complaint·June 2, 2021

However according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health guidance letters, “children who are 24 months through 8 years of age should use masks with adult supervision to ensure that the child can breathe safely and avoid choking or suffocation. Children who experience difficulty breathing when wearing a mask should not use one.” Although some children in this center may fall under the latter part of the guideline, it is unlikely that all children in the center would have breathing difficulties. Based on the information obtained from interviews the facility did not comply with Government Agency requirements related to wearing masks. These actions create a significant health and safety risk to the children, staff, and families involved. Therefore, the above allegation was found to be Substantiated, meaning that the allegation(s) are valid because the preponderance of the evidence standard has been met. Allegation #2: During the investigation, LPA was informed that staff are breaking one another during nap time. According to previous County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health guidance letters during COVID-19 pandemic, staff were to supervise the same group of children and were not allowed to supervise different groups of children. Based on the information obtained from interviews the facility did not comply with Government Agency requirements related to staffing requirements. These actions create a significant health and safety risk to the children, staff, and families involved. Therefore, the above allegation was found to be Substantiated, meaning that the allegation(s) are valid because the preponderance of the evidence standard has been met. An exit interview was conducted and a copy of the Complaint Report (LIC9099) as well as a Notice of Site Visit was emailed to the Director. LPA requested the Director to read, sign, and email the LIC9099 back to LPA Hill. Therefore, the findings for this allegation was found to be Unsubstantiated because the facility staff did all they could to prevent children from engaging in inappropriate interactions. An Unsubstantiated finding means that although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove that the alleged violation occurred. An exit interview was conducted and a copy of the Complaint Report (LIC9099) as well as a Notice of Site Visit was emailed to the Director. LPA requested the Director to read, sign, and email the LIC9099 back to LPA Hill.