• Violation

  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 5/23/22, licensee Mary LeRue called to inform me that at about 9:40am that morning, Child A went out the front door of the center alone. She had been working in the basement office when preschool caregiver Esther Bishop came down to get her and tell her what happened. When she got up to the main floor, she saw Witness 1 with Child A. Witness 1 informed her that he saw Child A by Highway 41 as he was driving. He picked up Child A and took him to the center. Highway 41 is two lanes and is located in front of the center about 50 yards away. The speed limit is 45 miles per hour. Mrs. LeRue asked Child A's caregiver, Cienna Stein, how this happened. Ms. Stein replied that she did not know. Ms. Stein is a toddler caregiver at the center and had three children in her group that day, including Child A. Mrs. LeRue then called Child A's Mother and explained what happened. Mrs. LeRue said that she has an alarm that goes off when the front door is opened but that it was missing a part and not working at the time. Records were reviewed and the infant, toddler and preschool caregivers were all in compliance with child and staff ratios. On 5/23/22, Witness 1 was interviewed by telephone. Witness 1 said he was driving on Highway 41 heading North towards L'Anse. It was a little after 9:30am. Witness 1 saw Child A in his lane. He saw a truck pulled off to the side of the road. There was a woman outside of the truck yelling something to Child A. He did not know who the woman was. Witness 1 got out of his truck and ran over to Child A and picked him up. Child A was smiling. No cars were coming from the opposite direction. There were three cars going in the same direction that he had been and he motioned for them to slow down. Witness 1 went and talked to the lady standing by her truck. She told him she did not know where Child A had come from. Witness 1 told her he thought he might know. Witness 1 had a feeling Child A belonged at the child care center so he put him in his car and drove him there. When he walked into the center, he asked Ms. Stein if Child A belonged there. She looked surprised and told him that she did not know Child A had left. He asked another one of the child care staff members to go and get their supervisor. When Mrs. LeRue came upstairs, Witness 1 told her what happened. Mrs. LeRue asked Ms. Stein how this had happened and Ms. Stein responded that she did not know. On 5/26/22, Child A's Mother said that on 5/23/22 she received a telephone call from Mrs. LeRue. Mrs. LeRue told her that Child A had left the center and was headed to the highway and that no one had been aware that he left. Child A's Mother said she was not aware of any other time Child A had left the center. Mrs. LeRue told her she would be getting the alarm on the door fixed. Child A's Mother said Child A did not have a pattern of running off at home. She was shocked to hear he was "on" the road, she thought he had been "by" it. On 5/26/22, Cienna Stein said she was in charge of three toddlers that day. The infant caregiver, Jessica Juntunen, had joined her children for breakfast. Ms. Juntunen had 3 three children as well. There were five children total at the table and Ms. Juntunen had the sixth child in her arms. They finished eating breakfast and she took them out of their seats and put them down on the floor. Ms. Juntunen walked back to her side with two of her children. She walked Ms. Juntunen's last child back to her. Ms. Stein said she could not hear anything at the time because Ms. Juntunen had two infants crying. She walked back to her side and began picking up food and cleaning the table. She saw a red truck through the window that had been pulled off the road then started driving towards the center. When the truck got to the center, she saw Witness 1 take Child A out of the back seat. I asked Ms. Stein if she had been using her cell phone that morning. She said they could only use their phones if it was Mrs. LeRue. When Witness 1 came in with Chi

Child A, 31-month-old male, escaped from the center on 5/23/22 and was found on the highway located in front of the center.

Disposition: Substantiated

Daily progress reports were not received by Child A's Mother for Child A. Child A's Mother was not notified of who Child A's primary caregiver was.

Disposition: Substantiated