Holmes Elementary

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 April 11, 2023, I made an unannounced onsite inspection to the child care center. Upon arrival I spoke to the Program Director Ashley Cochran. Ms. Cochran stated that she was working on March 16, 2023, when Child A left the center. Ms. Cochran stated that it was close to pick up time around 6:15p.m. and she was at the front door of the school calling over the walkie talkie for students to come meet their parents as they arrived for pickup. One of the other CCSMs asked over the walkie talkie if {Child A} was in the front and she replied, no. They then told her that Child A was not in the classroom, and no one could find him. Ms. Cochran stated she went and looked in the gym and, in the bathrooms, to see if she could locate him. When she couldn't find Child A, she called Witness 1 and asked him to check the cameras to see if Child A could be seen on camera. The cameras showed 2 Child A leaving the building at approximately 6:07p.m. and walking towards his home, which is in the neighborhood adjacent to the school. Child A's Stepmother then arrived to pick up Child A and Child B (age 10 years) from the program. Ms. Cochran asked Child A's Stepmother if Child A was at home, because he left the program walking and had not been seen. Child A's Stepmother stated that Child A was not at home and then left to get Child A's Father. Ms. Cochran stated Child A's Father, Stepmother, and CCSM 2 and CCSM 3 drove around the neighborhood looking for Child A. Ms. Cochran remained at the center with Child B. Child A's Parents and CCSM 2 and CCSM 3 arrived back at the center without finding Child A and called the police. Two police cars arrived at the center and the third police car drove into the neighborhood where Child A was found at approximately 7:23p.m. On April 11, 2023, I interviewed CCSM 1. CCSM 1 stated that he was working in the classroom when Child A walked out of the room. CCSM 1 stated that Child A seemed to be his "regular self' and he did not know why Child A left the program. CCSM 1 went on state that later someone said that Child A was mad about something someone said, so he decided to walk home. CCSM 1 stated that he did not know how Child A left the classroom without anyone seeing him leave. CCSM 1 feels bad that the incident occurred, because "it never should have happened." CCSM 1 stated he was talking to another student and was not watching the door. He went on to say that he heard a student say someone was walking outside, but he assumed it was a neighborhood child and not one of their students. On April 12, 2023, I made an onsite inspection to the child care center. I spoke to licensee designee Suzie Staley. Ms. Staley stated she received a call around 5:50p.m. that a child was missing from the Bright Futures program at Holmes Elementary. Ms. Staley stated she arrived at the center 15 minutes later. When she arrived Ms. Cochran was there with CCSM 1 and Child B. Child A's Parents were out along with CCSM 2 and CCSM 3 looking for Child A. When they came back to the center, she realized that no one contacted the police, she told Child A's Father that the police needed to be called and she then called 911. The police arrived within five minutes of being called. Two cars came to the center, and car went into the neighborhood to search for Child A. Child A was found on the corner of Fall River and Rambling Road, she went with the parents to meet the police and retrieve Child A. When they found him, he was fine and had toys in his hands. During the onsite inspection I interviewed CCSM 2. CCSM 2 stated she was working on March 16, 2023, when Child A went missing. CCSM 2 stated there is always a lot going on at the end of the day. They were wrapping things up and transitioning from clubs, to snack, and dismissal. CCSM 2 stated when she realized that Child A was not in the classroom, she called over the walkie talkie to ask Ms. Cochran if Child A was picked up. CCSM 3 was told no, and she began looking for Child A. CCSM 3 stated

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R 400.8158 · 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.

The licensee designee did not inform the department within 24 hours that a child had been lost.

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R 400.8158 · R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting. (4) A licensee, licensee designee, or program director shall submit a written report to the department of the occurrences outlined in subrules (1), (2), and (3) of this rule, in a format provided by the department, within 72 hours of the verbal report to the department.

A written incident report was not received within 72 hours of the incident on March 16, 2023. The licensee designee submitted a written incident report on March 24, 2023.

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