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Pulling inspections, violations, and complaints.
Home › MI › East Lansing › Children's Garden Early Learning Community
7868 Old M-78, East Lansing MI 48823 · License #DC190405611 · Center · Center
Not published by the state. Owners can add hours via profile claim.
When they operate
Ages served
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 12/14/2022, Child A's Mother stated Child A (male, 4 years) was diagnosed with autism. Child A has a support person (technician) from ABA 3 Therapy that attends with Child A. One day the preschool classroom was working with water beads and Child A was unable to participate. Child care staff did not provide an alternative activity for Child A. However, the ABA technician provided an activity for Child A. Child A's Mother thought the water beads were for children five years and older and the beads were being used by three-year-old children. Child A no long attends Children's Garden. On 12/14/2022, I arrived at the center and shared the allegations with Ms. Parry. We walked to the preschool classroom. Ms. Parry said the preschool children played with the water beads approximately two weeks prior to the special investigation. She retrieved the water beads called "Orbees" from the cupboard. The box stated the sensory activity is for children three years and older. Ms. Parry stated when Child A does not participate in an activity, Child A's support person will read books to him or choose an area to play. On the day the water beads were introduced, Child A's support person was worried she would not be able to keep the beads out of his mouth. The ABA technician made the decision to leave the classroom with Child A. On 12/14/2022, lead caregiver Mr. Matt Parry stated Child A's support person elected to take Child A out of the classroom during the water bead activity. Mr. Parry thought Child A worked on a Christmas tree with pegs provided by Child A's support staff. On 12/14/2022, child care staff member Ms. Mallory Shephard stated she was not present during the water bead activity. On 01/25/2023, Child C's Mother stated she has had a good experience at Children's Garden. She was apprehensive at first because it was Covid and a first time for Child C (male, 4 years) to be in care at a center. Mr. Parry is good to Child C. On 01/25/2023, Child D's Mother stated Child D (female, 3 years) has been enrolled at the center for more than one year. She has no concerns regarding the care Child D receives. Staff are very attentive and supportive. Child D is doing well with toilet training and Child D's Mother said she receives good documentation on Child D's development. On 02/06/2023, Ms. Parry stated there has been two ABA companies providing support to Child A. The first and previous company would bring a "toolbox" of activities that would promote growth if the technician thought Child A was unable to complete an activity in the preschool classroom. The second ABA company, which is part of this special investigation, would read to Child A or take Child A to an area of the classroom that he likes, such as the block area. Only on one occasion the ABA technician brought an activity for Child A to work on. Ms. Parry stated activities were available for Child A. The ABA technician made the decision whether Child A would participate in the scheduled activity. She is not aware Mr. Parry ever indicated to the technicians that Child A could not participate in an activity. 4
Disposition: No violation found
Child A was not provided alternative activities when he was unable to participate in an activity. Agreed upon "breaks" for Child A when he was overstimulated or as a reward for working hard on a difficult task turned into a punishment. On one occasion, Mr. Parry allowed Child A to take a break from the classroom with a supervised volunteer that is not trained.
Disposition: Substantiated
On 3/3/2022, Child A (three-year-old male) suffered an injury while at Children's Garden Early Learning. Child A's Mother took Child A to the emergency room for evaluation on 3/3/2022. On 3/4/2022, Child A's Mother informed Children's Garden of the medical evaluation via the center's messaging app, Procare. After being informed of the medical evaluation, Children's Garden program director and licensee designee, Ms. Christen Parry did not notify child care licensing of the injury/medical treatment to Child A.
Disposition: Substantiated
There outdoor play area used by Children's Garden is no fenced in. There is a large area of standing water near the play area. Whole grapes and carrot sticks are being served to young children.
Disposition: Substantiated
Generated from this facility's specific inspection record
Data synced from Michigan MiLEAP, Child Care Licensing Bureau on Jul 9, 2026 · Source records · Report an error
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.
