| Conclusion Summary |
|
On April 4, 2024, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that On April 04, 2024, at 10:20 A.M., the two-year-old class left a child unattended on the playground for approximately 5 to 6 minutes when the rest of the class and teachers went inside. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Jade Stewart-Martin 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 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."
On April 5, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed Marla Brunk, Zoey Brunk, and teachers: Melissa Portwood, Julia Boyher, and Mekayla Caruthers. On April 4, 2024, Child A (age 2-years-old) was left outside after recess at approximately 10:20 A.M. Child A's teachers on April 4, 2024, were Julia Boyher and Mekayla Caruthers. The center uses the Kaymbu application. Zoey stated that the application is to be used when crossing over every threshold. There are two steps to this with the first being name-to-face recognition. The second step is a screen that confirms the number of children you are supposed to have after every transition. On April 4, 2024, Mekayla was in charge of the Kaymbu applications and logging the children's transitions. When Mekayla and Julie were bringing Child A's class from the playground to the indoor gym at 10:19 A.M., Mekayla did name-to-face for Child A and moved her in the Kaymbu application from the playground to the indoor gym but Child A did not go to the gym and a playground sweep was not done. Melissa Portwood then saw Child A on the playground alone and brought her inside at approximately 10:25 A.M. She then brought her to the front desk with Zoey. Zoey stated Child A was fine after the incident and was not acting upset. She reviewed the camera footage where she discovered that Child A was left outside for approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Zoey then proceeded to call Parent A (parent of Child A), Goddard Franchise Relations, called the Office of Childhood to self-report the incident. Zoey and Marla then went to all staff present on April 4, 2024, and made sure they were able to perform a name-to-face transition in the Kaymbu application and preform a playground sweep. Marla stated that they have a staff meeting on April 9, 2024, where they will be going over the incident and the importance of name-to-face transitions and playground sweeps. Marla stated that Mekayla and Julie will be written up for this incident.
On April 5, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin observed the video footage from the playground on April 4, 2024. In this video, Mekayla Caruthers is in a blue jacket with black pants and Julie Boyher is wearing a black jacket and black pants. Child A is wearing a blue jacket with pink patterned pants.
-At 9:39:10(actual time 10:19:10 A.M.) Mekayla and Julie are lining the children up to go into the gym.
-At 9:43:04(actual time 10:23:04 A.M.) Child A is seen walking outside the gym doors and looking inside and then walking around the playground.
-At 9:45:45 (actual time 10:25:45 A.M.), Child A is seen getting pulled inside by a teacher.
The video footage from outside is only motion activated, that is why it skips around. The time stamp on the video recording is incorrect. The actual time for the incident started at 10:19:10 A.M. and lasted until 10:25:45 A.M. according to the Kaymbu application time stamps.
On April 5, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin observed Child A's daily student summary from the Kaymbu application. CI Stewart-Martin observed the list of staff that Marla Brunk and Zoey Brunk had retrained on the name-to-face transitions with the Kaymbu application. They also went over the importance of playground sweeps. CI Stewart-Martin observed Child A's enrollment form.
On April 23, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin observed the write ups for Mekayla Caruthers and Julia Boyher. CI Stewart-Martin also observed the remaining staff that Zoey Brunk and Marla Brunk had retrained on the name-to-face transitions with the Kaymbu application.
On May 17, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin contacted Parent A. Parent A stated that Child A had been attending the facility for a year. She had no concerns with staff or Child A's teachers. She was told immediately after Child A was brought in from outside. Child A is still enrolled at the facility.
|