complaint·June 27, 2024

According to the allegation, the facility had multiple cases of communicable diseases such as lice, conjunctivitis (pink eye), and hand, foot, and mouth disease, and the facility did not report the outbreaks as required by licensing. During interviews the Director stated parents of children in the preschool program reported six confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth to the facility within a one week time span in the month of March, 2024. Director stated they did not report the outbreak of 6 cases to licensing, to all parents in the facility, or to the local health department as they were unaware it was a requirement to do so. Title 22 Regulations state a facility is required to report an epidemic outbreak by telephone or fax within the Departments next working day and during it's normal business hours. Title 22 Regulations also state the facility shall report epidemic outbreaks to the child's authorized representatives and to the local health officer. Director stated the facility's policy for reporting multiple cases of an illness to parents is to "post on Class Dojo. When we see it is spreading, we would post it on Class Dojo for 3 or more cases". However, Director stated all preschool parents were only notified of the first case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth via the Class Dojo app, but the facility did not notify parents of the other 5 subsequent cases of hand, foot, and mouth. Staff #2 (S2) also confirmed there were 6 confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth reported in the preschool program within a short period of time. The Department did not receive an Unusual Incident Report regarding the cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth. During interviews Staff #4 stated "We didn’t know we should report that. We know that now." Staff interviewed stated there has been one case of pink eye in the preschool program in the last 6 months. Staff interviewed stated there has been one case of lice at the facility in the last 6 months. The facility was notified of the case of lice on 5/2/24, and the facility reported the case of lice to the Department on 5/3/24. Based on the information gathered, and interviews conducted, the preponderance of evidence standard has been met, therefore the above allegation is found to be SUBSTANTIATED. California Code of Regulations, Title 22 Chapter 1 are being cited on the attached 9099D. Deficiencies that are being cited need to be cleared to protect the children’s health and safety. A notice of site visit was given and must remain posted 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 the Director, Hye Jung Hahn. Page 2 of 2