Complaint·May 4, 2022

Page 2/8 Throughout the course of the investigation, interviews were conducted with the Reporting Party (RP), eight current staff and one former staff and one adult; and documentation in the form of pgs. 20-21 from the Parent Handbook, a copy of the attendance from ProCare of Child #1, the Notes from ProCare for Child #1 dated 03/03/22, and the Messages for Child #1 (C1) from ProCare dated 02/23/22 & 02/24/22 were obtained. In addition, the file of C1 was reviewed. -Pertaining to the allegation that “Staff yelled at a daycare child while in care”: This allegation pertains to an incident which occurred on February 24, 2022, when Adult #1 (A1) was dropping C1 off when Staff #1 (S1) allegedly yelled and screamed at C1. According to A1, C1 only cries because they get scared when S1 yells and screams at them. However, according to all nine staff interviewed, which consist of staff who cared for C1 when C1 was on both the infant and/or the preschool sides, C1 cries, screams and throws a tantrum at drop off time, at transition times, and when they get upset (for example, when another child would push back after C1 had pushed them). On 02/23/22, on the ProCare app, it was documented that C1 began crying and throwing things when C1 began to get tired. There were two different accounts as to what happened on February 24: According to A1’s account, A1 knows C1 was having a hard day and was trying to calm C1 down and put their face covering on, but eventually did leave the classroom and was by the office when the incident occurred. Page 3/8 According to four different staff, A1 had walked into the classroom to drop off C1 without a face covering and was thus asked to go get a face covering from the office but was still in the classroom, trying to get C1 to calm down, when the incident occurred. When asked what they meant by “yelling,” A1 defined it as “when you can hear someone from far away.” In this case, A1 felt that S1 was yelling at C1 because A1 had heard S1 say “No” to C1 and A1 was already by the office, outside of the classroom, which is a few feet away. When asked whether they ever heard S1 yelling at a child, S7 stated that S1 has never yelled at children, just spoken to them in a “teacher’s tone of voice”; according to S4, S1 would “try and explain to C1 not to do something because they would hurt themselves or hurt someone else”; while per S5, S1 does not yell, but may “talk to them serious” if a child was misbehaving. Staff 6 and S9 were witnesses to the incident. According to S6 and S9, when C1 was being dropped off, C1 began crying, so A1 got down on C1’s level and began hugging C1, so S1 got down on their level, trying to address some concerns with A1. C1 then swung at S1 and at another child, hitting both S1 and the other child in their faces in front of A1, though A1 just walked away and did not address it. S1 then said something to the effect of “You don’t do that. We don’t hit our friends,” or “We don't hit. No, thank you. And we don't hit our friends either,” or “We do not hit our friends, we don't hit. No, thank you." Regardless of what was exactly said, both S6 and S9 state that S1 said it in a stern voice (aka “teacher voice”) and did not yell or scream at C1. By the words said, it is apparent that S1’s intent was to reprimand C1 and correct their behavior, trying to teach C1 the difference between right and wrong or a “good" behavior versus a "bad" Page 4/8 behavior after C1 had hit both S1 and another child. Both witnesses corroborated and S1 admitted to speaking to C1 in a stern/teacher voice; however, by definition, yelling is to scream or to shout loudly. As “perception is reality,” because everyone’s reality is based on their own perception. what to S6, S9 and S1 is a “stern voice” could have been perceived by A1 as yelling. Thus, as it is unable to be determined whether S1 actually yelled at C1 or just spoke to them in a stern voice, the allegation that “Staff yelled at a daycare child while in care” has been determined to be Unsubstantiated. This agency has investigated the complaint alleging that “Staff yelled at a daycare child while in care” and that there was a violation of Title 22, Division 12, Chapter 1, Article 6, Section 101223 “Personal Rights.” Based upon the evidence as presented above, the allegation has been determined to be Unsubstantiated. A finding of Unsubstantiated means that although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violation did or did not occur. No deficiencies are being cited for the allegation listed above. Page 5/8 -Pertaining to the allegation that “Staff did not prevent a minor from causing self harm while in care”: This allegation pertains to an incident on February 23, 2022, when Child #1 (C1) was allegedly banging their head on a table/floor during a temper tantrum, causing a bruise, and staff not stopping C1 because they did not know how to. According to all nine staff interviewed, which consist of staff who cared for C1 when C1 was on both the infant and/or the preschool sides while C1 was in care, C1 cries, screams and throws a tantrum at drop