R 400.8213(1)(a) · R 400.8213(1)(a) Staff; volunteer (1) All staff and volunteers present at the center shall: (a) Provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

Appropriate supervision was not provided on 4/09/26 during the inspection when two boys left the multi purpose room without supervision and without and program staff knowing they left the room

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8112a(1) · R 400.8112a(1) Center records. (1) The center shall maintain accurate records detailing daily arrival and departure times for each staff member, volunteers, therapeutic professionals, and independent service providers.

The center did not maintain accurate daily records detailing arrival and departure of program staff and the program administrator for the days of 4/6/26-4/9/26

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: recordkeeping. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8121(1)(b) · R 400.8121(1)(b) Indoor space. (1) The required square footage of indoor space per child must be at least the following: (b) Thirty-five square feet for preschoolers and school-aged.

On 4/09/26, 15 children were in the reception area which is only licensed for 9 children.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8131(6) · R 400.8131(6) Equipment. (6) A minimum of 2 playspaces must be accessible per child in attendance on any given day during child-initiated activity time.

On 4/09/26, during the on-site inspection there was no equipment available to the children while they waited in the reception area.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8222(8) · R 400.8222(8) Capacity; ratio and group size requirements (8) If there are children of mixed ages in the same room or well-defined space, the ratio and group size is determined by the age of the youngest child, unless each group of children is clearly separated and the appropriate child care staff member-to-child ratios and group sizes, if applicable, for each age group are maintained.

Ratio was not maintained when there were mixed age groups of children in the before school program on 4/07/26,4/08/26, and 4/09/26. There was a group of children that were ages three through school age and the ratio of program staff to number of children was not 10 to 1, which is required based on the age of the youngest child.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. 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 8/16/2023 I spoke with Child A's father. He reported that on 8/7/2023 he arrived at Swan Valley Learning Center to pick up Child A from child care. Upon entering the facility, he was informed by a child care staff member that a fire alarm had been pulled earlier and some of the children were upset. He then proceeded to Child A's classroom. He asked Child A how her day had been, and she said she had a bad day. Child B (9-year-old female) asked to touch the scar on the side of Child A's face and Child A said no. Child B then hit Child A in the face. Child A said to stop, and Child B hit her again. Child A said she told program director Jamie Ouellette about the incident, and she did nothing. Child A's father questioned the child care staff members that were present about the incident, but they were not present at the time of the incident. He then spoke with Ms. Ouellette. Ms. Ouellette said she was aware of the incident but did not feel it was a big deal and that she did not feel the incident warranted a parental notification. Child A's father said she would not be going back to the program. He confirmed that Child A had no marks or injuries from the incident. On 8/23/2023 I conducted an unannounced visit to Swan Valley Learning Center. Ms. Ouellette was spoken with about the incident. She was in the classroom area when Child A and Child B came up to her with an issue. Child B allegedly hit Child A in the area of her scar and Child A did a motion like she was lightly tapping something with her hand. Child B indicated that Child A gave her permission, but Child A denied this. Ms. Ouellette asked the girls to keep their hands off other 2 people's bodies. The girls both said okay and went back to playing together. Child A was not crying or upset at all. There was no mark or injury noted. Ms. Ouellette thought the incident was minor and since Child A did not seem upset or hurt in any way, she thought it was a misunderstanding between two children. They were told to keep their hands off each other and that seemed to satisfy both children. She is not under any obligation to report the incident to parents given there was no injury. Child care staff member Ashton Pearsall was spoken with. He was not present for the incident but knows Child A and Child B very well. The two girls seem like friends and spend a great deal of time together. On the day of the incident nothing seemed to be wrong between Child A and Child B either before or after the incident took place. He has never seen Child B act rudely or aggressively towards Child A. An exit conference was conducted with Ms. Ouellette.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8113 · R 400.8113 Program director qualifications; responsibilities. (5) A substitute program director shall be appointed for a program director who has left employment or has a temporary absence that exceeds 30 consecutive workdays until return or replacement. A substitute program director shall at least meet the qualifications of lead caregiver. The department shall be notified when a substitute program director is appointed.

