Incident investigation·February 9, 2024

On February 9, 2024, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Carolyn Tuba conducted a case management inspection due to an incident that occurred at the facility on 1/23/2024. LPA met with Director, Melissa Villareal who guided LPA on a tour to obtain the census of 58 children with 6 staff during nap time. LPA conducted interviews with Director and Staff #1 (S1) who witnessed the incident and Child #1 (C1). The facility had self-reported the incident to the Department, however the incident was not reported to the Department within the required 24 hours of occurrence, as the date of the incident was on 1/23/2024 and Unusual Incident Report (UIR) was received via email on 1/26/2024. The incident consisted with a child having been grabbed by the arm by a staff member in a rough manner, but there were no injuries sustained that required medical attention. LPA conducted interviews with the S1 who observed the incident and with C1 and both collaborated regarding the incident. Staff #2 (S2) who was involved with the incident was not available to interview. Director stated that they conducted their own internal investigation and had placed S2 on administrative leave. S2 decided to resign from the facility on 1/24/2024. Director and S1 both confirmed that a discussion was conducted with each staff member on 1/24/2024 on the Licensing Regulations of Children’s Personal Rights and the Hands-off Policy of the school. The following deficiency listed on the attached LIC 809 (deficiency page) are being cited in accordance with California Code of Regulations Title 22. Deficiency that are being cited need to be cleared to protect the children’s health & safety. A notice of site visit was given and must remain posted for 30 days. Exit interview conducted and report was reviewed with the Preschool Director, Melissa Villareal. Page 1 of 1