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On May 13, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that on May 11, 2026, toddler teachers, Sol and Grace, were negligent and allowed Child A (1 year old) to choke on a hard pretzel that was not provided by the center. It was given to all of the toddlers in the room by Sol. Child A's parents were not notified at all until one teacher told them the next day. 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 25-500.102(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 May 18, 2026, CI West conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed Director Tim Fugitt, Caregiver Solmar "Sol" Rojas, Caregiver Hailey Althouse, and Caregiver Kalissa Downs. Tim stated that Caregiver Lindsey Chastain said on May 11, 2026, that Child A (20 months old) had been given a hard pretzel as a snack. The hard pretzel wasn't provided by the daycare. Child A started to choke on the pretzel. Lindsey stated that she picked Child A up and patted his back; then he was fine. Sol stated that she was working in the infant classroom on May 11, 2026. Her co-teacher was Kalissa. She saw that one of the parents had sent some pretzels for snack. She decided to give the pretzels as a snack to the entire class. She left the room and when she returned, Lindsey stated that Child A was choking on the pretzel, but he was able to get it swallowed. Hailey stated that she was working in the infant classroom with co-teacher Lindsey on May 11, 2026. On the other side of the half wall, there was a classroom with Sol and Kalissa. Sol had given the children some hard pretzel pieces for a snack. Lindsey walked over and picked up Child A. Lindsey patted Child A on the back, and Child A was able to get the pretzel down. Kalissa stated that she was covering breaks as a floater teacher on May 11, 2026. She was in the classroom with Sol. Sol had given the children some hard pretzel pieces as a snack. She noticed Child A was coughing while trying to eat his pretzel. She stepped over to Child A and gave him a moment to see if he could get the pretzel finished. Lindsey came over and stated Child A was choking, not coughing. Lindsey picked Child A up, turned him over and patted him on his back. Child A seemed to have swallowed the pretzel.
On July 8, 2026, CI West interviewed Reporter Sydney Kincaid, who stated that she had heard about Child A choking on a pretzel that wasn't provided by daycare.
On July 8, 2026, CI West interviewed Lindsey, who stated that she was working May 11, 2026, in the infant classroom. She looked and saw that Child A was choking. She walked over, picked up Child A, turned him over, and patted his back. She saw a piece of the pretzel come out of Child A's mouth. Kalissa stated that Sol had given the children hard pretzel pieces for a snack.
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