R 400.8125 · 1 R 400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

I reviewed an incident report submitted by licensee designee and program director Ms. Pamela Bergey. The report detailed an incident regarding Child A being left outside unsupervised on 05/09/2023 for approximately 15 minutes. Child A was left in the fenced in outdoor play area. However, the gate was left open during that time. Child A did not leave the play area until Child A saw another child and a parent walking up to the building. At the same time, a child care staff member (CCSM) was in the hallway and saw Child A standing at the entrance door. At the time of the incident, there were three CCSMs responsible for 12 children. Staff members all stated they counted the children in their heads but counted incorrectly. This was likely due to counting a child from another classroom that was also outside in the play area. Child A was in the playhouse at the time CCSMs counted the children. The other children and CCSMs left the outdoor play area at 11:32 A.M. and Child A was noticed at the entrance by a staff person at 11:47 A.M. Child A's Mother was notified of the incident at approximately 1:45 P.M., after Ms. Bergey interviewed child care staff members. 2 On 05/15/2023, I completed an onsite inspection. Ms. Bergey confirmed the information in the incident report. Child A was left unattended in the outdoor play area on 05/09/2023 from 11:32 A.M. to 11:47 A.M. Child A is in the Toddler 2 classroom. There were three CCSMs present for 12 children in that classroom. At the time of the incident, the Toddler 3 classroom was also in the outdoor play area. Both classrooms lined up to go inside at the same time. Three CCSMs in Toddler 2 counted 12 children, instead of the 11 children that were in the Toddler 2 line. Both classrooms then went inside. Child A remained in the outdoor play space, inside of a playhouse. The gate to the outdoor play area was left open. However, Child A remained in the outdoor play area until Child A saw another child and parent walk up to the door to enter. At that time, CCSM 3 also noticed Child A outside, and opened the door for both children and the parent to enter. Ms. Bergey was not present when the incident occurred but was made aware of what happened shortly after. Ms. Bergey completed interviews with CCSMs regarding the incident and viewed video footage prior to calling Child A's Mother. Ms. Bergey provided written statements from the three CCSMs in Child A's classroom, as well as a brief statement from the parent that walked up while Child A was outside. Ms. Bergey allowed me to view the video footage of the incident. The outdoor play area is in an L shape against the corner of the building. The camera view shows only the side of the play area adjacent to the main childcare entrance. At 11:30 A.M. there are five CCSMs present with two classrooms. At 11:31 A.M., both classrooms line up against the fence to get ready to go inside. The Toddler 2 classroom (Child A's classroom) has 11 children in line, instead of 12. At 11:32 A.M., Toddler 3 classroom starts to head inside, followed by the Toddler 2. All three CCSMs from Child A's room go inside with the children. CCSM 3 is the last staff member in the outdoor play area and is holding a child assisting them with going inside and does not latch the gate of the outdoor play area. The video then shows Child A walk out of the play house that he was in. Child A looks around for a bit, and then goes back inside the playhouse. At 11:46 A.M., Child A walks out of the play house again, and then walks out of the play area, to the sidewalk and begins talking to another child that is walking up to the entrance. That child's mother walks up shortly after that, with another child in her arms. At the same time (11:47 A.M.) CCSM 3 opens the door and lets Child A in the building, as well as the parent and her two children. I completed interviews with CCSM 1, CCSM 2, and CCSM 3. CCSM 1 explained that on 05/09/2023, CCSMs did a head count of the children in the outdoor play

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.