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On June 1, 2026, the Office of Childhood (OOC) received a report alleging that on April 6, 2026, Parent A brought our infant here for his first day. Parent A was told his room was not ready because teachers had not been hired yet. They took Parent A to a room that already had eight babies in it and two teachers. Parent A was told this would be his room for a month. This would have put the room well over the 4:1 ratio, especially since there was another baby starting the same day and also being added to the already full room. This was in one of two current infant rooms. The other infant room only had one teacher in it and what looked like six babies. A close friend toured last week and said the same thing is still happening: the infant room ratios are well over the Missouri limit. 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 25-500.112(1)(A), which states "The staff/child ratio and group size shall be followed as outlined in the below chart unless it meets an exception in subparagraphs (1)(B)-(G) below: Infants, toddlers, and 2-year-olds shall have one caregiver for every four children with no more than eight children per group; Groups composed solely of children 24 to 36 months shall have one caregiver for every eight children with no more than 16 children per group; Groups composed solely of children 3 to 4 years shall have one caregiver for every 10 children with no more than 20 children per group; Groups composed solely of children 5 years or older shall have one caregiver for every 16 children with no more than 32 children per group; A mixed group of children consisting of no more than four children age 2 years, and at least one child older than 3 years shall have one caregiver for every 10 children with no more than 20 children per group; A mixed group of children consisting of more than four children ages 24 to 36 months, and at least one child older than 36 months shall have one caregiver for every eight children with no more than 16 children per group."
On June 3, 2026, CI West interviewed Parent A (Parent of Child A), who stated that while she was talking to the teacher, another parent dropped off, making that infant classroom have nine children with two caregivers.
On June 4, 2026, CI West conducted an unannounced inspection and interviewed Caregiver Carolina Vargas and Caregiver Eunice Lopez. Carolina stated that on several occasions in April of 2026, she was left alone with seven infants for an hour or two. Carolina and Eunice provided consistent information. They stated that on June 3, 2026, they had nine children ages 12 months to 23 months old inside their infant classroom.
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