• Violation

  R 400.8182 · ................................................................................................................................................................................. R 400.8182 Ratio and group size requirements. (3) In each room or well-defined space, the maximum group size and ratio of child care staff members to children, including children related to a staff member or the licensee, must be as shown in Table 4: (a) Infant, and toddlers, birth until .+U I to I 1' mo11t11S of age

  On 04/06/2021, I initiated the investigation by conducting an unannounced on-site inspection at Little People's Daycare Part 2. Both caregivers and all the children were outside on the playground upon my arrival. I observed two caregivers providing care to 17 children. I then met with and interviewed caregiver Ericka Jones. Ms. Jones was observed to be caring for six children with the youngest child being 1 year of age. Ms. Jones acknowledged she should be at a 1:4 ratio however the licensee Davana Harrison called in sick today. Ms. Jones indicated several children that were not on the schedule were dropped off at the center and they should not have been. Ms. Jones 2 reports there is always enough staff present to ensure that the center is within ratio. Usually, staff can call the licensee Ms. Harrison if a parent attempts to drop off additional children that are not on the schedule and she can come to the center to ensure that the staff are within ratio prior to the parent leaving. Ms. Harrison was not available to assist today at the center, causing the caregivers to be out of ratio. I then met with and interviewed caregiver Tisa Henderson. Ms. Henderson was observed to be caring for 11 children with the youngest child being 3 years of age. Ms. Henderson acknowledged she should be at a 1:10 ratio. Ms. Henderson indicated several children were not on the schedule and were dropped off at the center when they should not have been. She indicated that the licensee Ms. Harrison was scheduled to be at the center however called in sick. Ms. Henderson reports there is always enough staff present to ensure that the center is within ratio. Ms. Henderson reports she did not realize they were out of ratio until after the parent dropped off her four children and then realized they were not on the schedule. At 4:24 p.m. a parent arrived and picked up her four children. After the four children were picked up the infant caregiver was at a 1:4 ratio and the preschool through school-age caregiver was at a 1:9 ratio. I then obtained the sign in and sign out sheet and it appears the caregivers were out of ratio from 2:00 p.m. until 4:24 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. the program manager Jataun Bryant arrived. Ms. Bryant indicated she had just left the other center (Little People Daycare on Shattuck) and that the center should not have been out of ratio. Due to Covid-19 both centers have struggled with enrollment due to parents being laid off or working from home. Recently parents have been returning to work and the center is in the process of hiring additional staff. The center is always in ratio and the caregivers must not have realized that one sibling group of four was not scheduled to be at the center today and the parent dropped the children off anyway. The center requires parents to complete a schedule two weeks in advance to allow the center to plan accordingly. Normally the licensee Ms. Harrison would have been at the center however she called in sick today. Throughout Covid-19 they have had additional staff on-site due to low census and are always within ratio. At 4:35 p.m. the licensee Davana Harrison arrived at the center. Ms. Harrison had received a telephone call from one of the caregivers notifying her that they were out of ratio and she decided to come to the center to assist, despite calling in sick. Due to Covid-19 both centers she owns have struggled with enrollment due to parents being laid off or working from home. Recently parents have been returning to work and she is in the process of hiring additional staff. Ms. Harrison left the center after she realized the center was within ratio and due to her not feeling well. During the on-site inspection on 04/06/2021, I reviewed staff attendance and children's attendance records over a one-month period. I did not observe any other days in which the center was out of ratio. 3 I then left the center and conducted an on-site inspection at Little People's Daycare located at 741 Shattuck Saginaw, M

The center is out of ratio usually after 4:00 p.m.

Disposition: Substantiated