Child care staff and household members shall not use isolation as a form of discipline.

REPEAT CITATIONS PREVIOUSLY CITED ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2023. The complainant statement that a teacher at the program had become aggressive with Child A and other children in the toddler classroom, including grabbing a child and throwing them, trapping a child in a corner and screaming at them, and “ripping” a child around the classroom by their arm. When asked about Staff A’s interactions with the children, Staff B reported they heard Staff A yell at Child B to go sit by the door, after which they heard Child A tell Child B to go sit by the door, to which Staff A responded, [Child A] you are not the [expletive] teacher! If you keep it up, you will not go outside with me!” Staff C stated they work in the adjacent classroom and that they could hear Staff A yelling at the children daily, describing the yelling as mean, that it could be heard clearly in the hallway outside of the classroom, and they could clearly identify that it was Staff A yelling. Staff C also reported hearing. Staff C also reported that they have seen Staff A forcefully put children back on their cots when they got up from their cots during rest time, adding that Staff A didn’t just guide the children back to their cot, but forcefully put them back. Staff D reported that when they worked in the classroom with Staff A in early December 2024, they witnessed Staff A screaming at the children right from the start, clarifying that it was not just a raised voice, but Staff A was screaming at the children in anger. Staff D reported that on December 10, 2024, they observed Staff A grab Child A by the arm, swing them into the low loft and yell at them, which they reported to Staff F and to Child A’s parent. Staff E stated they had observed Staff A get very frustrated with the toddler children because there are several children in the group that bite. Staff E further reported that they felt like they had to put themselves between Staff A and the children. Staff E reported seeing Staff A grab children by their arms and yank them across the floor if they did not respond fast enough to a command, and that they have observed Staff A screaming at the children so loud that it could be heard from the garage across the program. Staff E reported that despite meeting with Staff A, B, F, and G in November to discuss the concerns regarding Staff A and staff interactions in general, Staff A was unresponsive, made no improvement in their interactions with children or staff, and continued to yell at children. Furthermore, Collateral contacts A and B reported that senior staff had counseled Staff A without improvement, and that there had been two additional reports stating Staff A continued to yell at and be physically aggressive with Child A. Therefore, Collateral contact A reported Staff A was terminated effective December 12, 2024. This constitutes the first repeat citation and failure to comply with one approved corrective action plan regarding staff rough handling children, and the first repeat citation and failure to comply with one approved corrective action plan regarding staff yelling at children. Corrective action: This Corrective Action Plan addresses the following Child Care Licensing violations: He-C4002.18(e)(12) yell in anger or frustration at or with children, and He-C4002.18(e)(2) Use rough handling on children. Employee involved in inappropriate interactions with children was terminated. An Employee Handbook is near completion, with a goal of having this document in the hands of employees by March 15, 2025. Staff will be asked to review and sign their acknowledgement of having read this document - specifically the section addressing appropriate interactions between/among adults and children with an understanding that the health and safety of the children is of utmost importance. Staff will be reminded at staff meetings, and new hires will be specifically advised about our unyielding position towards inappropriate interactions (yelling/rough handling) between adults and children. Staff and administration will create weekly "best practice" tips to be shared with all staff - quick tips such as - properly picking up children, understanding your (teacher) stress, even new songs/activities suggestions - fun and functional. Because this is a repeat citation, due to the fact that the center did not abide by the previous corrective action plan, the following actions will be taken: We are working on a professional development event geared specifically toward appropriate interactions between/among adults and children. The target date for this event is by April 17, 2025. A teacher mentor has been assigned to the center to observe, support, and coach the teaching staff with a primary focus on appropriate interactions between/among adults and children.

All center directors, agency administrators, site coordinators, or site directors, and all other child care staff who are responsible for the supervision of children, or who are necessary for the staff to child ratios, shall keep on file documentation of completion of a minimum of 6 hours of professional development, which shall be completed in accordance with the following: (1)  Within 90 days of the first date of employment; (2) Within 2 weeks for programs operating 3 months of the year or less; or (3) By providing documentation of previous completion.

