NMCAA Preschool - Mill Creek

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 o f children at all times.

The licensee designee did not ensure that staff provided appropriate care and supervision at the center. On 03/03/2026, Child A was left for five to 10 minutes inside the center after his classroom had transitioned to outdoor play.

R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 1 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

On 01/24/2022, I received an incident report stating that at approximately 9:00 AM, staff noticed that Child A was heading toward the classroom door. Child A breached the door and ran out into the hallway that was crowded with elementary school children and staff. Child care staff member Theresa Blesma immediately ran after him, but lost sight of him in the crowd. She flagged down the principal who was in the hallway and told him Child A was on the run. The principal began looking for Child A while Therese Blesma searched the library, kitchen, and bathrooms. An elementary classroom teacher waived Theresa over and signaled that Child A was in her room. It is estimated that Child A's whereabouts were unknown for approximately 5 minutes while staff searched for him. On 01/24/2022, I made an unannounced visit to NMCAA Mill Creek from 02:08 PM to 02:43 PM. I interviewed child care staff members Jenna Harwell and Theresa Blesma. Ms. Blesma stated that on 01/18/2022, around 9 AM, she heard Ms. 3 Harwell yell, "He is going to run." She was at a table assisting children with breakfast when Child A ran out of the classroom. She immediately ran after Child A down the hall since she was closest to the door. During this time, other classrooms were transitioning so there were numerous other children and staff in the hallway which made it difficult to locate Child A. She noticed the principal, Mr. Graham, down the hallway and she informed him that she is looking for Child A. Mr. Graham assisted her with the locating Child A. During the search, a teacher pointed to classroom 110 indicating that Child A was in there. The ISD Speech Pathologist Corrine Dewey happened to be outside classroom 110 and Ms. Dewey remained outside classroom 110 in case Child A tried to run again. Upon entering classroom 110, she observed Child A growling at children and throwing classroom furniture. She clarified that no children were injured in this incident. Child A then climbed under the teacher's desk. Ms. Blesma sat on the floor and de-escalated Child A by having him do breathing exercises. Once relaxed, Child A held her hand and they returned to the GSRP classroom where she provided Child A with a pirate ship toy he had requested. She could not specify what triggered Child A to run out of the classroom and Child A never reported to her what caused him to run on 01/18/2022. She reported that the entire incident occurred between five to ten minutes. Ms. Blesma reported that Child A has attempted numerous times to run out of the classroom, but staff had always been able to intervene before he could get to far out of the classroom. There is also an alarm on the door to alert them if Child A leaves the classroom unexpectedly. She identified that Child A has delayed speech, hearing issues, and an IEP. He is now attending a new school which can better meet his needs. I next interviewed program director Jenna Harwell. Ms. Harwell reported that Child A is prone to running out of the classroom, but staff have always been able to intervene before getting into the hallway. Ms. Harwell can tell when Child A is about to run because he gets this blank expression on his face. She observed this look on his face on 01/18/2022, which is when she yelled out to Ms. Blesma that he is going to run out of the classroom. She discussed that Child A was actively moving around the classroom prior to running out. Once Child A was out of the classroom, Ms. Blesma followed him since she was closer to the door. Ms. Harwell stayed with the other children in the classroom. She feels that the entire incident occurred over a time of 5 minutes or less. She identified Child A receiving numerous services including occupational therapy, behavior management, speech pathology services, and social work services. Child A's last day was on 01/20/2022. While onsite, I took pictures of five child information cards. On 01/24/2022, I received a call from the site supervisor Molly Notebaum. She reported that C