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On February 7, 2024, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole Eddins conducted an unannounced inspection regarding the allegation that Center Coordinator Donna Webber hit Child A, who will be 2 years old later this month, in the head three times in 30 minutes with a toy bucket. Donna yelled "Now stop it" when she hit him in the head with the bucket. Child A is non-verbal and was swiping toys off the shelves, which is what he does daily, when Donna hit and yelled at him. After conducting the investigation, CI Eddins finds the allegation is substantiated. This conclusion is based on the following evidence of licensing rule violations which occurred at the facility:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)7. Which stated: "Physical punishment including, but not limited to, spanking, slapping, shaking, biting, or pulling hair shall be prohibited."
On February 7, 2024, CI Eddins interviewed Head Start Program Director Susan Huffman, Director Isabella Davis, Mental Health Manager Kathi Moore, and Staff Development Manager Chris Dunwoodie who provided consistent information. Susan Huffman, Isabella Davis, Kathi Moore, and Chris Dunwoodie stated that they did not observe the allegation occur firsthand, but they did observe the allegation occur on the video footage in Child A's classroom. They stated that Center Coordinator Donna Webber was floating and helped Lyndsey Church on January 30, 2024, between the times of 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. They observed the video camera footage that showed Donna Webber being irritated with Child A who was swiping toys off of shelves instead of picking up the toys with the other children. They observed Donna Webber grab a plastic toy bucket, that was normally used to hold toys, and use it to tap Child A on the top of his head. They observed Child A walking over to the play kitchen set area where he began to throw and swipe more toys off of shelfs. Susan Huffman, Isabella Davis, Kathi Moore, and Chris Dunwoodie then observed Donna Webber grab a different toy bucket and use it to tap the top of Child A's head with slightly more force than the last time. They stated that after five or ten minutes, Child A began to repeat the habit of swiping more toys off of the classroom shelves. Donna Webber approached him with a new plastic toy bucket, and she hit him on the top of the head with slightly more force than the last time. They observed Child A rubbing the top of his head after the third physical interaction with Coordinator Webber. They stated that the video footage is no longer accessible as the recorder can only hold videos for about five days before automatically deleting the old videos. They stated that the video contained no audio and that the first two taps were very light with the third interaction being described closer to a "hit" than a tap.
On February 7, 2024, CI Eddins interviewed Lindsey Church who stated that on January 30, 2024, Donna Webber assisted her classroom to help meet ratio at around 9:00 a.m. She stated that Donna Webber was irritated with Child A's behavior when he started swiping toys off the classroom shelves. She stated that Donna Webber wanted Child A to pick up his toys that he had swiped/thrown on the ground. She observed Donna Webber tap Child A on the head with a plastic toy bucket while cleaning up after him. She heard Donna Webber yell, "now stop it" when she tapped Child A on the head. While Lindsey Church was coming back from restroom with another child, she observed Donna Webber hit Child A with a bit more force on the top of his head after Child A was swiping more toys off of the classroom shelves. She heard her repeat the phrase, "now stop it," after hitting Child A harder on the head with a new toy bucket. Lindsey Church stated that after some time had passed, she observed Donna Webber then hit Child A on the top of his head a third time with more force than the last due to Child A repeating the same toy swiping process on the other side of the classroom. She stated that Donna Webber was in her classroom for around 30 minutes before she left to another room. She stated that although the first tap started off very light, the other two hits were used with more force.
On February 8, 2024, CI Eddins interviewed Donna Webber who stated that she felt overwhelmed with the children and that she was irritated with management for not letting her go back to the kitchen to help prepare the children's lunch. She stated that she tapped Child A on the head with a plastic toy bucket while she was cleaning up after him and that she had tapped his head a total of three times with a toy bucket.
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