Royal Oak - Head Start

R 400.8140 · R 400.8140 Discipline. (2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting other forms of corporal punishment. (b) Placing any substances in a child's mouth, including but not limited to, soap, hot sauce, or vinegar. (c) Restricting a child's movement by binding or tying him or her. (d) Inflicting mental or emotional punishment, such as humiliating, shaming, or threatening a child. (e) Depriving a child of meals, snacks, rest, or necessary toilet use. (f) Excluding a child from outdoor play or other gross motor activities. (g) Excluding a child from daily learning experiences. (h) Confining a child in an enclosed area, such as a closet, locked room, box, or similar enclosure. (i) Time out must not be used for children under 3 years of age.

On 01/31/2023 I spoke with the complainant who stated on 01/30/2023 there were two staff with the children in the gymnasium. One staff was dragging a child across the gymnasium and the other staff was chasing another child, yelling at the child, and grabbing the child off the floor. The class left the gym and walked down the hallway to the bathrooms. Staff could be heard yelling at the children and children crying in the bathrooms. On 02/01/2023 I completed an on-site inspection to the center. When I arrived, I observed program director Nicole Easterling and Staff 1 outside with the children taking a walk on the sidewalk. They were several hundred yards away from me at the time. I watched them from afar for a few minutes. I did not see or hear anything of concern. I went inside the building, and Disabilities Coordinator Janine Brazle was in the classroom. I interviewed her regarding the complaint. She stated she was at the center on 01/30/2023. She stated when Child B (4 years old) arrived, Child B went to the bathroom with Child B's Mother. Child B was in the bathroom screaming for several minutes. Child B then came into the classroom and Child B's Mother left. Child B was defiant and would not sit at the table for small group, Child B was running around, going under the table, and would not listen to Staff 1. When the class had large group time, Child B would not sit down and was again running around the classroom. When the class went to the gym that morning, Ms. Brazle stated she did not go with the class to the gym. When the class came back in the classroom, she was in the office. She did not hear anyone, staff or children, yelling and no children were crying. Ms. Brazle stated Ms. Easterling said to her that Child B was acting how she had acted when she first came to the program in September. When the class got back in the classroom, Child B was again running around, so Ms. Brazle had Child B sit on her lap. Ms. Brazle stated she left that day during nap time. Ms. Brazle stated she 3 has never seen Ms. Easterling or Staff 1 yell at the children, chase any of the children, or pull any of the children by their arms. Approximately 15 minutes after I had arrived at the center, the class came back inside the building. They went down the hallway to the bathrooms. I could hear the staff and children. The staff and children were singing songs while children used the toilet and washed their hands. When the group came back into the classroom, I spoke only briefly with Ms. Easterling about the complaint allegations as Ms. Brazle had left and Ms. Easterling and Staff 1 were the only staff present to care for the children. Ms. Easterling stated on 01/30/2023 there were some issues with Child B when they got ready to leave the gym. Child B did not want to leave the gym and refused to stand up, however, Ms. Easterling stated neither she nor Staff 1 dragged Child B or any other child or chased any child. Ms. Easterling stated Child B and several other children were yelling and she (Ms. Easterling) may have raised her voice a little so the children could hear her telling them to line up, but neither she nor Staff 1 were yelling at the children in the gym or in the bathrooms. On 02/01/2023 I spoke with site manager Jaquetta Sledge. I informed her of the complaint allegation. She stated she was not at the center on 01/30/2023 and she had not heard about any concerns with Ms. Easterling or Staff 1. On 02/02/2023 I returned to the center and interviewed Ms. Easterling. Ms. Easterling stated on the morning of 01/30/2023, she and Staff 1 were working along with Ms. Brazle. After the children ate breakfast, she and Staff 1 took the children to the gym. Ms. Brazle stayed in the office and did not come with them. They spent about 20 minutes playing in the gym and then had the children line up against the wall. Child B said she did not want to line up and Child B started running to the opposite end of the gym. Ms. Easterling stated if she runs afte

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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 09/27/2022 Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency site manager, Jacquetta Sledge contacted me about the complaint allegation. She stated the staff at the center had just made her aware of the incident. On 09/28/2022 Ms. Sledge emailed me the incident report. On 09/29/2022 I spoke with Child B's Mother. She stated the staff member Ms. Nicole (Easterling) spoke with her about what happened a few days ago. Child B's Mother stated Child B might have thought of it as a game and not realized it was not okay to leave the classroom alone. Child B's Mother stated Child B has wandered away from her a few times in a store, but she did not think Child B would do this at school, so she had not told the staff about this. Child B's Mother stated she has told Child B that she cannot wander off at school. On 10/05/2022 I completed an on-site inspection to the center. I interviewed program director Nicole Easterling. She stated she has worked for OLHSA for 7 years and has been at this location for 2 years. Ms. Easterling stated on 09/23/2022 she was working with a substitute staff, Donna Brown. The family advocate Kim Nardo was also at the program that day. According to Ms. Easterling she had worked several days with Ms. Brown this school year. Ms. Easterling stated there were 15 children, ages 3 and 4 years old, present that day including Child B. Child B had just started the program the beginning of September 2022. Ms. Easterling stated Child B has a speech delay and becomes easily frustrated when she cannot communicate effectively. Child B will hit other children and staff and take things from other children when she is frustrated. After this incident Ms. Easterling spoke with Child B's Mother, and Child B's Mother told her that Child B has hid in a store before this happened. Child B's Mother had never mentioned this until now, so staff were not aware of this concern. Ms. Easterling stated parents typically arrive between 3:00pm and 3:15pm to pick up their children. The parents wait in the hallway and staff dismiss the children individually to their parents. On 09/23/2022 it was dismissal time, and the children were playing at the tables with toys. Ms. Easterling was in the classroom interacting with the children and recalls Ms. Brown was at the classroom door dismissing a few of the children to their parents. Ms. Easterling remembers seeing Child B playing at the table closest to the door. Ms. Easterling stated she always makes sure to look where Child B is in the room because sometimes Child B will hide inside the classroom. Ms. Easterling did a head count, which she does often, and realized Child B was not in the classroom. Ms. Easterling stated she had not seen Child B 3 leave the table or walk toward the classroom door. When Ms. Easterling counted and realized she did not count Child B, she quickly looked around the classroom and then alerted Ms. Brown and Ms. Nardo that Child B was not in the classroom. Ms. Brown stayed with the children in the classroom and Ms. Easterling ran down the hallway and looked in the bathrooms, but Child B was not in the bathrooms. Ms. Easterling stated Ms. Nardo looked in the other classroom across the hallway which had only been used for vision and hearing screenings of the children this year. Ms. Nardo found Child B in this classroom playing with some toys. Ms. Easterling believes Child B had left their classroom about 3 minutes before she was found in the other classroom. Ms. Easterling stated she takes this incident very seriously, and since this they have locked the doors to the other classroom. She or other staff now always make sure to hold Child B's hand when they leave the classroom to go to the bathrooms, gym, or outside. Ms. Easterling stated they are also looking into putting some type of buzzer or bell on the classroom door that will sound when the door is opened. On 10/06/2022 I interviewed staff Kim Nardo. She stated she was at the center on 09/23/2022. At the time of the incident, she

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R 400.8158 · 1 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. (b) An incident involving an allegation of inappropriate contact. (c) A fire on the premises of the center that requires the use of fire suppression equipment or results in loss of life or property. (d) The center is evacuated for any reason. 5

The 09/23/2022 incident was not reported to Licensing until 09/27/2022.

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