Based on the results of the investigation the allegations are substantiated and additional areas of noncompliance were found not related to the complaint.
INVESTIGATION COMPLETE.
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K.A.R. 28-4-439 Child care centers: food service. (c) (3) Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks shall include at least two of the following:
Description : Per video footage, on 3/24/2023, the snack served in Room 5 was missing a second component. The children were served Goldfish crackers and water.
K.A.R. 28-4-439 Child care centers: food service. (a) (3) practices sanitary methods of food handling and storage;
Description : Per video footage, on 3/24/2023, a staff member in Room 5 served children Goldfish crackers with her bare hands.
K.A.R. 28-4-430 Health practices; illness and abuse; general health requirements for staff. (c) (6) The program director or, in the absence of the program director, the person designated in charge of the facility shall report within 24 hours to the Kansas department of social and rehabilitation services any evidence of suspected child abuse or neglect. When the local offices of the department of social and rehabilitation services are not open, reports shall be made to local law enforcement agencies.
Description : The assistant director was notified of suspected child abuse and did not report it to the Deparment for Children and Families. The management had been made aware of the behaviors of the lead teacher in Room 5 towards children, including slamming children into chairs and pulling a child by their hair. Concerns the staff person was working while under the influence of marijuana were also reported to management. None of these concerns were reported by management to the Department for Children and Families.
K.A.R. 28-4-430 Health practices; illness and abuse; general health requirements for staff. (b) (1) Each child's hands shall be washed with soap and water before and after eating and after toileting.
Description : Per video footage, on 3/24/2023, the children in Room 5 did not wash their hands after eating snack.
K.A.R. 28-4-428 Staff requirements. (a) (3) No child shall be left unsupervised.
Description : Per video footage from 3/24/2023, a 2-year-old child was left unsupervised when the child walked out of Room 5 without a teacher noticing. The teacher was standing approximately 6 feet away from the child when he walks out of the room. The assistant director returns the child 3 minutes later. The lead teacher states to the assistant director, "he snuck out."
K.A.R. 28-4-428 Staff requirements. (a) (2) The minimum staff-child ratio and the maximum number of children per unit shall be the following, at all times: Age of children Minimum staff-child ratio maximum number of children per unit Infants 1 to 3 9 Infants and other children under the age of 6 1 to 4 (including not more than 2 infants) 8 (including not more than 4 infants) Toddlers 1 to 5 10 Children at least 2 years of age but under the age of 3 1 to 7 14 Children at least 2½ years of age but under school-age 1 to 10 20 Children at least 3 years of age but under school-age 1 to 12 24 Kindergarten enrollees 1 to 14 28 School-age 1 to 16 32
Description : Per video footage of Room 5 on 3/24/2023, the minimum staff to child ratio was not maintained eight times when one staff leaves the room, causing one staff to be alone in the room with between 8 to 15 children ages 2 to 3 years old.
K.A.R. 28-4-421 Terms of license. (a) (1) License capacity shall be determined by age of children, available space, program director qualifications, and number of self-contained units per facility.
Description : Per video footage from 3/24/2023, terms of license were not followed in Room 5. There were 15 children ages 2 to 3 years in the room. Room 5 is licensed for 14 children ages 2 to 3 years.
K.A.R. 28-4-133 Reporting critical incidents. (b) Each primary care provider and each program director shall ensure that a written report of any critical incident specified in subsection is submitted by the next working day to the
department. The report shall be submitted on a form provided by the department. A copy of each critical incident report shall be kept on file at the facility for at least one year from the date of the critical incident.
Description : On 3/24/2023, a child was seen by a physician for bruising obtained while at the child care facility. A Critical Incident Report was not written and sent to KDHE.
K.A.R. 28-4-132 Child care practices. (a) Each child in day care shall be under the supervision of a person 16 years of age or older who is responsible for the child's health, safety and well-being.
Description : Per video footage from 3/24/2023, children were not under the supervision of a person responsible for their health, safety and well-being when staff in Room 5 stood in the doorway to the classroom with their backs turned to the children and were not aware of the actions of the children in the classroom. During these times, children hit each other with foam play mats, wrestled and jumped up and down on top of a table. On three occasions, children walked out of the classroom and entered the hallway. Also observed on video in Room 5, two male children hit each other and are fighting on the floor. A parent walks in the room and picks his child up. The parent can be heard to discipline his child and ask him to apologize to the other child. During this time, the lead teacher is in the back of the room, putting toys away and did not acknowledge the children fighting or the parent in the room. The assistant program director did not ensure the health, safety, and well-being of children in care when numerous concerns were brought to her attention and other management staff regarding a staff member's behavior and actions towards children, and the assistant program director did not appropriately investigate the concerns.
K.A.R. 28-4-132 Child care practices. (b)
Description : Punishment that is humiliating, frightening, or physically harmful is used by staff in Room 5. Per video footage from 3/24/2023, the lead teacher picks up a crying child, then holds the child away from her body and squeezes his torso. The child starts to scream and continues to cry. The lead staff member is observed slamming a child who is screaming and crying into a chair at the table and the child's body bounces from impact. The lead teacher forcefully holds a used bloody paper towel in a child's face as the child continues to cry after falling to the floor. The lead teacher walks up to a child who is crying, yells in his face, and walks away. A child exits the classroom and the lead teacher leaves the classroom, picks the child up, brings him back into the classroom and slams him down on the play mat. The child's body hits the play mat hard enough that his body jerks, and he begins to scream and cry. The lead teacher roughly swings a crying child in the air and slams his body down on the foam play mats causing his body to jerk. The child screams and cries. The lead teacher yells at a child in a frightening tone saying, "sit down, do you want crackers, sit down, sit down. If I have to tell you to sit down one more time, I'll show you." The child does not sit down and she grabs him by the arm and moves him to sit in the chair. The teacher pushes the chair into the table with the child and the child's body hits the table causing the table to move. After two children hit each other, the lead teacher grabs one child by the arm, yanks him and slams him on the floor and says, "stop hitting girls." The child lays on the floor and cries. The assistant teacher yells multiple times at the children with a loud, frightening tone. She yells things like "sit down" and "put your shoes on." Per collateral contacts, the lead teacher was observed grabbing a child by the hair and dragging him to the table.
K.A.R. 28-4-126 Health of persons 16 years or older in child care facilities. (a) (1) Each person caring for children shall be free from physical, mental or emotional handicaps as necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the children, and shall be qualified by temperament, emotional maturity, sound judgment, and an understanding of children.
Description : Two staff members in Room 5 are not qualified by temperament, emotional maturity, sound judgement and an understanding of children. Per video footage from 3/24/2023, the lead staff person says, "shit" and, "I can be mean to my kid, but me being mean to my kid scares the hell out of them. They are like, oh shit," in front of the 2-year-old children. A male child is seen on video crying and the lead teacher gets in the child's face and continuously blows air in his face and tells him to hush and stop repeatedly. The child continues to cry. The assistant staff person walks up to a 2-year-old child, who is walking around the classroom, and yells in his face and walks away.
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