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 05/26/2023, Tricia Hughes, Head Start Coordinator with the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD), notified me via email that on 05/25/2023 during a field day event of which parents were in attendance, Child A was left unsupervised on the playground for approximately 10 minutes with Child B and Child B's Mother. Child B's Mother brought Child A back into the center from the playground, dropping her off with child care staff member (CCSM) 6. Later that day I received the written incident report from Ms. Hughes. On 06/01/2023, I left a voicemail message for Child A's Father. On 06/01/2023, I completed an unannounced onsite inspection at the center and interviewed program director Theresa Ochoa-Jones and CCSM's 3-7. Ms. Ochoa- Jones stated that CCSM's 1 and 2 were responsible for Child A on 05/25/2023. At the time of the onsite inspection, they were on unpaid leave and were to return on 06/05/2023. Ms. Ochoa-Jones was present on 05/25/2023 and heard an unknown CCSM say that they couldn't find Child A. At this time, she was in the west wing of the building assisting with bussing duties. A few minutes later, as she was walking toward Child A's room, she heard another unknown CCSM say that CCSM 6 had Child A. When she arrived at Child A's room, Child A was present. She was told that Child B's Mother brought Child A back into the building because she was left on the playground. She called Child B's Mother who stated that Child A was crying on the playground, and she was out there with her for approximately 10 minutes. Ms. Ochoa-Jones confirmed that there was no video to review. She notified Child A's Father of the incident when he arrived at the center at the end of the day to pick up Child A. She and Ms. Hughes met with CCSM's 1 and 2 on 05/30/2023 and provided them with their disciplinary plans. They were disciplined as they were responsible for Child A. As far as she knows, CCSMs 1 and 2 have never been disciplined for similar activities. CCSM 3 stated that during the time of the incident, she was exiting the building to see if the playground was empty so she could begin cleaning up after the event. She passed CCSM 2 leaving the playground and entering the building with two parents. She saw CCSM 1 walking on the playground and could not recall if she had a child. She went to begin breaking down the photo booth and noticed 2 parents with their 3 children and Child A was with them. The children all had matching shirts that were created for the event, so she knew that they were in the same class. She added that nothing seemed off, so she continued to break down the photo booth. She was not involved further. CCSM 4 stated that on the day of the incident, as she was walking out to the playground to help clean, she asked CCSM 1 what help was needed. CCSM 1 handed her the red emergency backpack and asked her to give it to CCSM 2 on the playground, as she needed to go into the building and grab some children's backpacks. She took the backpack and gave it to CCSM 2 and told her that 1 went into the building. She then assisted by bringing items into the building, collected items for children, and delivered a child's backpack. She was not involved further. CCSM 5 confirmed that at the time of the incident, she left the playground to assist a child with getting ready for the bus. As she was in the hallway, she passed CCSM 1 who she observed enter her room. As they were waiting for the bus, she was told that a child was missing their medication. She re-entered the building and when she arrived at the room, CCSM 2 was in there without any children. She retrieved the medication from her and took it back to the child waiting for the bus. After the bus arrived, she went to the playground to assist with clean up. She was only there for a few minutes when CCSM 1 approached asking if anyone had Child A. She yelled to the other nearby staff who all stated that they had not seen Child A. CCSM 1 then asked if CCSM 8 was on the playground as she

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.