Creative Child Preschool

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 09/28/2021, a complaint was received alleging that Child A (female, 4 years) was found unattended outside the center on 09/24/2021 at pickup by another parent when Child A's Grandfather arrived at dismissal. In an interview with program director Ms. Stephanie Scholz, Ms. Scholz reported that normal dismissal procedure was that she walked her class to the foyer of the center where parents were waiting, then held the door open as parents and children left. 2 There was no "check out" process. On September 24, she was following normal procedure and stopped to hand a packet to a parent. Once the children left, Ms. Scholz returned to the hallway near the child care room, and another parent came in and said that Child A was outside unattended. As Ms. Scholz started running back out the door, Child A was brought into the building by Child A's Grandfather. Child A was crying and Ms. Scholz hugged her and asked if she was okay. Child A nodded and Ms. Scholz said she was sorry. Child A's Grandfather did not say anything and left. Ms. Scholz denied that any like this has ever happened before and said that Child A must have walked out with another parent, as some parents had walked out the door prior to Ms. Scholz holding it open. Child A was unattended for approximately 2-3 minutes. Ms. Scholz denied having any idea why Child A would have gone out without her grandfather, speculating that maybe she saw him pull in the parking lot. There are normally 12 children in the class but only 10 were present that day. Ms. Scholz reported that she changed the pickup procedure and now she dismisses children to their parents individually. Child A's Mother reported that Child A's Grandfather arrived to pick up Child A, walked into the foyer, and there was no one present. At the same time, another parent came in the building from the parking lot and said that Child A was on the sidewalk outside crying and would not come back in the building. Child A's Grandfather did not see her when he walked in because there were a number of other parents helping their children into cars. Child A's Grandfather brought Child A into the classroom and Ms. Scholz was not aware that Child A had been outside. She stated that she was glad that Child A did not wander into the parking lot, the busy road, or get abducted. She denied any concerns with the center prior to this and reported that Child A enjoys attending. Child A's Grandfather reported that he walked into the building to pick up Child A and a father with his daughter walked in behind him, asking if he was looking for Child A. The father said that Child A was outside crying. Child A's Grandfather walked out, and she was outside the door. He denied that she was near the door when he walked in the building or that he saw her in the parking lot. The other parent went in and told Ms. Scholz, who then came out and talked with Child A and Child A's Grandfather. He reported that when he picks up Child A now, the children are dismissed individually.

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R 400.8158 · R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting. (2) A licensee, licensee designee, or program director shall report to the child's parent and the department, directly or via phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of the occurrence of any of the following: (a) A child is lost or left unsupervised.

The complaint alleged that the center did not inform the parents of the incident and that the following Monday, Child A's Mother went to the center to talk to Ms. Scholz about the incident. Ms. Scholz confirmed that she did not contact Child A's mother immediately after the incident. She said she wanted to speak with her in person and planned to speak with her Monday. However, Child A's Mother approached her on Monday instead. She denied knowing that she was required to contact the department. Child A's Mother was upset that she was not contacted about the incident. When she approached Ms. Scholz, Ms. Scholz told her she was going to talk to her Monday at pickup. Child A's Mother denied that she ever picks up Child A.

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