CT DBA AppleTree Knapp Corner

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 of children at all times.

Center staff’s children are included in care and supervision as well as child care staff member to child ratios. Child A was left up front at the center unattended for approximately 25 minutes.

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Smoking or vaping (1) Smoking and vaping must not occur at any time in or during both of the following: (a) In the child care center or on real property that is under the control of the center and on which the center is located.

According to interviews, there was not a teacher vaping in the bathroom at the center.

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Discipline (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (h) Isolating a child in an adjacent room, closet, locked room, box, hallway, darkened area, play area, or any other area where the child cannot be seen or supervised.

The bathroom door was not closed or locked when Teacher 1 brought him into the bathroom with her while she completed diaper changes and helping other children with toileting.

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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 of children at all times.

Teacher 1 did not provide appropriate care and supervision of Child A when she picked him up by one arm and moved him several steps in the classroom. Additionally, program staff did not provide appropriate care and supervision of children in the Early Preschool classroom when staffing the classroom with only one teacher during bathroom and diapering times, as the teacher is unable to provide appropriate supervision to the children in the classroom while in the bathroom assisting children with diapering and toileting.

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R 400.8280(3)(a) · R 400.8280(3)(a) Discipline (3) Time out must only be used in combination with instructional approaches that teach children what to do in place of the behavior problem. (a) Time out must not be used for children under 3 years of age.

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R 400.8125(1) · PR19-R 400.8125(1) Staff; volunteer; requirements. All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate c are and supervision of children at all times.

On 03/26/2025, CCSM 3, CCSM 1, and CCSM 2 provided appropriate care and supervision of Child A when he refused to go inside from the playground. Collectively, they spent nearly an hour encouraging Child A to go inside using various strategies, including, but not limited to, providing space and ample time, offering choices, and offering alternative activities. Child A continued to be uncooperative after he was moved inside, so CCSM 1 and CCSM 2 followed him around the center at a reasonable distance to ensure his safety until his mother arrived.

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R 400.8146(1)(a) · PR19-R 400.8146(1)(a) Information provided to parents. C riteria for admission and withdrawal.

PD did not follow the center’s admission policy when she failed to obtain required documents for Child A upon enrollment that would have provided pertinent information about Child A's social and emotional development. Additionally, PD failed to review the Enrollment Checklist with Child A's Mother that would have provided an opportunity to gather additional information regarding Child A's abilities, challenges, and any necessary accommodations. Ultimately, PD failed to gather all necessary and pertinent information regarding Child A's special needs upon enrollment; therefore, child care staff 2 LANDMARK BUILDING • 105 W. ALLEGAN STREET • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48933 Michigan.gov/MiLEAP members were not aware of any specific special needs and/or accommodations for Child A at the time of the incident.

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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 12/06/2022 Child Care Licensing Consultant Lisa Bush received an incident report from the center's Operations Specialist, Becky Ricekamp. The incident report stated "A Snapchat video was sent to the administrative team within AppleTree & Gilden Woods Early Care and Preschool at 8:37am showing Jared Sietsema encouraging children to hit, kick and punch other children while out on the playground on 12/5/2022. The Snapchat video was recorded and shared by Jared Sietsema." The report went on to state that no child received medical attention as a result of this incident. On 12/12/2022 I completed an unannounced on-site inspection at the center from 11a m-12pm. I interviewed operations manager Becky Ricekamp, who stated that she was made aware of the incident on Tuesday 12/6/2022 as she was driving to work. A witness had seen the video on Snapchat and sent it to the administrative team. Ms. Ricekamp had a copy of the Snapchat video, which she shared with me. The video shows two separate clips. The first clip involves three children, Child A (male, 4 years), Child B (Male, 4 years), and Child C (male, 4 years). Mr. Sietsema is on the playground with a group of children when he starts recording on his phone. There is a caption on the video that reads, "He was being mean to the lil girls, so we told em to get on his ass." There are two little boys standing in front of him and Child B says, "I want to help." Mr. Sietsema repeats, "You want to help? You want some stickers too? You all go over there and teach him a lesson. Go over there and teach him a lesson." The camera then shows Child A and Child B running across the playground away from Mr. Sietsema. Child B runs up to a third child (Child C), who turns and begins to run away. Child A pauses and looks back at Mr. Sietsema and the camera for a moment, and Mr. Sietsema yells to him, "are you scared now?" and Child A turns and continues to run toward Child C. Child B hits Child C, and he falls to the ground, and then Child B kicks him twice while he is laying on the ground. When Child A hit Child C, Mr. Sietsema starts laughing and says, "Oh shit. He hit him in the face bro. Oh my God." The video stops and cuts to a new video clip. The second clip is Mr. Sietsema again recording on his phone. It shows Child A standing behind Child B with his arm cocked back, and Child A holding his head and crying. Child B punches Child A twice in the back of the head, and Child A falls forward to the ground. Child B then stands over Child A and repeatedly punches him, in total around 7 times. Child A lays crying on the ground and looks up at the camera and Mr. Sietsema, and Child B stands up and runs a few feet away, and then turns back to the camera. There is a caption on the video that says "wtf' with 8 laughing emojis. Rather than helping Child A up from the ground, Mr. Sietsema pans the camera to where Child B is standing. Mr. Sietsema doesn't speak during the second video clip, but he does chuckle several times. At no point during the video clips does Mr. Sietsema try to break up the fighting or stop it. Rather, the videos reveal him instigating the first incident, egging the children on, laughing and recording. 3 Additionally, in the first video, there is a second staff member standing in front of the camera. The video does not show their face but shows their coat and body standing within several feet of Mr. Sietsema as he is recording the children. Ms. Ricekamp said that on 12/06/2022 she was on her way to the center when she received the phone call from the administration and viewed the video clips. She called the center and told them to remove Mr. Sietsema from the classroom immediately. She met with him when she arrived at the center and his employment was terminated at that time. Regarding the first incident, Mr. Sietsema reportedly told Ms. Ricekamp that Child C had hit a girl on the playground. He asked her if she wanted him to teach Child C a lesson, or something to that effect, and tha

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MCL 722.115m Child care center, group child care home, or family child care home; requirements for licensure. (2) ... If the department determines that a service, facility, applicant, licensee, child care staff member, or member of the household is not conducive to the welfare of the children, the department shall deny that application or revoke that licensee's license according to section 11.

Child care staff member Jared Sietsema is not conducive to the welfare of children. He video records two incidents involving children hitting and kicking other children. At no point during the video clips does Mr. Sietsema try to break up the fighting or stop it. Rather, the videos reveal him instigating the first incident, egging the children on, laughing and recording.

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R 400.8113 · R 400.8113 Program director qualifications; responsibilities. (3) All program directors are responsible for the general management of the center, including the following minimum responsibilities: (a) Developing, implementing, and evaluating program and center policies. (b) Administering day-to-day operations, including being available to address parent, child, and staff issues. (c) Monitoring staff, including an annual evaluations.

Program Directors at the center failed to perform general responsibilities and management of the child care center including evaluating the program and center policies, administering to child and staff issues and monitoring staff. Ms. Elkins reported receiving several incident reports daily regarding children's behavior. She did not follow through with immediately contacting the children's parents and creating behavior plans for the classroom to keep all children safe. Though she talked with Ms. Fairly about strategies to keep children engaged in activities, she did not follow up or complete observations to assure the strategies were working, she only assumed they did.

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