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On June 25, 2024, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that on January 18, 2024, Child A (age 7-years-old), was left in the van for over an hour. The van was parked inside a garage on the facility's property. After an hour or so, Child A eventually got out of the van, walked out of the garage, and the owner of the facility saw him. The adults who left Child A in the van were Marion Johnson and Zoie. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Jade Stewart-Martin has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.212(1)(A)., which states: "The provider shall be responsible for the care, safety and supervision of children on field trips or at any time they transport children away from the facility."
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5 CSR 25-500.212(3)(G)., which states: "Children shall not be left unattended in a vehicle at any time."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.212(3)(M)., which states: "When children leave the vehicle, the vehicle shall be inspected to ensure that no children are left on or under seats."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)1., which states: "Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent supervision."
On July 08, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed President/CEO Scott Walker, director Abdul-Arsheed Ajay, and teacher Dion Irons. All staff recall the incident that occurred with Child A (aged 7-years-old) on January 18, 2024. On this date, the individual that was driving the van was Marion Johnson and the co-pilot was Zoie Covington. At approximately 3:56 P.M. the van returned to the center. At approximately 4:46 P.M. Mr. Walker was walking to his car and found Child A wandering from the parking garage to the building. Mr. Walker brought Child A inside, and had staff get Parent A (parent of Child A and also a caregiver at the facility). Child A did not require any medical attention. Mr. Walker went to review the camera footage and determined that Child A had been in the van inside of the parking garage from 3:56 P.M. to 4:46 P.M. Mr. Walker immediately pulled Ms. Johnson and Ms. Covington into the office and terminated them. The van protocols that had been in place at the time was that both the driver and the co- pilot do a van walkthrough to make sure there are no children left behind. On January 18, 2024, this was not done. They were also responsible for filling out a sheet that gives the child's name, where they get picked up from, and the time they picked up each child. At the bottom of this sheet the co-pilot and the driver sign off indicating that they have checked the entire van for children and personal belongings. On January 18, 2024, Ms. Covington(co-pilot) signed off on this sheet, but Ms. Johnson(driver) did not. On January 18, 2024, Child A was listed on the sheet as picked up at 3:30 P.M. Ms. Johnson and Ms. Covington were trained at hire and quarterly on proper protocols with transportation. After this incident occurred, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Covington were fired immediately and all staff were retrained on all transportation procedures.
On July 8, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin observed Child A's Enrollment Form. A description of the incident on January 18, 2024, was observed. Van Transport Protocols and Van Procedures were also observed. CI Stewart-Martin also observed the screen shots from the cameras on January 18, 2024, that showed the van returning at 3:56 P.M and Child A wandering toward the center at 4:46 P.M. out of the parking garage. The pickup sheet from January 18, 2024, was observed. The sheet indicated that Child A was picked up at 3:30 P.M. At the bottom of the sheet both the driver and the co-pilot are supposed to sign off stating that "After parking the van, I have fully checked the van to ensure no children or personal belongings remain." On this date, Zoie Covington(co-pilot) signed off, but Marion Johnson (driver) did not sign off.
On August 21, 2024, CI Stewart-Martin contacted Parent A (parent of Child A and caregiver at the facility). CI Stewart-Martin also attempted to contact Marion Johnson and Zoie Covington but was unsuccessful and left a voicemail. Parent A stated that she still works at the facility. On January 18, 2024, the CEO came looking for her. He told her that Child A was left asleep in the van, Child A woke up and got out of the locked van and came and rang the doorbell to the gym entrance. Child A was crying when Parent A got to him. Child A has had nightmares from the incident and had to receive therapy from school. Child A stopped attending the facility in January 2024. Parent A does not recall the drivers' names.
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