On 11/2/2022 I spoke with child care licensing consultant Mary Smith on the telephone. She is aware that the previous program director had left Swan Valley Learning Center and has been in contact with the superintendent and the substitute program director. A new program director has been hired and is starting in a week or two. The preschool program is currently not operating until the new program director can begin working. The after-school program is still operational. On 11/4/2022 I spoke with Child A and B's mother. She is unsure when the previous program director left the center but knows it has been over a month since she left. She has pulled her children from the program and has no knowledge of when a new program director will be hired. On 11/4/2022 I spoke with child care staff member and substitute program director Lonnie Kubik. The previous program director went off on a vacation starting September 19, 2022 and was supposed to return to work on either September 26 or 2 September 27, 2022. She has been serving as the substitute program director while the Swan Valley School district hires a full-time program director. That position has been filled and the new program director will start as soon as they are approved by Ms. Smith. The early childhood programs were shut down beginning Tuesday November 1, 2022 and will not resume until they have an approved program director working and they have adequate staffing to meet the needs of the children. On 11/21/2022 an exit conference was conducted with newly hired program director Jamie Ouelette.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: ratio. 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 11/4/2022 I spoke with Child A and B's mother. Child A and Child B were potty trained but Child B sometimes requires assistance after she goes to the bathroom. On 9/28/2022 Child A's mother arrived to pick up Child A and Child B. Child A urinated in his pants as she was arriving for pick up. He had been on the I-Pad and was not being reminded to use the restroom. He did not have any spare clothing with him. When the previous program director was there, she would remind Child A to use the bathroom periodically and had him on a schedule. When he is on the I-Pad, he forgets to use the restroom sometimes. When Child A and B got home that evening, Child B complained of her bottom itching and when she checked, Child B's mother found dried feces in her underwear. It appeared as if Child B had not wiped properly after going to the bathroom. A message was sent to Ms. Kubik that evening and she received no response. She did not receive a reply until 4:51P M on 3 9/29/2022. Ms. Kubik said she would put Child A and B on a bathroom schedule and they would be asked to go every 30 minutes. She also is restricting Child A from the I-Pad so he is not so distracted. Child A and B's mother was satisfied with this arrangement. On 10/28/2022, Child B came home with feces in her underwear again. The child care center staff were spoken with and they said they will make sure she is wiped thoroughly. Child A and Child B will not be attending the program again. On 11/4/2022 I conducted an onsite visit at Swan Valley Learning Center. Ms. Kubik said there was an incident where Child A urinated in his pants at pick up time and Child B had some stains in her underwear. She communicated with Child A and B's mother and came up with a plan to check with them more frequently about bathroom trips and not having Child A on the I-Pad so he could not be distracted. Child A and Child B's mother seemed satisfied with the plan. Ms. Kubik received another message a month later from Child B's mother stating Child B had stains in her underwear again. She responded that she would communicate with the staff again. Child B's lead caregiver resigned on 10/24/2022 so some staff were shifted around to ensure ratios were being followed. It is possible that the child care staff members who were in Child B's classroom were unaware of the prior issue.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. 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 10/19/2022 I spoke with child care licensing consultant Mary Smith. There is currently no program director for the program as their former program director left unexpectedly. There have been no other recent issues with this center. On 10/20/2022 I conducted an onsite visit at the Swan Valley Learning Center. Child care staff member Lonnie Kubik was spoken with about the incident. The previous program director left for a vacation on 9/19/2022 and never returned to work. On Friday 10/14/2022 the preschool classes took a field trip to Johnson's Pumpkin Farm. There were approximately 37 children on the field trip along with six child care staff members and a number of parent volunteers. Not all the children returned on the bus after the trip as a number of children were picked up or taken home from the pumpkin farm by their parents. Approximately 20-25 children returned on the bus. Ms. Kubik got off first and went to the office. Parents were waiting to pick up their children when the bus returned. After 10-15 minutes or so, child care staff members Rebecca Troupe and Theresa Hernandez came into the office carrying Child A who was sleeping. They reported that Child A had been left on the bus after the trip. The bus driver dropped off the children after the trip, returned to the bus garage where he conducted a sweep of the bus and found Child A sleeping in a seat. He then drove the bus back to the center and alerted staff that a child was still on the bus. The staff has been working long hours since the program director left, and everyone has been under a great deal of stress. Child A is in Ms. Troupe's preschool class. None of the child care staff realized Child A was missing until they were alerted by the bus driver. Ms. Kubik called Child A's mother and reported the incident to her. She also called her child care licensing consultant and made sure an incident report was created. Child A returned to preschool on Monday and Child A's mother was spoken with some more about the incident. Child A will continue attending the program. Child care staff member Elizabeth Jacob was spoken with. Ms. Jacob is an assistant caregiver in Ms. Troupe's classroom. After the field trip on Friday, she followed Ms. Troupe off the bus. Two or three children left with their parents and the rest of the children were led to the after-school program. She started putting things away in the kitchen and then began working the front desk. She is not sure how many children they had riding the bus. Ms. Troupe had the class list and she assumed Ms. Troupe was going to do a head count and ensure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Nothing like this has ever happened before. She did not even know Child A had been left on the bus until she had heard about it later. They have been short staffed for a while, and everyone is working to ensure all the classrooms and the front desk are covered. Child care staff member Teresa Hernandez was spoken with. Ms. Hernandez is an assistant caregiver in Ms. Kubik's classroom. After they got back from the field trip, she and Ms. Kubik got off the bus with their six remaining children. They walked to the front door and three of the children went with their parents and the other three went to after school care. She then went to put the supplies away. After several minutes, a school employee came to the door and said that the bus just came back, 3 and the driver said Child A was left on there. Child A was still sleeping. She and Ms. Troupe ran out there and got Child A off the bus and took him inside to the office. On 11/2/2022, I called Child A's mother and left a voicemail requesting a call back. On 11/ 2/2022 I called the Swan Valley Transportation Department and left a voicemail asking the bus driver to call back at their earliest convenience. On 11/2/2022 I called child care staff member Rebecca Troupe and left a voicemail. On 11/2/2022 I spoke with Ms. Troupe. Ms. Troupe reported she worked at Swan Valley Learning Ce