off time, at transition times, and when they get upset (for example, when another child would push back after C1 had pushed them). According to the nine staff interviewed, from the time C1 was enrolled at the Center as an infant, C1 would cry, scream, and throw themselves on the ground during a tantrum--sometimes throwing themselves backwards, sometimes throwing themselves on their belly, and sometimes just falling to their knees. When approached, C1 would flail their arms and legs, kicking and hitting whatever is around them and/or throw stuff or push stuff around them away from themselves; so staff would give them space because if they tried to intervene, it would prolong the tantrum. When asked how long the tantrums lasted, staff stated between 10-30 minutes. When asked whether they ever tried to prevent C1 from hitting the ground during a tantrum, staff said they did try and catch C1 by putting their hand either behind C1’s head or behind C1’s Page 6/8 chest, when possible, but that it was not always possible because C1 would at times just drop to the ground unexpectedly. If they were inside the classroom, staff stated that they would occasionally try to put C1 on the carpet or on a pillow. When asked whether C1 may have hurt themselves during a tantrum, staff said yes, because C1 would throw themselves back and hit their head on the floor or ground, on a window or land on a toy, and would occasionally cry more, leading staff to believe C1 had gotten hurt. However, staff stated that if C1 threw themselves forward, landing on their belly, sometimes C1 would hit their forehead on the ground, but at other times, C1 would catch themselves. When asked what they tried to do to end or prevent a tantrum, staff said they would occasionally cuddle, hold, carry or re-direct C1 or take C1 for a walk or take C1 outside. When asked whether they had ever observed a bruise on C1, two staff never noticed C1 get injured or have bruises; one staff said C1 would occasionally have bruises on their forehead or on the back of their head, but would come to school with bruises occasionally too; and two staff recalled seeing bruises on C1’s forehead approximately three times, but stated that C1 had arrived at the Center with the bruises and A1 would say that C1 had fallen or hit themselves during a tantrum at home. It must be stated that C1 turned two on 02/18/22 and thus was eligible to begin in the pre-school room on 02/21/22. However, C1’s first day of attendance in the pre-school classroom was 02/23/22, the date of this alleged incident. Page 7/8 As it was C1’s first day of attendance in a new class with a new teacher, new students, and a new routine, it could be expected that a child would have difficulty transitioning and adjusting. On 02/23/22, on the ProCare app, it was documented that C1 began crying and throwing themselves on the floor when C1 began to get tired, though it was not documented that C1 had banged their head on the table or floor nor that C1 had sustained a bruise as a result. On 02/24/22, through the ProCare app, S1 asked A1 what is done at home to help C1 during their tantrums or what could be done to re-direct C1. Though no response was documented, S9 disclosed that A1 had said to either leave C1 there or to pick C1 up and cuddle them while Adult 2 said to offer C1 toys. If A1 themselves said that they let C1 cry it out, and staff were allowing C1 to do just that, the question is what did A1 want or expect staff to do differently? Also, how could a staff who had never previously worked with the child be expected to automatically recognize the signs that C1 was going to throw a tantrum, know what to expect during the tantrum, and/or know how or when to intervene during the tantrum? As the alleged incident occurred on C1’s first day of attendance in the pre-school room and as staff handled the situation in the same manner as A1 had recommended, but at the same time, as the tantrums of C1 were documented by Center staff themselves and it could not be determined whether staff tried to prevent C1 from hurting themselves during the tantrums being thrown on 02/23/22, the allegation that “Staff did not prevent a minor from causing self harm while in care” has been determined to be Unsubstantiated. Page 8/8 This agency has investigated the complaint alleging that “Staff did not prevent a minor from causing self-harm while in care”and that there was a violation of Title 22, Division 12, Chapter 1, Article 6, Section 101223 “Personal Rights.” Based upon the evidence as presented above, the allegation has been determined to be Unsubstantiated. A finding of Unsubstantiated means that although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violation did or did not occur. No deficiencies are being cited for the allegation listed above. A Notice of Site Visit was given and must remain posted on, or immediately adjacent to, the interior side of the main door for 30 days. Failure to comply with posting requirements shall result in an immediate civil penalty of $100. Exit interview conducted and report was reviewed with Director Liliana Vasquez.