Incident investigation·July 19, 2022

On 07/19/2022, Licensing Program Manager (LPM) Mariela Ramon and Licensing Program Analyst Barbara Beneroso (LPA) met with Director Thalia Valdovinos for the purpose of following up on an unusual incident report submitted to the Department on 06/13/22. During the visit, LPA and LPM toured the facility and took a census of the children present. LPA and LPM observed 20 toddlers with 6 staff members providing supervision. The incident report indicated that Child # 1 who is enrolled in the toddler program was on the playground when he went to kick a ball and his foot rolled over on top of the ball causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards hitting the back of his head on the floor. Based on the information obtained during the interviews conducted with staff and children, it has been determined that child #1's incident was the result of an accident. Staff #1 and #2 statements indicated they observed child #1 falling backwards when he stepped over the ball instead of kicking it, falling and hitting his head. Staff #3 immediately attended child #1 by checking for injuries and applying an ice pack to the back of the head. Child #1 cried due to the fall, however, child was alert and conscious. Child #1 parents were contacted immediately and arrived to the facility shortly after. Parent took child to doctor and was cleared. No signs of head trauma or concussion were found. Staff handled the situation accordingly by providing first aid and immediately contacting child #1 parents. Staff also provided parent with a written incident report. The information obtained during the unusual incident follow up revealed no violations were found. Facility is encouraged to continue to report incidents that occur in the facility. An exit interview was conducted, a copy of this report was provided along with the notice of site visit.