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On November 4, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a complaint alleging that on October 22, a child managed to leave the playground area through a side gate and wandered into the parking lot. The caregivers on duty did not notice that the child had left the playground. Another parent noticed the child unattended in the busy parking lot and brought the child back into the facility. This situation shows a serious lack of supervision and could have resulted in the child being harmed. Compliance Inspector (CI) Heather Radney conducted an investigation of the allegation and found it to be substantiated based on the following information:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)1. - Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent supervision.
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)3. - Caregivers shall provide frequent, direct contact so children are not left unobserved on the premises.
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(D)1. - Infants and toddlers shall have constant care and supervision. Home monitors or commercial devices marketed to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) shall not be used in place of supervision while children are napping or sleeping.
AND
5 CSR 25-500.082(6)(A)3. - Adult supervision shall be provided at all times when children are outside. For children three (3) years of age and above, staff/child ratios may be one and one-half (1 1/2) times the indoor staff/child ratios. The required indoor staff/child ratios shall be maintained on the premises at all times.
On November 4, 2025, CI Radney conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility. CI Radney observed the building entrance is in the corner of the fenced playground and the corner of the building. There is a paved entry way that is between the parking lot and entrance that passes both gates to the playground. There is a paved "sidewalk" that surrounds the building.
On November 4, 2025, CI Radney received and reviewed video footage of the incident from Sara Hendrix. The video is time stamped 10-22-2025 4:20:19 PM. The video shows the playground, two gates, the entryway, and gravel of the parking lot. At 4:20:19, Caregiver Jacey is observed opening the first gate closest to the building. Child B is observed between the first and second gate. Jacey opens the first gate as far as it will open. Child B runs the opposite direction, toward the parking lot. Jacey pushes the gate closed and runs toward Child B, who is now closer to the second gate and parking lot. The first gate does not close and remains open at approximately 45 degrees. At 4:20:27, Jacey takes Child B's hand and opens the second gate. At 4:20:33, Jacey and Child B have entered the playground and Jacey has closed the second gate. Child A exits the open first gate. At 4:20:44, Child C exits the open first gate. Child A walks toward the parking lot and stops before the gravel. At 4:20:54, Child A walks around the side of the building, out of camera view. At 4:21:19, Child C walks back and forth between the first gate and the gravel of the parking lot. At 4:21:52, Child C walks back toward the entrance and the open gate as Sara walks out of the building. At 4:22:03, Child C is put back in the playground, and Sara closes the first gate. At 4:22:53, Sara appears to speak with the caregivers, go in to the playground, come out of the playground, ensure the gates are close, and enter the building. At 4:23:20, Parent B appears in the frame carrying Child A. At 4:23:32, a caregiver opens the door, and Parent B and Child A enter the building.
On November 4, 2025, Compliance Inspector (CI) Heather Radney conducted interviews with Sara Hendrix, Ashley Shelar and Jacey Wright. On November 6, 2025, CI Radney conducted an interview with Shauntrel Linton-Smith. Jacey reported she was changing Child B's diaper inside the classroom and went out the front door to take Child B back to the playground. She opened the first gate on the left to the playground but Child B ran around the gate and toward the parking lot. She ran to get him, and they entered the playground through the other gate. She was not aware that the first gate had not closed. Sara reported she noticed the gate was open and went outside to check for children and close the gate. This is when she saw Child C wandering back and forth. Shauntrel reported Sara came back in and said a caregiver left the gate open and she had to usher Child C back in the playground. She saw Parent B walking in with Child A. Jacey reported she saw Child A before the diaper change but did not see Child A again until Shauntrel brought him back outside. Shauntrel and Sara reported they've hung signs on the gates to remind everyone to keep them closed. Sara reported caregivers for the infant toddler rooms should enter the playground directly from their classrooms.
On November 4, 2025, CI Radney texted Parent B asking for the location where she found Child A. Parent A replied, "He was on the side of the building on the side walk." "There's a side walk on the side of the building where I pull in and that's where I seen him at. He was closer to the front of the building." On December 22, 2025, CI Radney conducted a follow-up call with Parent B. She saw Child A walking toward the front of the building on the sidewalk, not on the gravel. She brought him inside the building to Shauntrel. Shauntrel looked astonished and asked "Was he outside the gate?"
An additional violation was found during the investigation:
5 CSR 25-500.082(6)(B)1. - Outdoor play space for infants and toddlers shall be separate from that used for older children or the same space shall be used at different times. (This rule does not apply to group day care homes with a maximum of four (4) infant/toddlers or to day care centers licensed for a maximum of twenty (20) children, including no more than four (4) infant/toddlers.)
On November 4, 2025, Compliance Inspector (CI) Heather Radney conducted interviews with Sara Hendrix, Ashley Shelar and Jacey Wright. Sara stated that here is a small infant enclosure on the playground, but these two groups of children (infants/toddlers and preschoolers) were together in the larger playground space. Ashley stated that she was outside in the playground. She was working with the preschool group, ages 2 to 5-year-olds. Her class was in the main playground area. No one was in the infant playground. The toddler room is usually in the big playground and infants usually stay in their infant playground but the bigger ones come to the bigger playground unless the school-agers are out there. Jacey stated that she and McKinnon were the teachers in the classroom, and they were outside. Leah and Kinzley were also on the playground with another group of kids. Their kids merge on the playground, and they all watch all of the kids. Her class is made up of 1-year-olds to 2-year-olds. Leah and Kinzley's group was 3 to 4-year-olds.
On December 22, 2025, CI Radney conducted an interview with Junior Caregiver McKinnon Douglas. She was there that day on the playground with the preschoolers. She and Ashley were working together. She was not in charge of the infants and toddlers, but they were mixed in with the older kids on the playground.
Based on the information provided, Child A was unsupervised outside the facility and was not receiving constant care and supervision for approximately two minutes and 45 seconds. Additionally, the outdoor play space was being used by infants and toddlers at the same time it was being used by preschoolers.
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