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On May 1, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received an allegation that: On April 30, 2026, during a fire drill, staff left an infant in a bouncy seat in the building after walking by her no less than three times. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea has found this allegation to be substantiated based on the following evidence:
5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(A)1which 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."
On May 5, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea conducted a phone interview with Fire Inspector Rachel Smith who stated that she was there to complete an inspection and had the facility conduct a fire drill. Both the director and the teacher walked past the infant, sleeping in a bouncy seat in the corner three times but never picked them up to take them outside for the drill. They were outside for several minutes and never counted the children or did a rollcall. She had a stern discussion with the director about leaving the infant inside and the director laughed about this situation.
On May 5, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea conducted an unannounced inspection to the facility and interviewed director Chanda Winn who stated that it was an oops that she did not see Child A (10-months-old) sleeping in the bouncy seat because they just forgot about him. She will not let it happen again.
On May 5, 2026, CI Honea reviewed the Fire Inspection report from Fire Inspector Rachel Smith that was conducted on April 30, 2026. The report was unapproved. The inspection stated that a fire drill was not completed in March of 2026 so Rachel Smith conducted a fire drill with the provider and staff during her inspection and an infant was left in the building during the drill. A re-inspection required was checked on the Fire Inspection Report.
On June 6, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Michelle Honea conducted a phone interview with Parent A who stated that she was never told about the fire drill or Child A being left alone inside asleep in a bouncer. She appreciated the information.
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