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On April 24, 2023, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that when Child A (2-years-old) fractured their fingers while playing in broken cabinets at the facility, the injury was not documented. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Ian Fyfe has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-300.050 (11) which states: "In case of an accident or injury to a child, the provider shall notify a parent immediately. If a child requires emergency medical care, a parent's prior written instructions shall be followed. A form shall be completed indicating the circumstances and the date and time of the injury. The form shall be signed by the caregiver and his/her supervisor. A copy of the form shall be given to the parent the day of the accident or injury and necessary explanations shall be given. The form shall be filed in the child's record."
On April 25, 2023, assistant director Aquila Kramer stated that she was familiar with the incident involving Child A (2-years-old) that occurred on April 4, 2023. Child A was in the facility's gym and being cared for by Youth Caregiver A. Youth Caregiver A was in the process of getting the children in line while Child A, Child B (2-years-old), and Child C (2-years-old) were playing around a cabinet in the gym. Child A and Child B were inside of the cabinet when Child C closed the cabinet door. When the cabinet door closed, Child A's fingers were caught in the crack by the hinge of the cabinet door. A parent was not notified. Child A was picked up at approximately 5:30 p.m. and the incident occurred at approximately 3:20 p.m. After picking up Child A from the facility, Parent A came back inside to ask staff members if anything had happened to Child A. Parent A returned the next day to the facility and informed facility staff of Child A's injuries; Child A's pinky, ring finger, and middle finger were fractured as a result of the incident. When a child sustains an injury at the facility, staff members are trained to write an accident report regardless of whether or not there is an observable injury. The accident report is then given to the parent of the injured child at the end of the day. Staff members are trained to not contact parents immediately unless it involves a serious injury or a head injury.
On April 25, 2023, staff member Jada Wilson stated that when Parent A was putting Child A into his car seat, Child A showed signs that his finger was hurting. Parent A then brought Child A back inside of the facility. Child A appeared to be okay emotionally, however his finger had observable bruising and swelling. Parent A began asking staff members about if Child A was involved in any accidents during the day. She took Parent A to Youth Caregiver A and staff member Briana Nichols. Neither of Child A's caregivers wrote an accident report following the incident. Child A's caregivers only created the accident report after Parent A brought Child A back to the facility and staff members observed Child A's injuries. Youth Caregiver A stated that she knew that Child A had been involved in some sort of incident but that she did not see anything happen or hear anything. The accident report was completed after Parent A showed them Child A's injuries.
On April 27, 2023, Parent A (primary caregiver of Child A) stated that on April 4, 2023, she picked up Child A from the facility. When she was placing Child A into his car seat, Child A said, "my hand hurts" and "in the gym". She observed Child A's pinky on his right hand to be swollen and red. She asked Child A if his injury happened in the gym and Child A said "yes". During the day on April 4, 2023, she did not receive any phone calls or notifications informing her of any accidents involving Child A. She went back inside of the facility with Child A and made contact with a staff member named Ms. Jada. Ms. Jada was unaware of any incidents involving Child A but they talked to Youth Caregiver A. Youth Caregiver A stated that the children got into a cabinet and got hurt. After leaving the facility, she took Child A to an urgent care. Child A had an x-ray done and was determined to have a suspicious fracture in his pinky on his right hand. Child A had a follow-up visit with medical staff on April 12, 2023, and had another x-ray. The second x-ray showed that Child A had fractured his pinky, his ring finger, his middle finger, and his pointer finger, all on his right hand. Child A has been attending the facility for more than a year and has been involved in multiple accidents and incidents in which he has sustained minor injuries. During these accidents and injuries, the facility has reported the injuries however has never been contacted during the day regarding an injury sustained by Child A but rather is notified with an accident report when picking up Child A at the end of the day.
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