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 12/14/2022 Child A's Mother stated Child A would take breaks when he would get overstimulated in the classroom. Child A would be sent to the gymnasium when he would be dumping toys or when he would be actively engaged in picking up crayons. Mr. Parry would remove Child A from the classroom if he was engaged in positive behavior or negative behavior. On 12/14/2022, Ms. Parry stated Child A may be screaming at large group or throwing toys during center time. Staff would ask Child A if he needed to take a break and walk around the gym. This would give Child A an opportunity to self- regulate and then return to the classroom. On one occasion, Child A dumped a lot of toys. Child A was not in a state of mind where he could clean up. The ABA technician wanted Child A to clean up before taking a break. Mr. Parry and the ABA technician were not in agreement and Mr. Parry had Child A take his break prior to cleaning up. Ms. Parry said she is an advocate for all children. She stated there is one ABA technician from the second company that is fully trained, which means she has been determined eligible by the Child Care Background Check system and has completed all other requirements to be an unsupervised volunteer. There are two additional technicians that work with Child A and are always supervised. Ms. Parry has completed a Public Sex Offender Registry (PSOR) and other required paperwork on the supervised volunteers. Ms. Parry recalled a conversation with Mr. Parry where he allowed Child A to take a break in the gymnasium with a supervised volunteer. Mr. Parry told her he stood in the doorway of the classroom and 5 supervised Child A and the volunteer. Child A was never alone with the supervised volunteer. On 12/14/2022, Mr. Parry stated Child A was having difficulty self-regulating. He offered him a break card. The ABA technician argued with him and said he wanted Child A to clean up first. Mr. Parry said he disagreed. Mr. Parry was aware the technician was to be 100 percent supervised and he watched Child A and the supervised volunteer from the open classroom door. On 12/14/2022, child care staff member Ms. Mallory Shephard stated Child A was never punished and made to take breaks. Quite often ABA technicians would initiate the breaks for Child A and take him in to the gymnasium. One day Child A was having difficulty self-regulating. Mr. Parry suggested Child A take a break. The ABA technician disagreed. However, Mr. Parry had the supervised volunteer take Child A into the gymnasium. Mr. Parry stood in the doorway of the classroom which is connected directly to the gymnasium supervising Child A and the volunteer. On 01/25/2023, ABA technician Ms. Samantha Lureau stated she has been working with Child A for about 18 months. She works with Child A three days per week for approximately fifteen to twenty hours per week. Ms. Lureau stated Mr. Parry does not speak kindly to children and often puts them in a calm down space. He does not work with children on self-regulation. Mr. Parry scolds children; raising his voice. He has expectations for a child to look at him if he is talking. Sometimes she thinks Mr. Parry is abrupt with the children and says "no" a lot instead of redirecting behavior. On one occasion, she heard Mr. Parry refer to a child as being the only "normal" one in the group. On 01/31/2023, I returned to the center to observe Mr. Parry lead the preschool group. When I arrived, children were finishing up washing their hands and then they returned to the classroom for snack. I provided consultation to Mr. Parry and Ms. Shephard for the process of washing hands and immediately sitting for snack. After snack, children chose areas in which to play. Mr. Parry and Ms. Shephard moved around the classroom working with children and meeting their individual needs. Mr. Parry and Ms. Shephard were observed to redirect children in an appropriate manner. On 01/31/2023, Mr. Parry stated he has been a lead teacher since summer 2022. He comp
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8112(1)(e) · R 400.8112(1)(e) Comprehensive background check; fingerprinting. (1) Pursuant to section 5n of the act, MCL 722.115n, before an individual has unsupervised contact with children, the department shall determine the individual's eligibility to be any of the following: (e) An unsupervised volunteer. 7
Mr. Parry did not allow a supervised volunteer unsupervised contact with Child A. Mr. Parry stood in the doorway supervising Child A and the supervised volunteer as Child A walked in the gymnasium, gaining self-control.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8158 · R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting. (3) A licensee, licensee designee, or program director shall report to the department, via phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of notification by a parent that a child received medical treatment or was hospitalized for an injury, accident, or medical condition that occurred while the child was in care.
Upon receiving these allegations, I contacted licensing consultant Ms. Sharon VanOrd via email and asked if she had any record of being notified of an incident/accident that occurred at Children's Garden on 3/3/2022. Ms. VanOrd stated that she reviewed her phone, text, and email records and found no 2 notification. I also reviewed child care licensing records within the BITs and SharePoint applications and found no record that child care licensing was notified. On 4/28/2022, I conducted an unannounced onsite inspection at Children's Garden. When I arrived, I met with program director Ms. Christen Parry and informed her of the allegations. Ms. Parry explained that on 3/3/2022, Child A was urinating in a stall of the restroom when toilet seat fell, pinching his penis between the toilet seat and the toilet bowl. Child A's Mother was notified following the incident and the center put a step stool in the bathroom to prevent other children from being injured in the same manner. Ms. Parry confirmed that she was notified on 3/4/2022 that Child A's Mother had sought medical treatment on 3/3/2022 as Child A was complaining of severe pain. Ms. Parry stated that she was unaware that she was required to notify licensing of this situation. I advised Ms. Parry that the licensing rules require verbal notification of the department via phone or email within 24 hours of a parent informing you that medical treatment was sought as the result of an incident or accident that occurred to a child while being cared for by the child care center. I further advised her that she will now need to complete the required written notification within 72 hours. While at Children's Garden, I observed the bathroom where Child A was injured. I noted that there was now a step stool and a toddler seat in the bathroom stall where Child A was injured.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: health medication. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 Outdoor play area. ........................................... ... (8) The outdoor play area must be protected from hazards, when necessary, by a fence or natural barrier that is at least 48 inches in height.
