|
On October 24, 2024, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that four children, all aged 2 years old, eloped from the facility as they were coming inside from playtime. After conducting the investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole 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)(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 October 24, 2024, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole Eddins completed an unannounced inspection.
On October 24, 2024, Director Heather Conley stated that she did not observe the allegation firsthand; however, she did observe Child A (2 years old), Child B (2 years old), Child C (3 years old), and Child D (3 years old) eloping from the facility through recorded video footage. The morning of that day, October 24, 2024, at around 9:57 a.m., two groups of children and staff were coming inside the facility from their morning outdoor playtime when the incident occurred. Four children ran ahead of the staff in the hallway and they think the children went out the exit door rather than into their classroom. The staff involved were Caregivers Taylor Anderson, Lexi Browning, Jessica Vaughn, and Jade Parrot. Once in the classroom, staff realized the children were not with the group and began looking for them. All four children got out of the facility and crossed Burkhart Road to a field on the other side of the street. She observed all four children being helped by a stopped motorist and they were brought back to the facility. The front door has a feature that unlocks the door when an individual triggers the motion sensor before opening the front door. It was possible that one of the four children somehow triggered the motion sensor on the door, allowing Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D to escape the facility.
On October 24, 2024, Caregiver Aaliyah McCullough stated her class was outside at the time of the incident. An unknown female pedestrian approached her and Caregiver Nyla Ingram to ask if they had any children who were playing in a field across the street. Then, Caregiver Jade Parrot came outside to ask if she had seen Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D. It was difficult to see the field from the playground but there was one corner of the playground where she could observe part of the field. This was around 10:00 a.m. so she thinks the children were over there only a couple of minutes.
On October 24, 2024, Caregiver Nyla Ingram stated her class was outside at the time of the incident. An unknown female pedestrian approached her and Aaliyah to ask if they had any children who were playing in a field across the street. Then, Jade came outside, looking worried, to ask if she had seen Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D. The pedestrian told Jade that four children were playing in the grass field across the street from the facility.
On October 24, 2024, CI Eddins observed video footage and confirmed the incident. At approximately 9:57 a.m., the classes were coming inside. At 9:58 a.m., the four children exited out the door. At 10:03 a.m., the children are brought inside and guided to their classrooms.
On October 29, 2024, Caregiver Jade Parrot stated that the two classes went back inside at around 10:00 a.m. Children were lined up and counted using name-to-face before going inside. Taylor lead the classes and walked inside first. Some 2-year-old children ran ahead of Taylor, but it was common for children to run ahead of their caregivers to go to their classroom. She did not observe Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D leave the facility and she assumed that whoever ran ahead would walk to their classrooms. Once she returned to her classroom, she noticed that she was missing Child C. She immediately informed Lexi and Taylor that she was missing a child and heard that Child A, Child B, and Child D were also missing. She quickly left her room to help look for the missing children while Jessica stayed behind to supervise the children. She went outside to the playground and other staff told her that children were in the field across the street. She quickly ran outside to the front of the building and observed Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D walking back from the field across the street with Heather and a pedestrian.
On October 29, 2024, Caregiver Lexi Browning stated that the two classes went back inside at around 10:00 a.m. Children were lined up and counted using name-to-face before going inside. She stayed at the back of the line to hold the door open as Taylor began to lead the children back inside the facility. She followed both classrooms in the back of the line but did not observe any children running forward as she was preoccupied with some children in the back of the line.
On October 29, 2024, Caregiver Jessica Vaughn stated she was outside with the two classes. At around 10:00 a.m., both classes lined up by the door and children were counted before entering the facility. She tried to keep her children behind Taylor and Lexi's class, but her children started mixing together as children ran inside the facility. She was preoccupied with some children attempting to wander into the kitchen space, so she did not observe Child A, Child B, Child C, and Child D elope. Taylor was supposed to be in the front of the line. Sometimes children would run ahead of caregivers during transition times, but she tried to her best to always stop this from occurring.
On October 29, 2024, Caregiver Taylor Anderson stated that she did not remember much about the incident. She remembered walking back inside the facility after their morning playground time. She remembered Lexi opening the playground door at around 10:00 a.m. and several children just started running down the hallway. She was not sure which children were running ahead of her as it was common for children to run ahead. Once she returned inside her room, she quickly realized that Child A, Child B, and Child D were not there. Lexi quickly left to look for Child A, Child B, and Child D.
On October 29, 2024, Pedestrian Yanna Elion stated that on October 24, 2024, at around 10:00 a.m., she drove past the daycare facility towards East Gay Street and observed three boys, around the ages of 2 to 3 years old, running through the grass alone, across the street from the daycare center. She also observed a little girl, who was running across Burkarth Road to follow the boys. She pulled over and grabbed the little girl's hand and guided her to the grass before running after the three remaining boys. She quickly realized that the children may have belonged to the daycare facility across and street. While she was walking to the facility with all four children, she was met by an unknown daycare worker. She guessed that the children were only outside for couple of minutes.
|