NC GS 110-90 · Violation

Name of Operation: Leap of Faith Academy, LLC III Facility ID: 43000642 Consultant: BECKY JACKSON Operation Type: Center Case Number: Visit Date: 6/16/2026 Number Present: 15 Completed Date: 6/16/2026 Age: From 5 To 9 Total Minutes: 120 Time In: 10:00 AM Time Out: 12:00 PM Time In: Time Out: List to Use: Center Type Of Visit: Temp Time Period Announced/Unannounced: Unannounced The purpose of today's unannounced visit was to monitor compliance with applicable child care requirements for the facility’s the first temporary time period visit. The facility’s Temporary License was issued May 4, 2026 and is valid through November 4, 2026. Information shown on the Temporary License includes a first shift capacity of 30 children from 5 to 12 years of age. Restrictions include that only school age children may be enrolled. Patricia Robinson, Child Care Consultant, assisted me today. The building inspector was also present for part of today’s visit. Upon arrival, I was greeted by owner representative/Administrator D. Burrus. She assisted me with today’s visit. One classroom is operating with 29 children enrolled and 15 children present today. The children were observed preparing to leave the facility for a field trip. Three children did not participate in the field trip, and were observed engaged in free play playing games and creating art projects and playing outdoors. You lunch planned for today consisted of tortilla with chicken and cheese, garden peas, pears, and milk. According to the North Carolina Secretary of State website, your corporation Leap of Faith Academy , LLC is current and active. A fire drill was not recorded. A shelter-in-place drill was conducted on May 27, 2026 at 11:15am. The most recent outdoor inspection was completed June 1, 2026. The most recent sanitation inspection was conducted on May 14, 2026 with a Superior classification and four demerits. The most recent fire inspection was conducted April 29, 2026. I monitored your classroom environment, outdoor playground, staff records, children's records and required center records. I used the North Carolina Child Care Requirements and Compliance Listing as basic monitoring tools during the visit. Your classroom has a variety of developmentally appropriate learning materials and equipment and the activity centers are well arranged. The following violations of child care requirements were observed today: Violation Number Comment Rule 431 The activity plan did not provide at least 4 different activities daily listed in GS 110-91(12): art/creative play; books; blocks; manipulatives; and family living and dramatic play, including one of which is outdoors if weather conditions permit. The posted activity plan did not list four planned activities daily. .0508(g)(2) 805 Fire drills were not practiced monthly and/or the drill record was incomplete. A fire drill had not been recorded since the change of ownership occurred on May 4, 2026. .0604(t); .0302(d)(5) All violations must be corrected immediately. Please send me a compliance letter (written statement) describing how and when the above violations were corrected. The compliance letter must be received no later than June 30, 2026. The compliance letter should be sent to me via email, from the email address on file with the Division as the center’s official email address. Contact me if you have questions regarding correction of the violations documented during today’s visit. If you are unable to correct all violations within the specified timeframe, send a compliance letter regarding violations that were corrected and a specific plan to correct the remaining violations. An extension will need to be requested from management. The information required in a compliance letter was reviewed. You should list the item number, specifically stating that the violation has been corrected, explaining when it was corrected, and how it was corrected. You should also explain that you understand the rule regarding the violation. You are encouraged to state how you will prevent noncompliance in the future. Compliance is not considered finalized until all violations have been corrected. Therefore, if the compliance letter says an item will be corrected, it should be followed-up with another letter once it actually has been corrected. As an example, compliance verification such as “Mulch will be delivered on Tuesday” is not considered corrected until it is followed up with a letter stating something like “The mulch was delivered on Tuesday, September 5, 2024, and now measures nine inches in the full fall zone.” Please let me know if you have any questions regarding how to complete a compliance letter. If you will be unable to correct all violations within the allowed timeframe, you should request an extension. Child care licensing requirements were established to ensure a safe and healthy child care environment. Therefore, it is important for you to be knowledgeable of all the licensing requirements that apply to your type of program. It is your responsibility to maintain compliance with all the applicable laws and rules at all times. The best way for you to make sure that you are meeting all requirements is to periodically review the child care law and rules. I explained that you have access to the on-line version of the Child Care Law and Requirements. I recommended that you visit the Division of Child Development's website on a regular basis to find out what's new in childcare. You could also find any needed Child Care forms by going on the web site and clicking on the "Provider" tab and then clicking on the "Provider Documents" tab. We had previously discussed the building inspection submitted did not have an answer for item # 3b. I had returned the inspection form for additional information. The building inspector was present for part of today’s visit. He explained that as the building consists of one room with two direct exits, a fire alarm system is not required by code. He marked the form and returned it to you. You submitted it to me during the visit. Technical Assistance and Consultation: The following items were discussed during today' visit. You may want to consider them in order to avoid potential violations or improve the quality of your program. All installed equipment must have a fall zone that measures six feet all the way around the equipment. We discussed the spring rocker and the car located on the outdoor play area. If these pieces are anchored into the ground, or are too heavy for one person to move easily, they must have a fall zone with appropriate resilient surfacing. All resilient surfacing must be maintained so it remains soft and resilient. The weeds should be removed, and the mulch fluffed in order to remain effective. The fence should be free of vegetation and should be in good repair. The outside of the building should be kept free of algae and mildew growth. We discussed the blanket permission allowances for medication administration. I observed today that medications for asthma and chronic medical conditions had been blanketed for one year. We discussed that permission to administer these medications for these conditions may not exceed six months. The group leader must obtain Basic School Age Care (BSAC) training