the infant room once the four child arrives, so they are fully ready for the fifth child to arrive. If the CCSM is not already on site, she schedules CCSMs to arrive into the rooms 15 minutes before the fifth child is scheduled to arrive, again to ensure compliance with the rules. In addition, Infant 1 closes every Monday and Infant 2 closes every Friday, based on CCSMs availability to work in the rooms. The children that attend the closed rooms are not in the center on those days. In the event a CCSM does not report to work, the parents will be contacted prior to drop off asking if they are willing to stay home in exchange for tuition credits. If parents are not able to volunteer, she is forced to pick which children cannot attend, or in some cases she will close the room completely. In addition, Ms Halsey stated that she does not assign herself to a room as to assist with breaks or provide coverage if needed. She also employees an additional support staff person as a floater who can also assist with room coverage. Ms. Halsey stated that the main infant CCSMs include Ms. Stephens, Ms. Schlueter, Ms. Levitan, and Ms. Roth. The four CCSMs work long hours four days a week to assure proper coverage, again stating that the infant rooms are only open four days a week. 3 I reviewed the child and CCSM daily attendance logs for the two infant rooms for nine different days in the month of December. The largest number children in either of the infant rooms totaled eight children at one time with two CCSMs. Based on the attendance logs, the center was also in compliance with the required one CCSM to four children. In addition, I also noted that I also completed two previous unannounced inspections to this center on 9/20/2022 and 11/10/2022. During both those inspections, both infant rooms were in compliance with room capacity and CCSM to child ratio requirements. I interviewed CCSM, Ms. Stephens. She has been employed at the center since September 2022 and works in the Infant 2 room. She denied the allegations saying that the center is "great" at maintaining one CCSM to four children, as it is a priority of the center. Both infant rooms have eight children at most with two CCSMs. The CCSMs are scheduled to arrive early to

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 11/4/2022, did not provide Child A with positive methods of discipline, admitted to yelling at Child A. This was also observed by CCSM and Child B's Father. In addition, has been observed on past occasions being stern and or yelling. was terminated because of this incident.

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

On 11/4/2022, lightly shook Child A to get his attention. Child was examined by medical professionals, and he was not injured. Child B's Father observed put her hands on Child A just below his elbows with i warms together in front of him. Child A looked distracted as she turned Child A's body toward her so that he would look at her. The physical interaction seemed to be more to get his attention. Child B's Father described it saying that Child A's head had no movement back and forth, nor did he lose any neck control. Child A was not crying, he did not wince, nor did he seem worried. According to Ms. Halsey, told her that she took Child A lightly by the arms an "veryWigt " shook him to et his attention saying, "look at me, trying to talk to you." ■ was terminated because of this incident.

R 400.8128 · R 400.8128 Staff; volunteer; tuberculosis. A center shall keep on file at the center evidence to verify that each child care staff member and each volunteer who has contact with children at least 4 hours perweek for more than 2 consecutive weeks is free from communicable tuberculosis (TB). Verification of TB status is required within 1 year before employment or volunteering.

I interviewed Ms. Hughes, the center's assigned child care licensing consultant with the department. Ms. Hughes was last on site at the center in December 2021. According to Ms. Hughes, the center has had recent changes in leadership, to include Ms. Halsey as the new program director and licensee designee. I completed an on-site inspection to the center. I interviewed Ms. Halsey, program director and licensee designee. According to Ms. Halsey, she is new to the position following a large child care staff member turnover. She is currently working with retired program director to review all child care staff member( CCSM)f iles to correct anything that may be missing. Ms. Halsey indicated that she is motivated to follow the licensing rules and regulations. I discussed with Ms. Halsey the requirement or the center to maintain evidence to verify that each CCSM that has had contact with children at least 4 hours per week for more than 2 consecutive weeks is free from communicable tuberculosis (TB). Ms. Halsey identified 16 current child care staff members. One of the CCSMs has not yet worked the minimum amount of time that would require this documentation. Of the remaining 15 CCSMs, 10 CCSMs lacked TB test verification. I spoke with Ms. Halsey a second time. She provided documentation that nine of the CCSMs previously identified have now completed their TB tests. She continues to work with the CCSMs to obtain this documentation.

R 400.8131 · R 400.8131 Professional development requirements. (10) All child care staff members who work directly which children are required to be trained in first aid and pediatric, child, and adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within 90 days of being hired. Prior to issuing a license to operate a child care center, and prior to the renewal of a license, the department shall verify that at least 50% of the child care staff members who work directly with children are currently certified in first aid and pediatric, child, and adult CPR. 4 Each of these child care staff member's first aid and CPR certificates must be valid and retained on file in the center.

I interviewed Ms. Halsey. I discussed with her the requirement for all CCSMs who word directly with children to be training in first aid and CPR within 90 days of being hired. In addition, prior to issuance and renewal of a license, at least 50% of the CCSMs who work directly with children must be certificated in first aid and CPR. This verification must be retained on file in the center. Ms. Halsey identified 16 current CCSMs. Five of the CCSMs has not yet worked the minimum amount of time that would require this documentation. Of the remaining 11 CCSMS, 6 CCSMs lacked documentation of completed training in first aid and CPR. In addition, the center had documentation that only one of the 16 CCSMs was valid certification in CPR and First Aid, despite needing 50% certified. Ms. Halsey stated that the center is scheduled to completed CPR and First Aid training on 10/11/2022. I spoke with Ms. Halsey a second time. Ms. Halsey provided documentation that 50% of the 16 CCSMS previously identified are now certificated in CPR and First Aid. She continues to work with the CCSMs to obtain the required training documentation.