|
On January 9, 2026, the Office of Childhood received allegations that Child A (20-months-old) has been pinched and poked by Ms. Jen and Ms. Jen threw balls at Child A. Child A was drug away from the door and spoken to aggressively. After completing an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Jackie Ruth found these allegations to be substantiated based on the following rule violations:
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."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)6. which states: "Firm, positive statements or redirection of behavior shall be used with infants and toddlers."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.102(1)(E) which states: "Caregivers shall have knowledge of the needs of children and shall be sensitive to the capabilities, interests, and problems of children in care."
On January 12, 2026, CI Ruth conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and held in person interviews with the director, Janelle Wilson, the assistant director, Sophie Reele, and caregivers, Trinity Paige and Janiah Like. Janelle stated that Jennifer (Jen) Kingsbury was removed from the schedule and terminated because she was not coachable and had complaints from parents and staff members. The parent concerns were that Jen had a rough voice and was telling kids not to cry. She stated that Jen would say things in anger, was unkind, and had issues with her tone of voice. She never saw Jen pinch, poke, or drag a child. Sophie stated that they had concerns about her tone and tried to coach her, but she never saw her become physically aggressive with a child. She never saw Child A be dragged.
Trinity stated that Jen had an aggressive tone and was too aggressive and yelled at kids when putting them down for nap. She never saw Jen use physical punishment but thinks it could be possible. Janiah stated that Jen was aggressive, yelled, and was always on her phone and not paying attention to the children. She said that Taliena told her about Jen pinching and poking Child A, but she did not witness it. She never saw Child A be dragged.
On January 14, 2026, CI Ruth conducted an interview via phone with caregiver, Breanna Robinson. Breanna stated that Jen would pull the kids up by one arm and poke them. She never saw Jen pinch Child A, but she would get frustrated with the kids and has seen Jen poke children on the forehead and yell at them to stop crying. She said that she told Janelle multiple times that she did not feel comfortable working with Jen.
On January 20, 2026, CI Jackie Ruth conducted an interview via phone with Parent A (parent of Child A), and former staff member, Janae Dockett. Parent A stated that she was told by two former staff members, Taliena Sanders and Janae Dockett, that they witnessed Jen Kingsbury pinch and poke Child A. She said that Taliena had told Janelle, but there were no incident reports, Jen remained employed, and Janelle never spoke with her about the situation. Janae stated that she did not like working with Jen because she was harsh with the kids, had no compassion, and was too rough during diaper changes and when she picked children up. She did not see Jen pinch/poke children, but said she would throw stuffed animals at them. She did not see Jen become physically aggressive with Child A, but Jen would tell her to stop crying, brush her off, and was verbally aggressive.
On January 21, 2026, CI Ruth conducted an interview via phone with former staff member, Taliena Sanders. Taliena stated She witnessed Jen pinch Child A and poked her on the forehead, approximately three times, in mid-October 2025. She would also throw balls at Child A and other children and laugh about it. She said that Jen claimed the kids don't like her, so she would antagonize them. She was told by Janiah that Jen would drag Child A away from the door by the arms when she would leave the room on her break. She told Janelle about all her concerns with Jen. Janelle told her she would handle it, but she did not believe much was done, so she informed Parent A of everything she had witnessed.
On February 10, 2026, CI Ruth spoke with the director, Janelle Wilson, via email. Janelle stated that Jen's last day at the center was January 6, 2026. She had coaching conversations with Jen on October 22, 2025, November 13, 2025, December 15, 2025 and December 27, 2025. Her intentions were to help Jen soften her tone, speak kinder and think before she spoke out loud when she might be frustrated. She said she never saw Jen react physically out of anger or frustration with a child, and was never told of Jen physically hurting a child.
On February 10, 2026, CI Ruth observed the coaching conversations between Janelle and Jen and each of them involve issues with tone and/or disrespectful comments made by Jen.
CI Ruth attempted to contact Jen Kingsbury multiple times. Not contact was made and CI Ruth was unable to conduct an interview with her.
While CI Ruth does not have confirmation that Child A was dragged by Jen Kingsbury however there are multiple reports from staff of Jen poking children in the forehead, her rough handling of children, and her being verbally aggressive, including yelling at children and telling them to stop crying. CI Ruth also has two reports of staff saying that Jen threw objects at children.
|