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On May 26, 2026, the Office of Childhood received allegations that while Child A (4-years-old) was not listening during naptime, staff Haylie grabbed him by his arm and pulled him over to his cot, then proceeded to lay her chest on top of him to make him lay down. Child A was trying to kick her off, but she refused to get up. She held him down for five minutes or maybe longer. After conducting an investigation, Compliance Inspector (CI) Jackie Ruth found these allegations to be substantiated based on the following rule violations:
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."
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5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)8. which states: "No discipline technique which is humiliating, threatening, or frightening to children shall be used. Children shall not be shamed, ridiculed, or spoken to harshly, abusively, or with profanity."
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5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)7. which states: "Physical punishment including, but not limited to, spanking, slapping, shaking, biting, or pulling hair shall be prohibited."
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5 CSR 25-500.182(1)(C)9. which states: "Punishment or threat of punishment shall not be associated with food, rest, or toilet training."
On May 28, 2026, CI Ruth conducted an unannounced inspection of the facility and held in-person interviews with the director, Christina Smith, caregivers, Sommer Jones and Haylie Ganey, and children, Child B (4-years-old) and Child C (3-years-old).
Christina stated that there have been no recent complaints about Haylie and no one reported these allegations to her. Brooklyn Robinson came to her approximately one month ago and told her that Haylie held Child A (4-years-old) over her lap for a timeout. She coached Haylie on that and explained that children need to be sitting in a timeout, not laid over her lap. Haylie sometimes raises her voice, but she has been coached on that as well. She thinks Haylie has a good relationship with the kids and had no concerns that she would be aggressive toward children. She said that Haylie usually works alone and will send kids to the office if she needs help. The teachers who do work with Haylie as needed are Sommer and Brooklyn Roberts.
Sommer said that she is a floater who works in Haylie's classroom occasionally, and the class can be chaotic. Haylie seems overwhelmed and it is hard without a second teacher in the room. She has never seen Haylie or Brooklyn hold a child down. She has never seen Haylie grab Child A to pull him to his cot. She has seen Haylie grab kids by the arm and pull them across the room or into timeout. That occurs usually with Child A or Child B. She has never seen Haylie put her body on top of a child. She has seen Haylie pat Child A on the back and if he will not listen or runs around, she will send him to the office. She said that Brooklyn has concerns about Haylie, but she does not know what about. She has never seen any concerning marks or bruises on the kids in Haylie's class.
Child B told CI Ruth that Haylie messes with him and he does not like that. He said that Haylie grabs his arms and his legs and his whole body and messes with him when he is in trouble. He said that Haylie grabs him and puts him on a chair, and he sits for a long time. He said that Child A steps on his bed and Haylie grabs Child A and puts him on his bed. He said that Haylie helps him at naptime by using her arms and she puts her arms over his hands and he likes that.
Child C said that his teachers are Haylie and Brooke and he likes them. He said they pat him at naptime and he closes his eyes. He said that Haylie holds him on top of his arms for naptime, and sometimes she lays on him and pats him with both hands and he doesn't like that. He said Haylie puts Child A on his tummy for naptime.
CI Ruth observed Child C act out a situation during his interview with CI Ruth. As Child C was describing what Haylie does when she pats him with both her hands, CI Ruth and Christina asked if he could show us. Child C laid on the floor on his tummy with his face laying on top of his hands. Christina laid over him, supporting her weight, and placed both hands on his back as she asked, "like this?". Child C replied, "Yes."
Haylie denied the allegations and said she will call for help and send kids to the office when she is overwhelmed. She said she has grabbed kids by the arms to separate them if they are being rough with each other, but she does not think she grabs kids by their arms frequently. She said Child A is a good kid but has challenges, and he will spit and hit her. She has to bear hug Child A to prevent him from kicking her and she puts her arms around his arms so he can't hit her. Child A sometimes does not sleep, and he will run around and step on and flip over other cots. At naptime, she puts her arms over Child A's arms or legs, depending on if he is hitting or kicking. She claimed that she does not put her weight on Child A, and said she does not want to hurt him. She said she puts her arm over his body and leans over him while supporting her weight on her elbow on the edge of the cot. She holds him down only to prevent him from hitting her, not to make him go to sleep. She said she lets him stay quietly on his cot, but if he is running around she picks him up and puts him back on his cot. She said she picks kids up under their arms at their chest or armpit.
On May 29, 2026, CI Ruth conducted interviews via phone with the director, Christina Smith, and caregiver, Brooklyn Roberts. Christina stated that they fired Haylie due to the reported concerns and children's statements. She said that the assistant director told her that she thought Child A had more negative behaviors when Haylie was his teacher versus another staff member.
Brooklyn stated that Haylie is an authoritative teacher, not nice, talks to the kids very strictly, and will raise her voice and scream at the children. Haylie grabs kids by the arms to pick them up and grab and pull them into timeout. She has seen Haylie grab Child A and Child B by their arms. She said during naptime, Child A will sometimes sleep on his own, sometimes he will ask to be patted, and sometimes he refuses to nap and runs around screaming and wakes up the other kids. She has seen Haylie pick up Child A, lay him on his cot, and hold him down. Haylie held her arms over his back, but she did not see her put her body on top of his. Haylie held his arms down and put her arm over the top of his back and patted him with the other arm. Haylie holds Child A down in a forceful way that does not allow him to get up or move. Child A will spit, pinch her, or scream when she does this. but she has never heard Child A say things like "it hurts" or "get off me". Haylie will hold him down until he calms down. She doesn't know what happens when she is not in there, imagines things could escalate from what she has seen.
On June 2, 2026, CI Ruth conducted interviews via phone with Parent B (parent of Child B) and Parent C (parent of Child C). Parent B stated that Child B's attitude and behavior changed when he moved to Haylie's classroom. Child B would have tantrums, and he did not want to go to the classroom and would try to go to his old room. She did not have any specific concerns, other than not knowing the cause of Child B's new behavior.
Parent C stated that any concerns she has had, she brought to the director's attention and it was dealt with quickly. She stated that Haylie and Brooke are Child C's teachers. She said Child C has never said anything about naptime, except that he didn't want to nap, but that he laid down anyway and someone would pat him on the back. Child C has never told her that anyone has grabbed or pulled him. She does not have concerns that Haylie is too aggressive or rough with the children but has noticed that she does not seem as happy as she used to be.
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