Child care center violations reportedMonday, January 7, 2008
The following summaries of incidents at local child care centers are based on inspection records from the state Department of Social Services: Carousel Early Childhood Development Center In 2003, a 6-month-old child received first and second degree burns at Carousel Early Childhood Development Center in Charleston County after a caregiver left a cup of scalding water unattended. When the child's parents demanded to know why an ambulance wasn't called after employees realized the child was burned, a center employee said, "because it was not life-threatening," according to state records. The parents removed the child from the center, and the state cited the center for failing to properly supervise children. The center also failed to complete a required accident report after the incident, but state records show no indication that the center was cited for the oversight. Carousel director Denise Gaskins said a crying baby kicked over the cup, which was warming a bottle. She said the center learned a lesson from the incident and now uses a bottle warmer. Another child was injured at the center in February 2005. The 14-month-old child's hand was caught in a door when a caregiver shut it without realizing the child was behind her. The child was taken to the hospital and required stitches. The state again cited the center for failing to properly supervise children and neglecting to report the injury. In January 2007, the state cited the center for supervision problems after discovering that a 17-year-old was responsible for watching six 1-year-olds without supervision from any trained staff members. State inspectors returned to the center in April 2007 and again cited the center after discovering a group of 4-year-olds unsupervised. Gaskins said the center's recent violations are the result of an overzealous state inspector. Toni's Child Care Two 4-year-olds climbed a fence and walked away from Toni's Child Care in North Charleston, according to state records. When a caregiver realized the children were missing, she left the rest of the children in her care alone and went to go look for them. The state placed the center on a corrective action plan, a disciplinary measure, as a result of the June 19, 2002, incident. That same month, the state Department of Social Services received a complaint that a parent had gone to the center to pick up a 5-year-old child and found the child standing in the middle of the road in front of the center. State records don't indicate whether investigators followed up on the complaint. Center director Toni Dawson said she only recalled one incident several years ago in which a child ran from the center to meet a parent who had just arrived. She said a fence was not involved and that the child was never out of eyesight. She said the state investigated and found no problems, but she no longer has a record of those findings. The state cited the center for problems between 2003 and 2005, including violations for too many children for the number of staff on hand and caring for more children than the center's license allows. Little Friends Growing Tree In October 2006, the director of Little Friends Growing Tree in Summerville notified the parents of a 6-month-old girl that the child had been bitten by another child. The director, Wanda Tauton, said the mother did not need to come pick up the child, but the child's father went anyway. The father arrived to find his daughter's arm swollen and red. He then took her to the emergency room, where she was treated for "a bite or a hit on the arm," according to state records. The state cited the center for failing to report the incident. Tauton said in a recent interview that she could not recall the specifics of the incident but said the parents of the child may not have notified the center that the child was taken to the hospital. Chesterbrook Academy In July 2004, an employee at Chesterbrook Academy in Mount Pleasant struck her 5-year-old child with enough force to knock the child's shoulder and head into a shelf, according to state records. The state investigated and concluded that the center was not liable for any wrongdoing but that the parent, an employee of the center, "sees nothing wrong with her behavior." Later that same year, the state investigated a complaint that one of the center's caregivers taped a 2-year-old child to a chair "because she would not stay in the chair." The caregiver was fired and another caregiver who witnessed the event was suspended, according to a state report. The state did not cite the center for any violations, noting that it had disciplined the employees. Center director Trisha Leathers said she has only been on the job since August and is not familiar with either incident. Toddlers R Us In April 2007, a child broke his elbow at Toddlers R Us child care in North Charleston. The center claimed it did not know what happened to the 2-year-old child when his mother arrived to find her son moaning and his arm swollen. The mother rushed the child to the emergency room, where doctors discovered a broken elbow. State investigators cited the center for failing to report the incident and noted a possible cause of the injury: the center was allowing children to play on a concrete slab because a play area was under renovation. Center director Shelia Palmer said she could not discuss the incident because it is in litigation. Kid's Academy The state has cited Kid's Academy in Charleston on at least six separate occasions for failing to properly supervise children. In one report, an investigator wrote that children were "moving from classroom to classroom and throughout the halls without supervision. This causes the caregiver to leave a room of children alone to retrieve the child." On one visit to the center in September 2006, a state investigator noted that a 2-year-old was walking around with a diaper halfway on, dragging feces across the classroom. Some children were roaming in and out of the classroom, and other children were attempting to help children with their diapers, the report said. The center also has had numerous violations for unsanitary conditions in its bathrooms and diaper-changing areas and for failing to provide enough activities and outdoor play time for children. Center director Donna Nelson could not be reached for comment. |
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Comments
This article has 18 comment(s)
Posted by DanniD on January 7, 2008 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
wow....that is all I can say.
Posted by Hey_U_Guys on January 7, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's amazing what can happen when trusted child care teachers look away or don't pay attention. I've seen a lot of daycares that don't have a proper child to teacher ratio. One or two teachers watching 30 kids. My son's toddler class has 4 teachers watching 22 kids. THat's more like it.
