| Conclusion Summary |
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On December 15, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that on December 11, 2025, Paige Collins picked up Child A (9 years old) by the arms. This left red marks and nail marks on the arms through Child A's clothing and coat. Ms. Collins looks angry in the video. After conducting the investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Curtis West finds the allegation is substantiated. This conclusion is based on the following evidence of a licensing rule violation that occurred at the facility:
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."
And
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)8., which states "No discipline technique which is humiliating, threatening, or frightening to children shall be used. Children shall not be shamed, ridiculed, or spoken to harshly, abusively, or with profanity."
On December 18, 2025, CI West conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed Lead Caregiver Erin Law, Caregiver Brooklynn Russell, and Caregiver Isabella Meyer "Bella". Erin stated that she spoke with Bella, who stated that she didn't see the argument, but she could hear it from the hallway. Bella also had pictures of Child A's arms after the incident. She checked on Child A and could see the red marks on her arms. She reviewed the video footage and could see that Carter was visibly upset. She saw Carter and Child A arguing about something. She saw Carter pick Child A up off the ground with two hands. She saw Child A remove her coat and show Carter her arms were hurting. Brooklynn stated that she could hear Carter arguing and screaming back and forth with Child A. It wasn't the first time she heard the two of them going back and forth with each other. Bella brought Child A into her classroom. Bella told her that Carter had grabbed Child A roughly by the arms and there are red marks. She asked Child A to show them her arms. She could see the fingerprints in Child A's arm. She took pictures of Child A's arms. Bella stated that she could hear Carter and Child A yelling and screaming back and forth at each other. She entered the classroom to remove Child A and take her with her other children. She heard Child A say, "If there is a red mark, I'm telling my mom". She saw Child A looking at her arms then she said, "Great and it hurts".
On December 18, 2025, CI West conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed the photo taken of Child A's arms. Both arms have visible red marks. Both arms have small redder spots that appear to be indented where the red marks are.
On December 18, 2025, CI West conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed the incident report. The report was written by Bella. Bella didn't see the incident; just saw the aftermath of it. Bella heard Child A say, "If there is a red mark, I'm telling my mom". Child A looked, saw red marks and then said, "Great and it hurts".
On December 18, 2025, CI West conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed the video footage from December 11, 2025 in the school-age classroom. The video showed the following: Child A stands up and walks across the room to Carter. Carter exchanges words with Child A. While Child A was talking, Carter kept looking away. Carter turns to Child A and does a swiping motion with her hands as to indicate she had heard enough. Carter appears to be frustrated with the conversation. Child A walks away from Carter. Carter follows Child A back across the room. Child A squats down and gives Child B a little push with her elbow. Carter uses two hands placed on top of Child B's arms to pick Child B up to a standing position and then redirects her to another activity. Carter then uses two hands placed on top of Child A's arms to pick her up to a standing position. Carter speaks with the other children while Child A stands waiting to speak with Carter. Carter turns to Child A and they exchange words. Carter becomes visibly frustrated with the conversation. While Carter is speaking, her head is bobbing, and she is using both her hands to help make her point clear. Carter is shaking her head no and continues to use her hands motioning in a crossing pattern. After several seconds of back-and-forth communication with Carter, Child A removes her coat and over shirt. Child A looks down at her arms and then is called away.
On December 30, 2025, CI West interviewed Paige Collins "Carter", who stated that Child A and Child B were having an argument about sharing. Child A and Child B had begun to elbow each other. She went over to physically separate the two and redirect them to other activities. She used two hands placed on top of Child B's arms to stand her up and redirected her to another area of the classroom. She used two hands placed on top of Child A's arms to stand her up and tried to redirect her to another activity. She doesn't think it is age-appropriate to pick up school-aged children.
On December 30, 2025, CI West interviewed Parent A (Parent of Child A), who sated that he was advised that there was an argument between Child A and her caregiver. Child A advised him that her arms were hurting after the incident occurred.
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