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On November 27, 2024, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a complaint alleging that teacher Rose Jip was dragging Child A and Child B at the same time by the arms and feet. Their heads were on the floor and their bodies were dragging on the floor. Compliance Inspector (CI) Heather Radney conducted an investigation and found the allegation to be substantiated based on the following information:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)3. which states: Only constructive, age-appropriate methods of discipline shall be used to help children develop self-control and assume responsibility for their own actions.
On December 9, 2024, CI Radney conducted an interview with Angie Kinder, who reported their concern was how the caregiver handled the children.
On December 9, 2024, CI Radney received and reviewed video footage. The video is one minute long. Child A and Child B appear to be standing on the back of a bookshelf. Rose says, "Oh, that is not safe." Child A and Child B disappear behind the bookshelf. Rose walks to the bookshelf. Rose takes the hand/wrist area of both children in her hands and walks to the middle of the room. Child B does not stand up, so he is drug across the floor by Rose holding his wrist. Child A walks behind while being held by the wrist by Rose. Child B lays down on the floor and Child A follows. Rose lets go of their hands. Child B kicks Rose in the legs. Rose leans down to take both children by the wrist again but they crawl away and Child B stands and begins to run. Rose grabs Child B by the wrist as he is running from her. Rose pulls Child A up to a standing position by his wrist. All three are standing for a moment before the children fall to the ground. Rose gets on her knees while continuing to hold their wrists. Child A puts his legs and feet on Rose's arms and body in a kicking motion. Child B begins doing the same thing. Child A appears to be taking a rubber band off of Rose's wrist. Rose lets go of Child B to stop Child A. Child B begins to crawl away. Rose uses her right arm to grab Child B's left leg/ankle and pulls him toward her on the carpet. During this time, Child A stands up. Both children continue to move away from Rose. Rose stands up, and the boys run away.
On January 15, 2025, CI Radney conducted an interview with Rose Jett. Rose reported Child A and Child B were trying to hit and kick others, so she grabbed them by their hands. One child tried to slide and kick another child, so she pulled them to her so they couldn't reach the other child. The children laughed. She did not observe any red marks on them. She was trying to keep them from hurting other children. She is the cook, and she's never been trained to deal with problem behaviors in child care. She held their hands because they were kicking other students. She pulled them back to her, so they couldn't reach other students. The kids were laughing at her as she was talking to them. She was trying to redirect them. She remembers another time when she didn't want them to climb on the bookshelf but she doesn't remember what happened.
Based on the information obtained, Caregiver Rose Jett did not use constructive, age-appropriate methods of discipline that would have helped Child A and Child B develop self-control and assume responsibility for their actions when she held them by their wrists and dragged them on the floor. While Caregiver Rose indicated she was attempting to prevent them from harming others, the video does not show they were actively harming other children. There was adequate time for her to find other ways to handle the children.
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