Posted by Early on January 7, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've had two kids in daycare, very good daycare's and guess what, $h_t happens. A small child will bite another in a blink of an eye. Kids will fall EVEN if your staring right at them. I do understand that some parents are oblivious to raising kids and when it's your first you have the tendency to go ballistic but, this report is just a report of what to expect if you put your kid in this situation. Tell mom she doesn't have to go back t work for six years and let her watch the kid.
Posted by Hey_U_Guys on January 7, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When I have to sign accident reports at my son's daycare I don't go all ape s**t. Like Early said, stuff happens. My son doesn't bite or hit, but he gets bitten and hit. When I see that he fell and bumped his head, I sign the paper, no questions asked because 2 year olds are CLUMSY. I'm not going to hold the daycare responsible for the bad acts of other people's kids or my son's clumsiness.
Posted by common_sense_plz on January 7, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree Early, s**t happens. But a child care center also needs to takes some precautions. Playing on a concrete slab??? I will say that the parents should have also had issues with that. Kids having enough time to climb a fence and walked away. A child that left and was found standing in the street??? That's not s**t happens, that's lack of supervision.
Now that the P&C has uncovered all of this, does anyone have any recomendations on how to correct and monitor it?
Especially since studies say 0-5 is so critical in a child's learning and development.
Posted by SMAT62 on January 7, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They are not talking about a child getting bit or hit. They are talking about children not being supervised by the caregivers. For them to say they dont know what happened to a child is unacceptable. My oldest daughter was in two different daycares and they treated those children poorly. One didnt feed her and the other didnt feed or change her until her privates were blistering and bleeding. I reported them to DSS and they both were citied and ordered to shut down for a temporarily basis and some employees were fired. All I am saying is that background checks should be a mandatory, and they (workers) should be supervised for a month or two. I also believe they should have a less teacher/child ratio. i think 1 to 4 is good depending on the age of the child.
I think they all should be required to have videos inside the daycares for monitoring, back ground checks on employees, and the should be required to take parenting classes.
Posted by charlene68 on January 7, 2008 at 8:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What I do not like is the fact , that these daycares were cited 6 and 7 times. I dont think they should have let stuff go on for 6 or seven times.. i think they should cite them the first time , give them a certain amount of time to correct and if they dont , then close them down, what is it going to take? someone child getting killed for them to realize that there is a big problem ?
Posted by Hey_U_Guys on January 7, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The day cares that are on the up and up require their teachers to undergo background checks, fingerprinting, and child care classes. What's really horrible is the old day care my son went to for like 3 months, will hire you BEFORE the background checks come back. When a crappy facility NEEDS teachers, they don't care. They'll hire whoever. My friend's son almost DIED at that daycare. He was about 4 months old in the infant room. SOmeone had laid him in the crib, propped his bottle up with a pillow, and put it in his mouth. He fell asleep and starting drowning on his milk. He turned blue and instead of this daycare taking him 2 blocks to the ER, they called his mother and told her to come get him. I'm sorry but that's a MAJOR law suit. You sign a waiver stating that if your child is in a situation where he/she needs immediate medical attention, you authorize the daycare to take them to the nearest ER.
It's hard to keep teachers at day cares. It's not the best or easiest job to watch a bunch of kids all day and take care of them. They don't get paid near what they should. Does that excuse their lack of caring...NO WAY! I'm just glad my son goes to the daycare he goes to. I couldn't ask for a better group of teachers and directors. We've NEVER had any problems with them not watching a child or "accidents" other than kids being kids. He moves up to Pre-1 in March. They've already gone over what he will be learning and will be sending a weekly "cirriculum" home. He will be attending the daycare until he starts regular school.
Posted by captivated on January 7, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe random visits from the DSS might reduce the number of avoidable incidents. I'm not talking about twenty minute drop-ins, but send a DSS rep over to ACME childcare center unannounced and have them spend the day there. With no scheduled visits, I am sure the daycare workers would really be on their toes knowing they could be hit at any time. Just a thought.
Posted by Early on January 7, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Just a hint, if you want to choose a daycare, ask how long each employee has been there.
Posted by Girleygirl on January 7, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Early as well, but from the reports if I knew anyone that have kids enrolled at Kid's Acedemy I would say ehhwwwwwwwwwww and you need to remove them ASAP.....its not hard to try to keep a bathroom clean...that's nasty!
Posted by scnative4ever on January 7, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
same crap goes on in these mom and pop homes for elderly people. and guess who is usually running theses places. The big issue here is reporting the incidents according to state law. most of these day cares didn't report the accidents. wonder why...probably because they are breaking other rules. they run daycares like they do fast food joints. no service, no management, just show me my money.
