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On August 29, 2023, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that on August 29, around 1:50 PM, staff member Ladaja Jones was asleep while she was supposed to be supervising three toddlers napping. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Ian Fyfe has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)1., which states: "Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent adult supervision."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)3., which states: "Caregivers shall provide frequent, direct contact so children are not left unobserved on the premises. "
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(D)1., which states: "Infants and toddlers shall have constant care and supervision. Home monitors or commercial devices marketed to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) shall not be used in place of supervision while children are napping or sleeping. "
On September 6, 2023, staff member Shona Lamond stated that the incident happened on August 29, 2023, sometime around 1:50 p.m. Parent D (parent of Child D) came to the facility and wanted to meet Child D's new caregiver. When she and Parent D walked into Ms. Jones' classroom, they saw that Ms. Jones was laying on the ground near the children with a blanket over her. There were three children present with Ms. Jones, one 21-months-old) and two 2-years-old. All three children were asleep on their cots and never woke up during the incident. She called out Ms. Jones' name multiple times but did not receive an answer. Ms. Jones was in a heavy sleep. She got closer to Ms. Jones, said her name again, and then Ms. Jones woke up sleepily.
On September 6, 2023, staff member Carolyn Allen stated that she worked with Ms. Jones in the toddler classroom on a daily basis and has seen Ms. Jones sleep in the classroom once before. She does not remember when exactly this happened but remembers that it was in 2023. It was naptime in the classroom and Ms. Jones was asleep on the floor next to the napping children. She said Ms. Jones' name once and Ms. Jones immediately woke up. She never informed the directors about the incident. She believes that the facility cook, Michael Fulton, has also seen Ms. Jones asleep in the classroom.
On September 6, 2023, staff member Michael Fulton stated that he has seen Ms. Jones sleeping in the classroom once before, about two weeks prior. He was serving lunch to the classrooms when he saw it. He walked into the classroom and saw that Ms. Jones was asleep in one of the chairs, with her back was to the children. When he walked into the classroom, Ms. Jones did not wake up. He put the lunch tray down on the table loudly, which woke Ms. Jones up. He did not inform the directors of the incident. He has seen multiple staff members sleeping in the classrooms. If there are more than two caregivers in a room, or if one of the caregivers would be in ratio by themselves, the other staff members will allow each other to sleep in the classroom. He was unaware that this was not allowed.
On September 13, 2023, Parent D (parent of Child D) stated he was at the facility to drop off papers and to do a quick tour of the facility before Child D started attending. He and the facility director walked into what would be Child D's classroom when they saw the teacher's aide asleep on the floor. The director was extremely upset about the teacher's aide being asleep. The director had difficulty waking up the teacher's aide.
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