Valley Kids Learning Center

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. 4

I conducted an unscheduled on-site inspection on 03/16/2022. I interviewed program director Katie Johnson and child care staff members Sammy Walker and Grace Miller. I interviewed Ms. Johnson first. She advised that Child A's Mother came to her on 03/09/2022 when she arrived to pick up Child A. Child A's Mother told her that she had been watching the video camera that day and that she had some concerns. She had observed child care staff member Grace Miller grab a child and throw him down on his cot. She also saw Ms. Miller drape her legs over a child to prevent the child from getting off his cot, after the child had gotten up multiple times. After speaking with Child A's Mother, Ms. Johnson watched video of the room. She observed Ms. Miller bringing a child to his cot and setting him down. She said Ms. Miller did not throw him but she was "more rough" than she would like to see. She also observed Ms. Miller placing her leg over a child to keep him from getting off his cot. Ms. Johnson spoke with Ms. Miller and the other child care staff members that had been in the room that day. They all expressed some level of frustration due to the room being out of sorts that day. Child A was new to the center that week and was not easily adjusting to the child care environment. Another child was returning from being away for a while and was also not doing well. Both children were crying a lot and were not easy to console. Ms. Johnson spoke with Ms. Miller about the way she handled each situation observed on the camera. She told her never to restrain a child's movement in any way. She also told her that if she reaches a level of frustration, she should ask for help from other child care staff members or from administration. Ms. Johnson said she started "coaching and mentoring" Ms. Miller in the room, teaching her how to handle certain situations and teaching her about licensing rules and regulations. She said she is also closely monitoring the video of the room. After speaking to Ms. Johnson, I interviewed Ms. Walker. She was present on 03/09/2022. She said ,"we were all kind of frustrated that day". There was more crying in the room than usual and children were climbing on tables over and over, needing more direct attention than usual. She saw Ms. Miller getting children off the tables and putting children on their cots. She described her as "a little rough" "but not overly rough". She said if it had been too rough, she would have said something to Ms. Miller or she would have gone to Ms. Johnson. Ms. Walker did not see Ms. Miller put her legs on a child. Ms. Walker said that Ms. Johnson spoke with the child care staff members in that room on 03/09/2022 and told them that if they see 3 themselves becoming frustrated at any point, they should look to one another for help by trading which children they are looking after or by seeking out Ms. Johnson. I interviewed Ms. Miller last. She said, "our frustration levels were high" on 03/09/2022. She said the number of children crying all at once was high. No one was able to console Child A and another child was crying a lot as well. She said she "might have" set a child down too roughly at some point. She said it would not have been done "consciously or purposely". She said she would never want to hurt a child. She admitted that she put her legs over a child. She did it to keep him on his cot after he kept trying to get off of it. She put her legs over him but did not apply any pressure or use force to keep him in place. She only used the weight of her legs. She said she now understands that was not appropriate and it is not allowed. Looking back, Ms. Miller said she knows there were things that could have been done differently that day. She said Ms. Johnson has been working with her on how to care for the children and how to handle herself when she feels like she might be getting frustrated. She knows to look to other child care staff members in the room for help and to call Ms. Johnson if neede

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (1) Positive methods of discipline that encourage self- control, self-direction, self-esteem, and cooperation must be used.

Ms. Johnson said that she did not see Ms. Miller do anything on 03/09/2022 that appeared to her as if she was mocking a child. She saw her stomping her feet while Child A was stomping his feet, but she was talking to other child care staff members at the time and Ms. Johnson believed that she was communicating to them what was happening. 5 Ms. Walker said that she has not seen Ms. Miller mock any children. She said Child A was crying a lot on 03/09/2022 and they did a number of things to try to console him. She wondered if any of those things appeared to be mocking behavior. One example was when child care staff members would point at Child A's mouth and then their own mouths to try to get him to put his pacifier in his mouth. Ms. Miller denied mocking any children. She specifically denied mocking Child A. She could not recall a time when she was stomping her feet next to him, but that does not mean she didn't do it. If she did do it, she said it was not to mock him. Child A's Mother said that she could tell on video that Child A was having a "tough time". She said Ms. Miller paid attention to other children, walking away from Child A and making faces. Child B's Mother, Child C's Mother, Child D's Mother, and Child E's Mother did not have any concerns regarding the matter. Child C's Mother said she has seen "no red flags". Child D's Mother said, "I love the daycare", and "everyone is so fantastic".

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (c) Restricting a child's movement by binding or tying him or her. I

Ms. Miller restricted a child's movement when she put her legs over him, keeping him from getting off his cot.

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R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (d) Inflicting mental or emotional punishment, such as humiliating, shaming, or threatening a child.

Ms. Miller was not mocking Child A on 03/09/2022. She did not inflict any type of mental or emotional punishment on him.

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