within three months of employment. You should ensure that all experience and education is clearly documented in the staff files. Experience should be documented on the application or attached resume. Education should be documented with WORKS status letters or copies of certificates. I reminded you that this documentation will be essential for star rated license assessments. When new staff are hired, they may bring in Health and Safety training they have completed within the last year only. Trainings that were completed more than a year before hire are not accepted. New staff have 90 days to complete Recognizing and Responding to Suspicion of Child Maltreatment and CPR/First Aid certifications. They must complete the remainder of the Health and Safety trainings within one year of employment. I also encouraged you to ensure all staff have submitted their education information through the WORKS portal and have requested evaluation for all positions that apply. As a school age only program, you will need an Administrator, Program Coordinator, and Group Leader at a minimum. We discussed today that a new staff and training worksheet form is available in the Provider Documents and Forms section of our website. I reviewed the form with you today and pointed out the tab with instructions for both pages. I encouraged you to keep an up to date staff and training worksheet available for any monitoring visit that may be conducted. Child Care programs are expected to achieve and maintain compliance at all times and are required by NC GS 110-90(4) (d) to achieve and maintain an eighteen-month compliance history score of at least seventy-five percent. Any violation(s) documented may impact the compliance history score. As this is a change of ownership a new building, fire and inspections must be completed by November 4, 2026. A Superior sanitation inspection with 4 demerits was received May 14, 2026. A fire inspection was completed April 29, 2026. Although this inspection was conducted before the change of ownership occurred, it was conducted with the new owner’s information for the change. The building inspection was conducted on May 1, 2026 and was received today. I have asked that you submit the zoning approval documentation. I have also reminded you that the Lead Based Paint and Asbestos screening and testing must be completed during the temporary time period. The legal designee form was also completed today. RATED LICENSE: We discussed that at the end of the temporary time period, you have the option to apply for a Two through Five star rated license. I encouraged you to review the pathways information on the QRIS modernization section of our website and in section .3200 of the child care rules. We also reviewed pathway options to determine which best fits the needs of your program, staff, and families. During today’s visit I provided you with the summary pages for Pathways One and Two. We discussed that Pathway Three is available, however it is difficult to become accredited during the Temporary Time Period. I encouraged you to begin to determine which pathway will be requested so that time is available to conduct any self-study or assessments required, or to research, receive training, and implement any curriculum, observations, formative assessments, or to complete any additional training or mentoring needed. Your temporary license cannot expire, and the process cannot be held awaiting the results of ERS assessments or education evaluations. I also encouraged you to ensure all staff have requested evaluations for their positions using the WORKS system and that their current status letter is on file. I reminded you that only information in the WORKS system at the time of processing will be used to determine the staff education level achieved. The rated license application form can be found in the provider documents section of our website. An additional resource available to providers when evaluating the quality of care, are practice Environment Rating Scale Assessments. You may voluntarily request an outreach assessment from the North Carolina Rated License Assessment Project. You may also wish to contact technical assistance specialists with the local PFC or CCR&R to help you with mock assessments. The Importance of Providing Quality Child Care Providing quality child care is essential for children. There is ample research demonstrating that high-quality child-care experiences have many benefits to children and society and that quality child care is linked to children’s improved school performance. 1. The Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study and a follow-up study done several years later found that quality child care is primarily related to higher staff/child ratios, administrators’ prior experience, wages, higher staff education levels and staff members’ continued participation in formal and specialized training. This study found that children attending higher quality centers scored better in math and language skills, had more positive interactions with peers, and had fewer behavior problems. 2. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study followed children from their preschool years through age 40 and found that high-quality preschool programs significantly increased children’s future contributions through increased intellectual and social development, school success, economic performance, and reduced commission of crimes in adulthood. One of the most quoted results of this study is that for every dollar invested in children’s early care and education there is a $17 return to society in terms of crime and education savings, increased taxes collected, and welfare savings. There are many other studies including the Abecedarian Project, the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Study, and the NC Rated License Assessment Project. What the research tells us, in a nutshell, is that high quality child care has a positive impact on children’s later school success. The key to quality experiences for children is interaction with and stimulation from educated, trained teachers. The neuroscience associated with brain research is complicated, but its lesson is simple: babies' brains develop at astonishing rates in the first few years after birth. Young children have a tremendous capacity to learn from the moment they are born, but optimal development hinges on the experiences provided for them by the adults who take care of them. A follow up visit may be conducted in the near future to verify compliance with violations documented during the visit. Please contact me at (910) 824-0123 or at becky.jackson@dhhs.nc.gov if I can be of assistance. You may also contact Licensing Supervisor, Teraesa Leak at teraesa.leak@dhhs.nc.gov or by phone at 919-971-7765. If the operator fails to correct any documented violations within the established time period, the Division of Child Development and Early Education may deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke any permit to operate (10A NCAC 09 .2000). All information in this report has been reviewed with me today.I understand that it is my responsibility to maintaincompliance with applicable NC Child Care Requirements at all times

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.