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On April 23, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation of on April 21, 2025, at 10:10 AM, Child A (age 17-months-old), was left unsupervised on the outdoor playground for 15 minutes. Staff members responsible for Child A at the time of the incident were Eutishia Mitchell and Jermarcis Perkins. On April 23, 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 25-500.182(1)(A)1. which states: " Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent supervision."
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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 April 23, 2025, (CI) Hughes conducted an in-person interview with director Michelle Slack. Michelle stated that on April 21, 2025, Tish and Jermarcus informed her that they had left Child A out on the playground alone and he was out there for approximately 10-15 minutes. She reviewed the video footage and it was approximately 15 minutes. Child A was not upset, and she immediately put a message into Parent A. Due to a language barrier, Parent A came up to the center with someone who could translate for her, and she let her view the video. She has spoken with all staff members about the policy of counting children when entering and exiting the room. They also do 30-minute counts of the children.
On May 13, 2025, (CI) Hughes conducted interviews via phone with caregivers Eutishia Mitchell and Jermacus Perkins. Eutishia stated that they took 6 children out to the playground and when it was time to come in, she gathered 3 children and headed for the door. Jermarcus was getting the others. When they got back into the room, she asked for a restroom break and when she returned, she asked where Child A was. Jermacus thought he was over playing. Once they realized that he wasn't there, Jermarcus went out to get him. Child A was not upset when he returned to the classroom.
Jermarcus stated that he and Tish took 6 children out to the playground. Tish took a group, and he got the rest. Tish asked where Child A was while they were inside, and he went out to the playground to get Child A. Child A looked confused but was not upset. They forgot to count the children when they were coming in.
On April 23, 2025, (CI) Hughes observed video footage provided by the facility. CI Hughes observed Tish and Jermarcus out on the playground with 6 children. At 10:19 a.m. the video shows Tish taking 3 children towards the door and Jermarcus gathering 2 other children. By 10:20 a.m., both teachers were no longer out on the playground. Child A is spotted walking out of the playhouse and wandering the play yard. He did not appear to be upset. At 10:35 a.m. Jermarcus is seen walking out of the building to the playground to retrieve Child A to bring him back into the classroom. Child A and Jermarcus returned to the classroom at 10:36 a.m. and Child A did not appear to be upset.
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