| Conclusion Summary |
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On May 19, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that on May 18, 2026, at approximately 12:03 p.m., Child A (2 years old) left the classroom and was able to exit the daycare. He was found by a person in front of the neighboring dental business. 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 25-500.182(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 May 19, 2026, Compliance Inspector (CI) Cole Eddins completed an unannounced inspection and interviewed Director Latasha Cornley, Caregiver Kimberly Lopez-Cuellar, and Caregiver Danna Lopez-Cuellar. Latasha stated that on May 18, 2026, at around 12:00 p.m. Child A had opened his classroom door, ran through an empty neighboring classroom, and ran out the front office, where he was found by an unknown adult female pedestrian by the front door. The neighboring classroom door (which had a child safety knob on it) was not shut all the way; Kimberly must not have closed the door all the way to go change some of her children and conduct her restroom break. The unknown female had tried to take Child A back inside through the front door, but the front door was locked from the outside. The unknown female had then walked Child A down the sidewalk, turned the corner, and knocked on the side entrance door (located near the neighboring dental business), which is where she had met the unknown female holding Child A. It was estimated that Child A was out of his classroom from 12:00 p.m. to 12:03 p.m.
Kimberly stated that she was normally Child A's caregiver, but she had dropped off Child A in Danna's classroom so she could take her children to use the bathroom. During her transition, she forgot to make sure that the neighboring classroom door was shut all the way. She heard that during her bathroom break, Child A had run out of Danna's classroom and out the front door, where he was found by an unknown adult female pedestrian outside. The unknown female had tried to take Child A back inside through the front door, but the door was locked, so she took Child A to the side entrance door where Latasha had found Child A. She thinks Child A was out of his classroom for about three minutes or so.
Danna stated that Kimberly had dropped off Child A in her classroom at around 11:50 a.m. on March 18, 2026, so Kimberly could take her children to the restroom/change their pull-ups without Child A running away. At around 12:00 p.m., she observed Child A quickly opening her classroom door and running out towards the neighboring empty classroom. She was worried about leaving her other children alone and decided to gather her kids quickly to chase after Child A while also watching her other children. Child A was discovered about two to three minutes later by Latasha with an unknown female outside near the side entrance. It was estimated that Child A was out of his classroom from 12:00 p.m. to 12:02 p.m. or 12:03 p.m.
On May 19, 2026, CI Eddins conducted a walkthrough of the facility and observed the classroom Child A had escaped from. CI Eddins observed that the neighboring room to Child A's classroom was unoccupied. CI Eddins observed that once Child A escaped the front door and met the unknown female pedestrian, the pedestrian had carried Child A an estimated 52 feet and seven inches down the main sidewalk before she turned the corner and walked another 47 feet and three inches to the side entrance door located next to the Celebrate Dental office.
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