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On January 2, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that the center does not have heat and the children are all wearing coats. On January 3, 2025, Compliance Inspector (CI) Christy Hughes conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and found the allegations to be substantiated based on the following information.
5 CSR 25-500.082(2)(A)5., which states: "The facility shall be dry, temperature controlled, well-ventilated and free of drafts. Children shall not be overheated or chilled. The temperature of the rooms shall be no less than sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68F) and no more than eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit (85F) when measured two feet (2') from the floor."
On January 3, 2025, (CI) Hughes conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and observed the following.
The heat in the building had been fixed and was working but had not warmed the entire building. CI Hughes observed the thermostat to read 67 degrees. Children were being cared for in classrooms that did not meet the temperature requirements. The children were moved into a different room measuring 68 degrees until the classroom temperature could regulate to the correct temperature in the other rooms.
On January 3, 2025, (CI) Hughes conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility. CI Hughes conducted in person interviews with caregivers Barbara Wright and Tenekka Washington and assistant director Michaela Bobo.
Tenekka stated that the heat was out on January 2, 2025, and the children remained in the classroom. Barbara stated that the children remained at the center on January 2, 2025, without full heat in the building. Michaela stated that the heat was out in the upper-level and the children were relocated downstairs where there was heat. She stated that they were low in numbers due to the holiday. The heat was fixed in the morning of January 3, 2025.
On January 3, 2025, CI Hughes conducted an interview via phone with director Kimberly Wright. Kimberly stated that the heat was out on January 2, 2025. She contacted a company immediately to come fix it. The technician brought the new part, but it was the incorrect part. The technician could not get the new part till early January 3, 2025, morning and they let the children remain in the center. The technician fixed the heat first thing January 3, 2025, in the morning.
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