Posted by eyfigueroa on January 7, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
yes, sometimes things do happen. and parents with children in daycare should learn to discern accidents from negligence.
but to be so cavalier and tell the "mom" to stay home for six years?!?!?
some of us had to work. some of us had spouses who just up and left and the parent with the children decides not to go on welfare and food stamps.
some of us had a spouse who died and had no one willing/able to care for children.
there are more men out there having to raise children alone, would you tell them to 'stay at home'?
granted, there are couples out there who could probably tighten their financial belts for a few years so the kid(s) could stay at home with a parent (which by the way EARLY I make 4 times more than my husband, guess who would have stayed home).
however, i'd take a guess and say that at least 75% of families of kids in daycare have to put them there.
Posted by mhen123 on January 7, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My Daughter used to go to a daycare that has multiple locations. One of it's locations was sited. We pulled her after we found one of the workers had her boyfriend hanging out there and the kids were not being watched because the worker and her boyfriend were kissing. Once this was addressed with the director and owner, I was told the girl was fired. The next week they went on a field trip and the girl was on the bus and working in another location. Parents who have to work try to find a good daycare that you can trust your children with. Unfortunately, many daycares hire people that will work for $6.00 and hour to just have a job, not because they love children and want to teach and take care of them. We have moved my daughter to a Christian Day Care up the road and we love them. They love our daughter and there is plenty of supervision and interaction. There is NO BOYFRIENDS either.
Posted by lillady on January 7, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The regulations are needed. But if you have an employee quit with standard two weeks notice, it is impossible to replace them before that two weeks is up. You have to FIND someone suitable, have them fingerprinted, get those sent off, get a response....you are lucky if it is back in THREE weeks. The daycares have a hard time too. I have been two feet away from a child and had that baby fall and bump his head. I have had one in my lap and another child bite him. It happens fast but it should be documented and properly treated. The system doesn't work. For the kids or for the daycares.
Posted by misszoe on January 9, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Anyone can have an accident with a kid in the room, now add 8 more kids, or 12 more. Even one of our local news media professionals had a horrible accident with a young child a few years back. No one is perfect. A good care giver uses preventative maintenance and prepares to avoid the unexpected by anticipating the possibilities. The best we can do as parents is find a center we feel we have investigated to the best of our ability and remain involved. Go on field trips, make random visits - if a center is on the up and up they welcome visits (but nap time is never a good visiting time for the sake of the other children's rest).
All of the information available in these articles is available to all of us. Now, if there is a situation with gross negligence (letting a kid tie a tether to a slide and not supervising) then we should be really concerned.
Of course these center should have random checks from DSS & DHEC.
Guess what.
They do.
Dss always comes randomly unless they are checking back to make sure violations have been corrected and even then they say, we will be back around 30 days from now. The big problem with DSS is just exactly what these articles are trying to express: They are understaffed and underfunded. That is not a willy-nilly complaint. That is true. There just aren't enough DSS employees to inspect and make random visits any more than once or twice a year. We have too many centers, not enough people to maintain the site supervison.
Accidents happen. Taping a child to a chair - not an accident. Striking a child - not an accident. Just be aware of what you are looking at.
Posted by RiverQueen on January 9, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am the parent of two children whom attend Carousel. Both of my children have been there since they were six weeks old, my oldest child is now in the afterschool proram. I love Carousel and would not have my children any where else. Most of the teachers have been there for over ten years (some since Carousel opened) they are all wonderful, loving women. Both of the Directors are very helpful and always willing to work with you on any problems that may arise. I was there the day the "Specialist" cited them for not having anyone in the four year old room and I can tell you that it did not happen. The teacher in that room at the time is a very tiny woman. She was kneeling down talking to a child and the Specialist did not see her. The Specialist came up front screeming that no one was in the room with the four year olds. The Assistant Director along with the Specialist ran back there and Miss Tiffany was standing in the middle of the room. The Specialist asked Miss Tiffany why she had not been in the room, when Tiffany answered that she had been in the room, had not left, the Specialist repeatedly called her a liar leaving Tiffany in tears. I witnessed the whole incident and felt the Specialist was way out of line, first of all for handling it in that manner and second for doing it in front of a parent. I called and reported the incident to her supervisor but of course I was blown off. I trust Carousel and all of its staff and feel very good about leaving my children in the mornings.
Posted by SingleMom on January 9, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I also have a child who goes to Carousel. My child started going when she was 8 weeks old. I have not had any problems with Carousel. Any time my child has had an accident such as a bump on the head or been bitten I was notified and given an incident report. I have gotten to know many of the workers there and trust them completly. I also find it very easy to communicate with the Staff and Directors. My childs safety is the most important thing to me. I would not leave her in a place that I thought was unsafe or where I thought she would be neglected or unsupervised. I appreciate DSS for taking on the case loads they are forced to do, but who is to say the "Specialists" does not show favortism to certin centers and are harsher on others. I do not think the "Specialists" should discuss violations in front of anyone, including the children. She should have documented her findings and pulled the employee into a meeting with the Director not confronted her to the point of tears in front of parents or children. Why is that not considered a violation? I do not want my child exposed to an adult and so called "Specialists" acting like that. I do not consider that acceptable and if any one knows who I can contact about her behavior please post it. I will make sure and ask tomorrow morning when I drop my child off who to submitt a formal complaint to.