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.

On 1/13/2021, at 12:13pm I received a phone call from the Program Director and Licensee Designee at the time, Jamie Richter. Ms. Richter indicated that Child A, pushed open a door and ran toward the road. The children 2 and staff were in the hallway putting on their snow pants and jackets. Child Care Staff Member Tiffany DeBoer "turned her back for a second" and that is when Child A ran toward the door, pushed it open and ran outside. Ms. Richter explained that Child A's guardian reported that he did this with her a few weeks prior and ran two blocks. I explained to Ms. Richter that if she and staff had the knowledge that Child A may run from them, they should have had increased supervision to ensure this did not happen. On 1/13/2021, I interviewed Child A's guardian, who described Child A as "a challenging child and said that she was in the process of seeking additional interventions for him and his behavior. She added that she has alarms on her doors because he does not understand the danger associated with running into the streets and when she has gone on a walk with him, she "can't keep him out of the street." The center staff were aware that Child A had tried to run from Child A's guardian and that she had ongoing issues. Child A's guardian stated that she felt the staff at the center had been helpful in trying to accommodate her and Child A. On 1/26/2021, I had a virtual conference with Superintendent Katherine Bertolini, Program Director Jamie Richter and Child Care Licensing Area Manager Yolanda Sims. Ms. Bertolini explained that she is working with Eaton Regional Education Service Agency (RESA). Jennifer McCaffrey the early childhood specialist for RESA will be coming to do some observations as well as pulling in various specialists to offer specialized trainings. Ms. Bertolini reported that Ms. Richter was working on handbooks for staff training purposes that will outline various situations such as aggressive children or children that run away and the appropriate responses from staff members. Ms. Richter and Ms. Bertolini explained that there are four children enrolled in their child care that have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and these children cannot be expelled from care. I asked about the Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) programs that the school district offers, which Ms. Bertolini said the district does offer them, however they are not full day programs, and the children would still need care provided. I asked if there had been any additional interventions added to ensure that Child A could not leave the building. Ms. Richter explained that an alarm on the exterior doors had been added, staff were trained in CPI, a course on how to properly restrain a child that may harm themselves or others, and there is a posting for additional staff. As of 02/13/2021, Ms. Richter was no longer employed with the child care center, When I spoke with Ms. Bertolini on 02/17/2021, she explained that she was asking the principal of Fuller Street Elementary, Trent Harvey to be the interim director as they completed interviews. The child care was also closing their preschool program for two weeks to allow staff time to; retrain to better meet student's needs, hire additional staff to meet required ratios and, develop policies on supervision and care expectations. On 02/23/2021, while onsite, I observed the alarms on the exterior doors that are in the childcare area. 3 On 3/5/2021, I interviewed Child Care Staff Members Kayleigh Erk and Tiffany DeBoer. Ms. Erk is the lead teacher for the preschool room and reported that there were three staff which was in ratio for the day. Child A was in the hall with Ms. DeBoer who was getting children dressed to go outside. Ms. Erk and another staff member were in the room with the children that were already dressed. Ms. DeBoer got Child A dressed, told him to go into the classroom with the other children, then turned to help another child get dressed and that is when Child A left

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8122 · R 400.8122 Lead caregiver; qualifications; responsibilities. (5) Lead caregivers shall meet 1 of the following qualifications shown in Table 3: Education Coursework in Early Hours of Experience Childhood Education, Child development, or a Child-Related Field. a)Bachelor's degree or NIA NIA higher in early childhood development, or a child- related field b)Montessori credential NIA 480 hours with c)Associate's degree or N/A N/A higher in early childhood education or child development d)Valid child development N/A 480 hours credential with -> e)High school diploma or 12 semester hours 960 hours GED with -> and -> f)High school diploma or 12 semester hours, 18 1,920 hours GED with -> CEUs, or a combination to equal 180 clock hours with -> g)High school diploma or 6 semester hours, 9 CEUs, 3,840 hours GED with -> or a combination to equal 90 clock hours with

