R 400.1915 · R 400.1915 Indoor space; play equipment and materials. (2) Only space that has received prior approval for child use by the department may be used for child care.

Ms. Ziskie did not ensure that only space that has received prior approval is used for child care.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1911 · R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (3) A licensee and child care staff members shall be up and awake at all times when children are in care, except as provided in R 400.1922(2) of these rules.

On 06/02/2021, When I arrived at the home, I rang the front doorbell twice, and no one answered the door. I then knocked on the front door. After knocking on the front door, I went into the garage and knocked on that door. I then called Child A and Child B's Father and asked if Child A and B were at Ms. Michelle Ziskie's home; he confirmed that they were there. As I was returning to the door to continue knocking, a parent to one of the children arrived at the home. Mr. Jason Ziskie then answered the door and the parent retrieved her child. I observed that Mr. Ziskie appeared to have just woken up. He seemed drowsy and his hair was disheveled. He stated that Ms. Ziskie was sleeping and he went to wake her. I interviewed licensee Ms. Michelle Ziskie and child care staff member Mr. Jason Ziskie. I explained to Mr. and Ms. Ziskie that a complaint had been received alleging that Ms. Ziskie had been found sleeping on two occasions while there were children in care. The first incident occurred sometime during the week of 05/17/2021 and 05/21/2021. The second incident occurred on 05/25/2021. Mr. Ziskie explained that he had been in California during that period. Ms. Ziskie stated that she was having really long days while Mr. Ziskie was gone and she was exhausted. There may have been a few times that she may have been napping while children were in care. She was having a difficult time getting everything done and caring for the children. The children in care were never left alone because her teenage children were keeping an eye on them. I explained to Mr. and Ms. Ziskie that I believed that they had both been sleeping when I arrived. Mr. Ziskie denied that he had been sleeping, but he had been on the second floor of the home caring for a child who was sleeping there. The doorbell is a Ring Doorbell, so it does not ring like a typical doorbell. They are alerted that someone is at the door on their phones. Ms. Ziskie stated that her phone was left in the room where child care children were napping, so they would not have heard the alert. Mr. Ziskie did not have his phone on the second floor. I interviewed Child A and Child B's Father on 06/02/2021. He stated that on one occasion during the week of 05/17/2021 and 05/21/2021, Child A and B's Mother arrived to drop Child A and Child B off to Ms. Ziskie. A young female child answered that door and stated that Ms. Ziskie was sleeping. Child A and B's Mother had to wake Ms. Ziskie up to let her know that Child A and Child B were there. On 05/25/2021, when Child A and Child B's Father arrived to pick them up from care, Ms. Ziskie appeared to have been sleeping. Ms. Ziskie appeared to be tired and her hair was disheveled. There have been past concerns of Mr. and Ms. Ziskie sleeping while children were in care, but he thought that this had been dealt with through a previous special investigation. 3 I interviewed Child C's (3-year-old, female) Mother on 07/09/2021. There have been many occasions when Mr. and Ms. Ziskie have answered the door in their pajamas and appeared very tired and disheveled. She has been concerned that they may have been sleeping, but she did not know for sure. Child C is usually dropped off at around 8:00 am, and there are other child care children present at the time of drop offs. I interviewed Child D's (2-year-old, female) Mother on 07/09/2021. She has not had any concerns regarding Mr. or Ms. Ziskie sleeping while caring for Child D.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1910(1) · R 400.1910(1) Ratio of personnel to children. (1) The ratio of personnel to children present in the home at any 1 time must be not less than 1 member of the personnel to 6 children. The ratio must include all children in care who are not M related to any personnel and any of the following children who are less than 6 years of age: (a) Children of the licensee. (b) Children of a child care staff member or child care assistant. (c) Children related to any member of the household by blood, marriage, or adoption.

A second allegation had been made alleging that on 05/27/2021, when Child A and B's Father arrived to pick Child A and Child B up, Child A was soaked in urine. Child A appeared to have been sitting in wet clothing for a while because it was cold to the touch. Child A is potty trained, but he does have accidents occasionally. Child A is sometimes dirty when he picks them up, but he has never been soaked in urine before this instance. On 06/02/2021, Ms. Ziskie stated that she had explained to Child A's Father that this must have just happened because Child A and Child B had been cleaned up and they were ready and waiting for him to pick them up. Child A does have accidents on occasion, but he is promptly cleaned up and changed into dry clothing. Child C's Mother has had ongoing concerns with Child C being wet or soiled when she is picked up from child care. Prior to beginning child care, Child C had never had 4 a diaper rash. After she began receiving child care from Ms. Ziskie, she began having frequent severe diaper rashes. Child C was recently soaked with urine when she was picked up from Ms. Ziskie's home. Child D's Mother has not had concerns with wet or soiled diapers regarding Child D. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS: INVESTIGATION: At the time of this onsite inspection on 06/02/2021, Ms. Ziskie was sleeping when I arrived at the home. Mr. Ziskie was providing care to the children. There were seven children in care at the time. Minor Household Member 1 (MHM1) was upstairs when I arrived. In the middle of my inspection, MHM1 came downstairs. MHM1 was not present in the same area of the home with the children in care. MHM1 was not providing care and supervision of the children in care or acting in the role of a child care assistant. I completed an onsite inspection on 07/13/2021. This inspection was completed because I was unable to reach Ms. Ziskie by phone to ask additional questions and to complete the exit conference. Ms. Ziskie reported that on 06/02/2021, MHM1 is also a child care assistant and was assisting Mr. Ziskie in caring for children.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1911 · R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (1) A licensee shall ensure appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

