| Conclusion Summary |
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On February 7, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that Urban Sprouts Child Development Center did not immediately notify Parent A (parent of Child A) when Child A (3-years-old) was injured by a heavy door at the facility, hurting three fingers while in care. The facility informed the Parent A three hours after the incident when Child A was picked up from care. An incident report was also not completed. 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."
CI O'Malley conducted an interview with director Jill Hilton, who stated that on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at about 12:45 p.m., three of Child A's fingers were pinched in a restroom door. Child A placed their right hand in the gap between the door jamb and the hinged side of the restroom door. Child A was waiting her turn to use the restroom. Child A's index, middle, and ring fingers were pinched in the door jamb. The skin on all three fingers was scraped, bleeding, and swollen. Child A's hand was treated with water, soap, and ice pack. Staff Miranda Tuberville prepared an incident report, but Ms. Hilton was in a meeting and unable to review the report until 3:00 p.m. Parent A arrived for pick-up while Ms. Hilton was reviewing the incident report. Staff were retrained on contacting parents immediately following injuries.
On February 10, 2025, CI O'Malley observed an incident report documenting that on February 4, 2025, Child A's fingers were pinched in the door jamb. The incident happened at 1:00 p.m. and Parent A was not notified until pick up at 3:45 p.m. Parent A did sign the report.
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