On 10/22/2020, I interviewed licensee designee and program director Jamie Richter who informed me that she knew there would be some allegations called into licensing. She terminated an employee and the employee, and her husband said they were going to call in complaints. Ms. Richter reported that there was one employee currently enrolled in elementary education classes and she was reviewing the requirements for the employee to be a substitute lead. On 11/19/2020, Ms. Richter reported that she had qualified lead caregivers as she is the lead in the toddler room. Child care staff member (ccsm) Kayleigh Erk is the lead in the infant room and Kaylie Collier is the lead in the preschool room. Both staff members have their CDAs completed. During the inspection completed on 08/26/2020 for special investigation (2020D0248014) I reviewed Ms. Erk and Ms. Collier's credentials and they both met qualifications for a lead caregiver. On 12/14/2020, I interviewed Child A's Mother who stated that Bethany Edgell was the lead caregiver in the toddler room. She did not meet qualifications and never enrolled in courses like she was supposed to. In special investigation 2020D0248014, I investigated the allegation that leads were not qualified, specifically Ms. Edgell. The center was not cited for the lead qualifications because Ms. Richter was serving as the lead with Ms. Edgell and per the guidance from LARA on Executive Order — 83, centers were allowed to have laxed requirements for lead caregivers during the state of emergency. When I interviewed Ms. Richter on 11/ 19/2020, she reported that after the investigation Melissa Willett became the lead caregiver. Ms. Willett met qualifications however Ms. Willett was terminated, and Megan Wilmath was placed in the room as the lead caregiver. Ms. Wilmath was enrolled in an online program, and since Ms. Wilmath left the center, Ms. Richter is back in the room as the lead caregiver. Child care staff member Taylor Lemance reported that child care staff member Bethany Edgell did not meet qualifications for a lead caregiver when she was the lead caregiver in the room. On 12/14/2020, I interviewed Kayleigh Erk. She stated that there was a time when all the rooms did not have qualified lead caregivers. Bethany Edgell was the lead and she had not completed all requirements. I interviewed Child B's Mother and Child C's Mother on 12/14/2020. They both reported no concerns with the lead staff member's qualifications in the rooms. I left a message for Child D's Mother on 12/14/2020, and did not receive a return call by the completion of the investigation. 3

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: recordkeeping. Open / not marked corrected.

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. 1

On 11/19/2020, licensee designee and program director Jamie Richter reported that she had not been told from any parents about child care staff member Kayleigh Erk sleeping in the room. Ms. Richter stated that child care staff member Taylor Lemance reported to her approximately two or three months ago that Ms. Erk was sleeping in the room. Ms. Richter stated that she had never witnessed this, and that as a result she gave Ms. Erk a verbal warning and she would go into the room frequently to observe Ms. Erk. 4 Ms. Richter was aware of a concern with a child that was biting often, but she reported that staff were aware and working to redirect and intervene keeping the child separate from others. I interviewed Child A's Mother on 12/14/2020. She came into to classroom one day to check on Child A and observed Ms. Erk sleeping in the chair while the children were sleeping. This was the only time that Child A's Mother witnessed this, and she did not report it to Ms. Richter at the time. Child A's Mother also reported that Child A was bit approximately four times in a few weeks' time frame by the same child and staff members were not addressing this. Child A's Mother added that she left the center due to these incidents. On 12/14/2020, I interviewed child care staff member Taylor Lemance. She reported that she worked with Ms. Erk and on one occasion witnessed what appeared to be Ms. Erk sleeping in the room. Ms. Lemance was working with Ms. Erk and left the room for an unknown amount of time talk with Ms. Richter. When she returned, she observed Ms. Erk with her head down on the desk. After about 15 minutes of Ms. Erk not moving Ms. Lemance tried to take a picture of Ms. Erk, which "startled her" and she lifted her head. This was the only incident witnessed, however Ms. Lemance stated that others had mentioned that they also witnessed Ms. Erk sleeping. Ms. Lemance also reported a concern with the amount of time Ms. Erk would spend trying to get the infants in the room to sleep. She added that Ms. Erk would always keep the lights off in the room and would place the children in the cribs when they were not tired causing them to cry. On one occasion Ms. Erk asked Ms. Lemance to nurse her daughter so she would go to sleep. When her daughter would not go to sleep and was playing with another infant, she tried to turn on a lamp in the area where the children were playing and Ms. Erk would not allow her to turn on the lamp. Ms. Richter explained that the concern about Ms. Erk putting children to sleep in their cribs when they were not tired was brought to her attention. However, she had "been in the room several times and did not see any indication of that." Ms. Erk told Ms. Richter that "the kids were acting tired (rubbing their eyes) so she had put them in their cribs. When Taylor Lemance walked in, the kids were in their cribs crying, however Ms. Erk had just placed them there to try to get them to go to sleep." I explained to Ms. Richter that children cannot be left in confining equipment for more than 30 minutes if awake per rule 400.8179(7). I asked Ms. Richter if she has had any parents or other staff bring forward complaints regarding Ms. Erk. She stated that only Child A's Mother and Ms. Lemance have said anything negative about her. She believed that the statements were more personally motivated by their feelings for Ms. Erk. On 12/14/2020, I interviewed child care staff member Kayleigh Erk. She was aware of the allegations and said that they were completely false. She believed the allegations were made by two staff members that did not like her and were possibly upset that she received the lead caregiver position instead of them. Ms. Erk 5 explained that she asked Child A's Mother and Ms. Lemance for their account of when they witnessed her sleeping in the room and asked when it happened. She never received a response validating the allegation. Ms. Erk confirmed that she had a child in the room that would bite other children, how