I completed an onsite inspection at the child care facility on 1/4/2021. During that time, I spoke with licensee Ms. Ziskie and her husband Mr. Ziskie. Mr. Ziskie is an adult household member and a child care staff member. I asked Mr. Ziskie if he recalled a time recently that he was fighting with Ms. Ziskie with child care children in care. He indicated that recently they were having a dispute over all the things that needed to get done in the home because of the remodel they have been doing along with having young children of their own and running the child care. Mr. Ziskie stated that he felt that he was being attacked and it did not seem to be getting resolved. Prior to the argument Mr. Ziskie had planned on going to visit his family for a couple days later in the week, but once the argument happened, he decided to move up his trip and left that day. He did not remember using any profanity or raising his voice. He did not remember any child care children getting upset because of the arguing. Mr. Ziskie could not recall specifically where they were at in the home but did not feel they left children unsupervised at any time. When speaking with Ms. Ziskie I asked if her and Mr. Ziskie had an argument in front of the child care children recently. She stated that they had a disagreement over who is doing what in the house, but they are working on getting on a better schedule. Mr. Ziskie never got loud. She did not recall any children being upset over the two disagreeing and she did not recall a time that both of them would have been in the bedroom not watching the children. During the disagreement, most of the time they were discussing if Mr. Ziskie would be taking their two boys with him. Once that was decided, she was helping pack them up. I spoke with Child A's Mother on 1/19/2021. She stated that Child A (female, age 6) typically goes to Ms. Ziskie's child care before and after school, but during the week of Christmas break she was there all week. When she picked Child A up on 12/28/2020, Child A reported that Ms. Ziskie and Mr. Ziskie had been fighting all day and Mr. Ziskie was so mad that he left the house. Child A told her that they were in the bedroom fighting while her and the other children were out in the playroom. Child A told her that one of the children was crying because of the arguing between Ms. Ziskie and Mr. Ziskie. Child A's Mother stated that this is not the first instance of the two fighting and that they were recently investigated for a dispute that resulted in Mr. Ziskie being arrested. 3 NOTE: The dispute that resulted in Mr. Ziskie's arrest was investigated by the department. (SIR 2020D1079005). When speaking with Child B's Mother, she stated that Child B (female, age 6) is pretty quiet and shy and does not talk about child care a lot. Child B has never mentioned Ms. Ziskie and Mr. Ziskie arguing. Child C's Mother stated that during pick-ups and drops off she has never observed the Mr. and Mrs. Ziskie arguing. Child C (female, age 3) loves going to child care, so she does not feel it is a hostile environment. Child D's Mother was unaware of anytime that Ms. Ziskie and Mr. Ziskie were fighting with child care children in the home. She stated that she often gets Child D (male, age 2) up in the morning by saying "We are going to Mr. Ziskie's house" and he is very excited to go.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1911 · 1 R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (1) A licensee shall ensure appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

During my interview with Mr. Ziskie, I asked him if he recalled a time that there were children in care and he fell asleep. He explained that there have been times that children have been dropped off at 5:00 AM or shortly after. On occasion, he may have dozed off while they went back to sleep or watched TV, but he never left the room the children were in. Ms. Ziskie stated that she was unaware of a time that Mr. Ziskie had fallen asleep with children in care, but she indicated that Mr. Ziskie gets up with the children that arrive at 5:30 AM and she is still sleeping at that time. 4 Child 'A's Mother explained that on a couple of occasions she has brought it to Ms. Ziskie's attention that Mr. Ziskie has been sleeping when she drops off Child A and there are already children in care. Ms. Ziskie would remedy the situation for a period of time, but then it would revert back to status quo. Child B's Mother reported that on a couple occasions at drop off in the early morning, she would have to wake Ms. Ziskie and Mr. Ziskie up by yelling in the house or banging on the wall. However, no children were in care at that time. Child C's Mother indicated that one time in the summer Child C was the first one to be dropped off and both providers were sleeping upon her arriving at the child care. Now with COVID, she has to drop Child C off at the door and Ms. Ziskie or Mr. Ziskie always meet her there. Child D's Mother has never had an issue with Mr. Ziskie or Ms. Ziskie sleeping when she arrives to drop Child D off. She stated that her drop off time varies between 6:45 AM and 8:30 AM. With COVID protocol, parents have to drop the children at the door in the mornings and there is a motion bell that rings letting Mr. Ziskie and Ms. Ziskie know they are there prior to knocking. Mr. and Ms. Ziskie are quick to meet her at the door so there would not be an enough of a delay to suggest that anyone was sleeping while children were in care.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1911 · R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (3) A licensee and child care staff members shall be up and awake at all times when children are in care, except as provided in R 400.1922(2) of these rules.

