| Conclusion Summary |
|
On December 16, 2025, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that the reporter started working in the facility on December 1, 2025. The reporter was asked right away to start in the infant/toddler room. The reporter was not fingerprinted and was not supposed to be alone with children because of not yet completing the background screenings. When the reporter was scheduled, she would be left alone with infants and toddlers a good 98% of her time. After conducting the investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole Eddins finds the allegation is substantiated. This conclusion is based on the following evidence of licensing rule violations which occurred at the facility:
5 CSR 25-600.020 (1) which states: "Prior to the employment or presence of a child care staff member in a licensed, regulated, or registered child care facility not exempted by section 210.1080.13, RSMo, the child care provider shall request the results of a criminal background check for such child care staff member from the department."
On December 18, 2025, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole Eddins interviewed Reporter Jocelyn Elledge. Jocelyn stated that she started working at the daycare facility on December 1, 2025. She was asked right away to start in the infant/toddler room before she was ever fingerprinted. She was not fingerprinted and was not supposed to be alone with children. She never got her eligibility letter before working at the new daycare facility. She told Director Brian Rivera that she worked in another facility in the state of Missouri and has lived in several other states for the past five years. Brian told her that it was going to be a long process to fingerprint her and that they would do it sometime in December 2025. She was never given directions on how to get fingerprinted and when Brian asked her to bring her older letter of eligibility, she couldn't find it.
On December 18, 2025, CI Eddins completed an unannounced inspection and interviewed Director Brian Rivera, who stated that Jocelyn started working at the daycare facility on December 1, 2025. He admitted that he dropped the ball with Jocelyn, and he did not make sure that she was fingerprinted with a qualifying background screening on file before she started working with children at the daycare facility. His plan was to receive a copy of her older qualifying background screening she had from her previous daycare, but she could not find it.
On December 18, 2026, CI Eddins conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed Jocelyn's staff file. CI Eddins did not observe any proof of fingerprinting or qualifying background screening results in her file.
|