Prior to conducting an onsite inspection regarding this allegation, I contacted licensing consultant Ms. Sharon VanOrd. Ms. VanOrd explained that Children's Garden outdoor play area was observed and approved on December 15, 2020 when she conducted the onsite inspection prior to issuing their original license. At the time of the onsite, there was snow covering the onsite outdoor play area and the properties surrounding the outdoor play area. At no time did Ms. VanOrd see standing water or suspect that standing water was under the snow near the outdoor play area. She confirmed that Children's Garden was not required to install any type of barrier around the outdoor play area at the time of her inspection. On 4/30/2021, I conducted an unannounced onsite inspection at Children's Garden child care center. Upon arrival, I noted that the outdoor play area is located directly behind (south) of the child care center. The building where the child care is located provides a barrier on the northern side of the play area. There is also an approximately four-foot-high plastic style fence installed to span the southern border of the play area. At the southeast corner of the play area, the fence turns and connects to a storage building, creating an eastern fence line between the storage building and the southern fence line. Behind the storage building and beyond the fencing was what appeared to be a drainage area in a low laying wooded area containing standing water. 3 Upon entering the child care center, I introduced myself to Ms. Parry and informed her of the allegations. Ms. Parry stated that when the child care center was opened in December 2020, snow was on the ground and they did not see any evidence of a water hazard. When the snow and ice began to melt in the spring of 2021 and the water hazard became visible in the drainage area, the fence was installed. Ms. Parry later clarified that water drainage is on the property adjacent to the child care center, 6th not on child care property. The fence was installed between March and March 14th 2021. During the investigation, I also spoke with child care staff members (CCSM) Mr. Parry, Ms. Eifert, Ms. Bartley, and Ms. Kurant. All CCSMs confirmed that the fencing was installed immediately after the snow and ice melted, exposing the standing water near the outdoor play area. I also spoke with Child A and B's Mother and Child C's Mother during the investigation. Both indicated that they have observed the fencing but could not provide a time frame regarding when it was installed.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.
R 400.8330 · R 400.8330 Food services and nutrition generally. (11) A center shall not serve infants and toddlers or allow them to eat foods that could easily cause choking, including but not limited to, popcorn, seeds, nuts, hard candy and uncut round foods such as whole grapes and hot dogs.
During the onsite inspection, I spoke with licensee and program director Ms. Parry and CCSM Mr. Parry regarding this allegation. Both indicated that carrot sticks have provided by Children's Garden to children attending the child care. They added that grapes are served when they are provided by parents as part of lunch to toddlers or preschool age children, but never to infants. When served to toddlers, grapes are cut into at least four pieces. Preschool age children are allowed to eat whole grapes. Ms. Parry explained that Children's Garden provides breakfast daily that includes cereal, milk, and fruit. Afternoon snacks are also provided by the 4 center such as fruit, crackers, or pretzels. The center does not provide a lunch and requires children bring their own lunch from home. If a child brings a food from home that would be a choking hazard, the food is cut into smaller servings prior to being served to the children. Following my onsite, Ms. Parry provided me with copies of the breakfast/snack menu from 3/15/2021 until 5/7/2021. Upon review, I found no time in which either grapes or carrots were served as part of food provided to children by the Children's Garden. During my onsite, I observed apples and goldfish style crackers being served to children in the two-year-old and preschool rooms at Children's Garden. This matched the foods stated on the menu. I noted that the apples were cut into small, appropriately sized pieces in both rooms. Toddler lead caregiver Ms. Charlotte Eifert stated that on occasion, grapes are served to toddlers when provided as part of a toddler's lunch from home. Prior to allowing the children to begin eating, CCSMs in the toddler room cut any food that would pose a choking hazard into smaller pieces. She added that toddlers attending Children's Garden have never been served carrot sticks and have never been served grapes that have not been cut down to appropriate size by CCSMs. CCSM Ms. Angela Bartley informed me that she works in the toddler room on a regular basis and has never seen any type of carrot being served to children at Children's Garden. She added that she has also never been working when grapes were served to toddlers, but she has seen preschool age children bring a lunch to the center that included grapes. When this has occurred, CCSMs cut the grapes into several small pieces prior to eating. Ms. Chloe Kurant, lead caregiver in the Children's Garden preschool room, stated she has never observed carrots or carrot sticks being served to children at the child care center. She added that grapes have been served if a parent sends grapes as part of the child's lunch. In the preschool room, grapes are cut by CCSMs upon request. In the toddler room, grapes are always cut into several pieces as to not pose a choking hazard. Following my onsite inspection and CCSM interviews, I contacted Witness 1 who informed me that on 4/12/2021 she observed whole grapes being served to children in the 3 to 4-year-old (preschool) room at Children's Garden. She added that she did not recall observing any infants or toddlers being served grapes. Child A and B's Mother informed me that Child A (two-year-old, female) and Child B (10-month-old, male) have been going to Children's Garden for child care since they opened in January 2021. During that time, she has never seen grapes or carrots being served to children. Child C's Mother stated that Child C (2.5-year-old, male) has been attending Children's Garden for several months. During that time, Child C's Mother has 5 observed snacks being served to children on multiple occasions. When children are served any food, CCSMs at the child care cut the food into appropriate sizes. Child C's Mother added that she has never seen carrots being served but has seen children in attendance eating grapes that were cut into pieces.
Open Not marked corrected in the state record
Category: nutrition. Open / not marked corrected.