| Conclusion Summary |
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On February 2, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation of on January 14, 2026, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Child A was observed running from a classroom. Teacher, Mik, was observed to grab Child A and throw them approximately 2-feet across the room causing the child to land on their shoulder with their feet in the air on a blue children's sofa. The child was visibly upset, and teacher Mik proceeded to approach the child and began screaming at them. On February 6, 2026, 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)(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)1. which states: "The provider shall establish simple, understandable rules for children's behavior and shall explain them to the children."
AND
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)2. which states: "Expectations for a child's behavior shall be appropriate for the developmental level of that child."
On February 6, 2026, CI Hughes conducted in person interviews with director Tiffany Serralta, caregivers Ponselvi Pulugandiapillai and Judy "Mik" May Bujmak and Child A, Child B and Child C.
Tiffany stated that she received an email from Parent D stating her concerns with how Mik handled Child A on January 14, 2026. Parent D reported that Mik grabbed Child A and threw them on the sofa. She reviewed the video footage and no immediate action was taken with Mik because she did not feel that Mik did anything wrong when handling Child A. Ponselvi stated that she does not have any concerns with Mik's interactions with the children and that Child A is a very challenging child. She was not there when the incident happened. Mik stated that after watching the video of herself with Child A, she could understand why someone thought she was being aggressive. She will not pick up Child A or any children in that manner again. She has spoken to Child A's family about him running out of the room. She has worked with Child A for a long time and has worked at the facility for 2 years. Child A, Child B and Child C did not provide any relevant information to the investigation.
CI Hughes observed an email director Tiffany Sarralta received from Parent D stating that she witnessed caregiver "Mik" grab Child A by the shoulders, screaming at the child, and throwing him onto the blue children's couch in the classroom. CI Hughes also observed a video provided by O2B Bluestone from January 14, 2026 of caregiver "Mik" grabbing Child A aggressively and placing them into a chair roughly. The video does not have audio. The video is 1 minute and 18 seconds in length. At 17 seconds Child A runs out of the classroom as Mik is standing in the doorway. At 1 minute Child A is seen being walked back over. Child A drops to his knees as Mik picks him up by the outside of both upper ams and walks him 9 steps to the sofa. Child A's feet are off of the ground. At 1 minute and 5 seconds, Mik lifts Child A up higher and roughly places Child A on the sofa. Child A gets up and runs away from Mik.
On March 4, 2026, CI Hughes conducted an interview via phone with Parent A. Parent A stated Tiffany did tell her about the situation but over a month had gone by. She asked to see the video and Tiffany told her she was not able to show it to her due to other children being in it and that she viewed it, and she did not really see anything wrong with it. Parent A was very upset and frantic about the situation. Child A was in the classroom with Mik the day after she found out about the situation, and she told Tiffany she did not want Mik with Child A until the situation was rectified. Child A has been with Mik since 2024, and they have not had any issues previously with Mik. Child A loves Mik. She did eventually get to see part of the video and did not feel it was appropriate, but it was less severe than she had imagined. She feels like the staff needs some extra training.
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