REPEAT CITATION PREVIOUSLY CITED ON JULY 27, 2022 FOR He-C 4002.33(f). The licensing coordinator's review of five staff records revealed two of the five staff had not completed all the required health and safety trainings within 90 days of employment. Further review revealed one staff member had not completed the 18 hours of required professional development annually. This constitutes the second repeat citation and failure to comply with an approved CAP regarding completion of required professional development within the first 90 days of employment. Corrective action: The onboarding procedure for hiring new staff has been adjusted. The director is working with a mentor director to improve the process and has begun a checklist system to ensure things that should be done in the first 90 days of employment are completed on time. The director will contact the mentor when hiring any new employees and the mentor will help guide the director through the process to ensure compliance. Some Professional development time will be allotted on the schedule whenever possible to help those who struggle to complete trainings on their own time.

He-C 4002.33(a) · Correction status not published

Except for nature-based programs that operate solely outside, programs shall conduct fire drills in accordance with the following: (1) Programs that operate continuously throughout the year shall conduct at least one drill each month of operation; (2) Programs that operate only during the school year shall conduct a drill within 14 days of opening each year and monthly thereafter; (3) Programs that operate only during the summer months shall conduct one fire drill in each month of operation; (4) Child care personnel shall conduct fire drills at varying times during operating hours, including night time hours, if applicable, to ensure that each child attending the program experiences fire drills; (5) Child care staff shall activate the actual fire alarm system for the building for at least 2 of the required monthly fire drills required each year and use a fire alarm or smoke detector to signal all other fire drills; (6) All children and child care staff shall evacuate the building during each fire drill; and (7) Child care staff shall check daily attendance records to ensure that all children and staff are accounted for, after the building is evacuated.

Child care staff and household members shall not use rough handling on children.

The complainant stated Staff A had been extremely aggressive with multiple children, including grabbing children by the back of their shirts and dragging or pushing them across the room or playground, grabbing children and picking them up by the arm, and restraining children by grabbing them by their wrists from behind and crossing them in front of their body. The complainant further stated Staff A would often yell at the children and described it as angry and not just loud or assertive. Regarding the rough handling, Staff B, C, and D confirmed that they had seen Staff A pick up children by one arm and restrain children on their lap using the method described. The licensing coordinator determined that no children were identified as having a behavior plan with a documented need for physical managements and no staff had documentation of training in physical managements on file at the program. Regarding yelling, Staff B, C, and D confirmed they had heard Staff A yelling at children, and all stated it was aggressive, like they were frustrated. Staff B reported they had concerns with both staff in the preschool classroom with their tone and volume and had gone into the classroom to offer Staff A coverage to take a break. Staff G reported they had observed Staff A get into an argument with Staff E, then get into the face of a child and with an angry voice told them, "You're supposed to tell me you pooped!" Staff F reported they had concerns with both staff in the preschool classroom and had been working with both staff members to improve their interactions with children and each other and did not see improvement. Staff F reported that both staff members were terminated from the program September 12, 2023. Corrective action: Action Plan: -NOW- * Staff A (and Staff E) were addressed multiple times for minor issues, not involving physical harm to children. *Staff A and Staff E were terminated on 9/12/2023. * Staff have had two meetings to go over licensing requirements regarding how teachers should properly address challenging behavior from students. * Staff discussed the situation, how to communicate concerns with the head teachers and the director, in the future, as well as how to report inappropriate behavior to licensing. * Staff discussed yelling and the negative impact it has on both children and teachers. They were encouraged to ask for help when they feel frustrated and to immediately report negative interactions between teachers and students. -FUTURE- *Staff will discuss challenging behavior and proper teaching techniques at upcoming staff meetings. (Roughly one per month). * Staff will go over licensing rules & regulations regularly at staff meetings (Roughly one per month and a video series or licensing rules and regulations released by the director). *Staff have scheduled a time for the state licensor to come to a staff meeting and discuss rules & regulations and to answer questions/concerns of the staff. * Walkie-talkies were purchased to better aid in communication. -DATE- *Licensing will visit our staff meeting on 10/11/2023. *Counseling sessions with Staff A were performed on 3/15/2023 & 07/14/2023. A board of directors meeting was scheduled for the evening of 9/12/2023 to discuss the termination of Staff A, but termination was executed of both Staff A & Staff E prior to the meeting taking place. *Staff A & Staff E were terminated on 9/12/2023, a few days before licensing investigated this complaint. Corrective actions were taken immediately.