On 2/10/2021 I received additional allegation that sometime last year. Child B's Father was able to enter the child care, walk through the home, retrieve Child B from the backyard and leave with her without seeing Ms. Ziskie or Mr. Ziskie in the child care home. I spoke with Child B's Father on 2/12/2021. He reported that when the weather was warmer, he arrived at the child care to pick up Child B. He entered his code to enter the child care when no one came to the door. Upon arrival, he noted that there were younger kids in the gated room to the right of the door, but no child care staff member. He asked one of the younger children where Child B was and he was told she was outside. He walked through the home to get the backyard and retrieved Child B. They then exited the child care home by walking through the home again and out the front door. On 2/17/2021, Ms. Ziskie stated that she remembered this incident because she was upset that Child B's Father did not wait a minute to make sure she saw him. It was towards the end of the day and she believed she just had three children in care by herself. She was outside with the three children when one of them needed their diaper and clothing changed. She brought the child inside and left two school age children outside to play. When she was done changing the child, she went outside to find that Child B's Father had picked Child B up without her knowledge. I asked Ms. Ziskie if there were any other child care staff members at the child care facility when this incident occurred. She stated that is pretty sure she was the only one with three children, but she could attempt to figure out the date based upon the text message exchange with Child B's Father and send me a copy of the attendance from that day. I received a follow up text message from Ms. Ziskie later in the evening on 2/7/2021. In the text messages, she stated that the incident occurred on 8/11/2020. There were two older children outside, she had brought two children in with her to wash them up, and there were two other children inside as well. A total of six children were in care at the time Child B's Father picked up Child B. She remembered hearing the door to the child care and thought it was Child B's Father coming in, but it was him leaving with Child B. She was upset that he did not call her name or wait a minute because she would have been right there. Mr. Ziskie was helping that day, but at the time of pickup he was not in the child care area. Ms. Ziskie sent a picture of the attendance that day and I was able to confirm there were six children in care at the time of Child B's departure.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1911 · 1 R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (1) A licensee shall ensure appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

Another allegation came in on 2/10/2021 regarding children being punished if they do not eat all of the food that Mr. or Mrs. Ziskie give them. Child A's Mother did not have any concerns in regard to Child A being punished for not eating all of her food. When speaking with Child B's Mother on 2/15/2021, she stated that there was concern that Child B was not allowed to go outside because she did not eat her apples on one occasion. On another occasion, Child B was made to sit behind the door on the deck because she did not eat her yogurt. Child C's Mother stated that she attributes much of Child C's love for different kinds of food to the care provided to her at Ms. Ziskie's child care. Many times, Child C would not eat fruit at home, but at Ms. Ziskie's child care she would eat apples and pineapples. The only time that Child C complained about the food was when Ms. Ziskie made her try pickles several times even though she does not like pickles. Child C told Child C's Mother that Ms. Ziskie has a child try a food 10 times before knowing if they really do not like it or are having an off day. Child D's Mother had no concerns with children being punished for not eating the food that is provided. Child D does not seem hungry when she picks him up and 7 does not make a fuss about going, so she believes he is well cared for in this child care home. Ms. Ziskie stated that when she first started doing child care she learned that you serve children the food according to the food program menu. If they do not eat it after being encouraged to eat it, then they can be dismissed. However, children are not given food until the next planned snack or meal time if they do not eat. She gave the example that children may be served a hot dog, carrots, and an apple. If a child eats all of the hot dog and requests more hot dog, but does not eat the carrots or apple, the child is not given more hot dog. This is the same policy for treats, if the children do not eat their meal during the day, on special occasions when cookies or cupcakes are served, the child's treat is put in a baggy and sent home instead of being given at snack time. Ms. Ziskie has never punished a child for any action by not allowing them to go outside. On occasion, if a child is being unkind while outside, she will have the child go on the deck to cool down before returning to the group of children. On 02/24/2021 I provided Ms. Ziskie technical assistance and consultation on rule R 400.1913(3)(d) in regard to not allowing a child to have a treat such as a cookie if they did not eat the meal previously served. I also provided technical assistance and consultation on rule R 400.1931(7) in regard to children trying new foods.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.1913(2) · R 400.1913(2) Discipline; child handling (2) Developmentally appropriate positive methods of discipline that encourage self-control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation must be used. .... .............

There is insufficient evidence that Ms. Ziskie is using developmentally inappropriate discipline. Ms. Ziskie reported that she has not disciplined a child for not eating their food. Child A's Mother, Child C's Mother and Child D's Mother did not have any concerns in regard to their children being disciplined for not eating their food at the child care home.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. Open / not marked corrected.