• Violation

  R 400.1911 · ............................ .............. R 400.1911 Care; supervision; children. (1) A licensee shall ensure appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

  On 11/15/2022, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) worker Ms. Beth Belill conducted an interview with the complainant. The complainant reported that the person who said Ms. Carmen Fisher and Ms. Alex Fisher were pulling the hair of the child care children did not witness it happening to children. They said they had been told that it was happening to all the 2 children in care and were unable to provide any more specific information. This person also reported that they do not have any children who attend Ms. Carmen Fisher's child care, nor do they recall the last time they had been inside the home. On 11/16/2022, I conducted an unannounced on-site investigation with MDHHS worker Ms. Belill. Ms. Belill informed Ms. Fisher of the allegations. There were two children in attendance; Child A (30-month-old, male) who is related to Ms. Carmen Fisher and Child B (21-month-old, male) who is unrelated to Ms. Carmen Fisher. Ms. Carmen Fisher stated that Ms. Alexandria Fisher is her granddaughter and has not been living in the home since the summer of 2021. She originally had helped her when she first started caring for children in 2020, but since then she had gotten a job outside of the home and has not helped her provide care for any children since May or June of 2022. She denied having pulled any child's hair and said she has never witnessed Ms. Alexandria Fisher pulling any of the children's hair when she was a child care staff member. On one occasion, when she had been fluffing Child B's hair, she had accidently gotten her fingers tangled in his curls and he had said, "Ow." Ms. Carmen Fisher provides care on the lower level of her home and when Ms. Belill and I entered the home, the home felt warmer than the outside. The children were dressed in, what appeared, to be one layer of clothing and one child was barefoot. When Child A was asked if his eyes, ears, nose, chin, hands and feet were cold, he replied "no" each time. The children did not appear to have red noses or rosy cheeks. There was no indication that they were cold. Ms. Carmen Fisher stated that she has two furnaces in the home, one for the lower level of the home and one for the upper level of the home. She always runs the downstairs furnace but hasn't had to yet this year because the heat coming down from the upstairs has kept the lower level warm enough. She clarified that she does keep the heat on the cooler side, because she can't afford to keep the furnaces running at a high temperature. She said the children and parents have never complained about her home being too cold. On 11/16/2022, MDHHS worker Ms. Belill conducted a Forensic interview with Child D (6-year-old, male) and Child E (7-year-old, female) at their school in accordance with Michigan's Forensic interviewing protocols. Child D reported that he had never witnessed Ms. Carmen Fisher ever pulling a child's hair and that her house is warm. He further reported that if kids get in trouble, "like really in trouble", she will smack them on the cheek. He said he saw her smack Child A on the cheek on one occasion. He could not recall how long ago it had happened or why she had smacked him. Child E reported that she has never seen Ms. Carmen Fisher pull a child's hair or smack a child. On one occasion, when Child B was pulling on Ms. Carmen Fisher, she had yelled at him and threatened to smack him, but she never did. She said she has never seen Ms. Carmen Fisher smack Child A because "he's only two." When children get in trouble, she usually yells and sometimes has the children sit on the couch. Child D further reported that when it's cold outside, the house is hot and when it's hot outside, the house is cold. She has never felt cold inside when it's been chilly outside. Child D reported that she feels safe when she is at Ms. Carmen Fisher's home. 3 On 11/16/2022, MDHHS worker Ms. Belill conducted an interview with Child D and E's Mother. She reported that Child D and Child E have been attending

Ms. Carmen Fisher and Ms. Alexandria Fisher are pulling children's hair and keeping the children in rooms that are too cold in this weather.

Disposition: Substantiated