R 400.8155 · R 400.8155 Child accidents and incidents; child and staff illness. (1)A center shall have a written plan for how and when a parent is notified when personnel observe any of the following: (b) A child experiences an accident, injury, or incident.

The child care center was notifying parents when a child experienced an incident however they did not document the incidents as stated in their policy. The biting policy also states that parents will receive an ouch report, and Child A's Mother and Child B's Mother indicated that they did not receive reports after Child A and Child B were bitten. ................

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: health medication. Open / not marked corrected.

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 09/25/2020, I received an email and an incident report from Program Director and Licensee Designee Jamie Richter. Ms. Richter indicated that the school age class had been left unattended when herself and child care staff member Meghan Wilmath were working. The classroom was unsupervised, and Child C choked Child A. Ms. Richter reported that there were 13 school aged children in the room, and they were within ratio. Ms. Richter stated that Meghan Wilmath left the classroom to give another staff member a restroom break. Ms. Wimath returned to the classroom and Child B ran out of the room and Ms. Richter followed him. Ms. Richter was aware that Ms. Wilmath came in the room but did not realize that Ms. wilmath immediately went into the bathroom located in the room which resulted in the room being unsupervised. 3 When I received the incident report, I attempted to contact Child A's Mother and left a message for her. On 10/08/2020, I conducted an unannounced onsite inspection and interviewed Ms. Richter. Ms. Richter explained that the Child B has been known to run from staff and leave the room and has done so in the past. Ms. Richter reported that there were 13 school aged children present with child care staff member Meghan Wilmath. Ms. Richter was an extra staff member to assist with Child B. On 09/25/2020, the children in the room were unsupervised for 90 seconds according to the cameras in the hallway. Ms. Richter explained that as she was trying to get Child B to come back to the room a child yelled out in the hall that she needed help. Ms. Richter asked that child to get Ms. Wilmath instead. The child indicated that Ms. Wilmath was busy or not here and that Child C was choking Child A. Ms. Richter immediately grabbed Child B to run back to the room. Once she returned to the room, she realized that the Ms. Wilmath was in the restroom and the children had been unsupervised. Ms. Richter notified Child A's Mother and Child C was sent home for the remainder of the day. Child A's Mother told Ms. Richter that she believed there have been additional incidents where Child A has been injured and no one has witnessed it. Ms. Richter stated that she was not aware of anything. Ms. Richter reported that Child C has had some difficulties with other children as well as with staff members. Child C has outbursts, throws things, and behaves aggressively. I asked Ms. Richter about Child B running from the room and if there were additional interventions in place for Child B in response to the corrective action plan from the previous special investigation 2020D0248010. Ms. Richter said that she was the second staff member in the room for Child B and they were within ratio. I explained that with Child B and Child C potentially needing additional support that maybe they should not be in the same room when present at the center. I received an email from child care staff member Meghan Wilmath on 10/08/2020. She explained that she was in the classroom with Ms. Ritcher. She left the room to give another staff a break. Once she returned, she had an emergency and needed to step into the restroom attached to the child care room. Ms. Wilmath saw that Ms. Richter was in the room and then quickly rushed into the restroom. When Ms. Wilmath was coming out of the restroom everything with Child A, Child B and Child C had happened and she was unaware of everything that took place. Ms. Richter was talking with Child C and had contacted his parents to come pick him up. Ms. Wilmath stated that she checked in with Child A to make sure he was ok. On 10/19/2020, I received an email from Program Director Jamie Richter indicating that a child had been left unattended on the playground. Ms. Richter explained that there were three staff members and 10 children ages one to three years outside. A child had left prior to the children going outside and another child left during their time outside. When staff came inside, they counted the children and thought they had everyone

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.