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. 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 5/10/2022 I spoke with child care licensing consultant Mary Smith. She has not had these types of issues with this center in the past. She is aware of the camera system at the center and expressed that the actions of the staff member would be easy to ascertain given they would be on the camera system. On 5/11/2022 I attempted to call the referral source. There was no answer. A text message was sent to the phone number provided by the referral source. There was no response. On 5/12/2022 I attempted to call the referral source. There was no answer. On 5/24/2022 I completed an unannounced onsite. Program Director Jill Brophy was spoken with regarding the allegations. She had a meeting with Child A's mother on 04/26/2022 regarding all of these concerns. Child A no longer attends the program 2 because he graduated last week. The first concern Child A's mother brought up was that Child A reported a man was in the classroom at some point and was throwing away Child A's food before he was done with it. Ms. Brophy confirmed that there was no man working in Child A's classroom and that a friend told him to throw the food away. Child A then regretted that decision and became upset because he could not eat any more. The second concern that Child A's mother brought up was that Child A is afraid of staff member Rebecca Troupe because she is mean to him. Child A's mother reportedly said that this has been a concern all year, but was just now being reported. Child A has very limited contact with Ms. Troupe. The only time Child A and Ms. Troupe would be together is for a short time in the morning less than 20 minutes occasionally. They were also together from 11:30AM to 2:45PM for outside time, lunch time, and nap time twice since 02/04/2022. Ms. Brophy shared the video footage of the classroom for both days that Ms. Troupe and Child A were together for lunch and naptime. At no time was Ms. Troupe observed throwing Child A's food away nor did Child A ever seem upset by or avoidant of Ms. Troupe. Ms. Brophy expressed that there have been some issues with the family this year centered around their bill. Once the concerns were brought forward by Child A's mother, she made every effort to separate Ms. Troupe and Child A. Ms. Troupe is the lead child care staff member for the 3-year-old room so Child A would almost never be with her unless Ms. Troupe was covering Child A's classroom or if some older children were placed in Ms. Troupe's room due to high numbers. Child care staff member Liz Jacobs was spoken with about the allegations. She has worked at the center for three years and works with Ms. Troupe as her assistant. At lunchtime they give children 30 minutes to eat and will have to refocus kids to finish their lunches if they become distracted or eat slow. She has never seen Ms. Troupe throw away a child's food before they are finished eating. If children are not eating because they don't like what was supplied to them for lunch, staff will give the child a second option so that the child has something to eat. Ms. Troupe is great with the children, and she has never seen Ms. Troupe act negatively towards children and is always attentive to their needs. Child Care staff member Rebecca Troupe was spoken with about the allegations. She has been employed at the center since 2016 and is the lead child care staff member for the 3- and 4-year-old room. At lunch time she encourages children to eat what was provided to them and will give children a second option if they don't like the lunch that was provided. She and Ms. Jacob provide ample time for children to finish their meals and then assist children with the clean up after they are finished. She has not thrown any child's food away if they are still eating. She feels that she is approachable and has a great relationship with all of the kids at the center. She would not ignore or single out a child because it could make them feel badly and her job is to make children feel secure and safe so they

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8176 · R 400.8176 Sleeping equipment. (5) A cot or a mat and a sheet or blanket of appropriate size must be provided as follows: r (a) For all preschoolers 3 years of age and older in care for 5 or more continuous hours.

The video footage reviewed on 5/24/2022 showed that Child A did not have a sheet or blanket on his cot on 02/04/2022. All other children had a blanket on their cot. Several other days were observed including 03/04/2022 where Child A had a blanket on his cot. Ms. Brophy advised that parents are asked to provide a blanket for nap time and they take the blanket home at the end of each day. On 2/4/2022 Child A arrived at the center without a blanket. They were viewed on video checking Child A's belongings for the blanket. Child A slept on the cot without the blanket. Ms. Troupe and Ms. Jacob stated blankets are often provided to children who forget them, but on 2/4/2022, the extra blankets were all in use. Children sometimes don't want a blanket but they try to ensure everyone has one or is offered one when they are able. Ms. Brophy was spoken with about obtaining extra blankets and improving her policy for parents in regards to bringing the blanket daily and possibly charging parents extra if they forget.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.