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On August 23, 2024, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that Child A (4-years-old) has been bullied and recently was bit on the back by another child during a fight at Kindercare Education LLC. The parents were not notified of the incident. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Patrick O'Malley has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.192(5)(A), which states the following: "In case of accident or injury to a child, the provider shall notify the parent(s) immediately. If the child requires emergency medical care, the provider shall follow the parent's(s') written instructions."
On August 23, 2024, CI O'Malley conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and observed a bite mark on Child A's back. The wound appeared to be approximately four inches by two inches. Child A would not stand still for an exact measurement. Child A's skin did not appear to be broken.
CI O'Malley conducted an interview with teacher Karlye Jeffries, who stated that she was lining up the preschool class to go inside from the playground at approximately 10:15 a.m. on August 22, 2024. Ms. Jeffries heard Child A start crying behind her. Child A reported, "[Child B (3-years-old)] hit me." Ms. Jeffries escorted Child A and Child B inside the building and called Ms. Hantak over the radio. Ms. Grey was already inside the classroom, assisting children with toileting. Ms. Hantak arrived at the classroom and inspected Child A's injury. Ms. Hantak reported that the injury looked like a bite mark, Ms. Hantak treated the wound with soapy water and an ice pack. Ms. Jeffries wrote a note to Parent A (parent of Child A) via the Kindercare parenting app regarding the incident between 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Ms. Jeffries checked the app at 1:45 p.m. and noticed that the note had not gone through; she resent the note.
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