| Conclusion Summary |
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On March 17, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that on Friday, March 13, 2026, Child A (2 years old) was left unsupervised on the infant/toddler playground. Video shows the child alone on the playground from 11:57 to 12:01. 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)(A)1, which states "Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent supervision."
And
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)3, which states "Caregivers shall provide frequent, direct contact so children are not left unobserved on the premises."
And
5 CSR 25-500.082(6)(A)3, which states "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 March 19, 2026, CI West conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed Cook Gloria Romero, who stated that on March 13, 2026, she noticed that Child A was outside alone on the playground.
On March 19, 2026, CI West interviewed Reporter Amanda Korolchuk, who stated that Edrina called her to let her know what happened and asked her to review the cameras because Child A was left on the playground without adult supervision. Gloria was the person who first noticed that Child A was outside alone unsupervised on the playground. She checked the app and name-to-face attendance had not been completed in Child A's classroom for the entire day. She reviewed the video footage from the playground on March 13, 2026. When Caregiver Norma Garcia and Caregiver Bernice Rios were exiting the playground with the classroom, no one checked the playground to make sure all the children were accounted for. Name-to-face attendance wasn't completed before leaving the playground. Child A could be seen alone on the playground.
On March 19, 2026, CI West conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed video footage of the playground from March 13, 2026. The video begins at 12:57:00 a.m. As soon as the video begins, Child A strays away from the group and climbs onto the playground equipment. The first caregiver walks through the smaller playground with eight children and doesn't notice Child A climbing onto the playground equipment. The caregiver opens the gate and allows the children to exit the smaller playground without completing name-to-face attendance. The second caregiver walks past the playground equipment and doesn't notice Child A still playing. The second caregiver closes the gate behind her as she exits the smaller playground at 11:57:29 a.m., leaving Child A alone and unsupervised. At 12:02:11 p.m., Gloria can be seen coming up the stairs leading to the back gate. At 12:02:28 p.m., Gloria picks up Child A and walks her over to the exit gate.
On April 10, 2026, CI West interviewed Caregiver Norma Garcia, who stated that she was working at the daycare on March 13, 2026. She is aware that Child A was left outside on the playground alone. They had just arrived back at the classroom when she heard that Gloria found Child A outside alone.
On May 13, 2026, CI West interviewed Caregiver Edrina Perez, who stated that she was the only member of management working on March 13, 2026, when Child A was left outside on the playground without adult supervision. She went out to the front gate of the playground to make sure Child A was ok while Gloria went up the stairs to get Child A.
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