complaint·April 10, 2025

On 2/20/25, the Orange County Child Care Office received a complaint alleging (1) Staff spoke inappropriately regarding child. (2) Staff came to work under the influence. (3) Staff was smoking at the facility. Reporting Party (RP) stated the following: Staff#1 (S1) “hated” Child#1 (C1) and would say disturbing things about C1, however S1 never carried out these actions but repeatedly mentioned wanting to hurt C1. S1 has come to work drunk. There have been instances when S1 goes to the restroom and the restroom smells like marijuana. The incidents happened in May 2024. During the investigation, LPA inspected the facility, interviewed 6 staff members, attempted to interview 5 children but only 4 children qualified, interviewed 3 parents, reviewed staff files, and obtained copies of the personnel report and children's roster. Regarding allegation (1) Staff spoke inappropriately regarding child. During the investigation, 6 out of 6 staff members stated they had not heard a staff member saying that they want to hurt a child. 6 out of 6 staff members stated they had not observed a staff member hurting a child. Staff#4 (S4) stated S1 is nice and hasn’t seen anything from S1 that is concerning. 4 out of 4 children stated their teachers are nice and no teacher has hurt them. S1 denied the speaking inappropriately regarding a child. C1 is no longer attending the facility. Regarding allegation (2) Staff came to work under the influence. During the investigation, 6 out of 6 staff members stated they have not observed staff members come to work under the influence of alcohol. Staff#5(S5) stated the following: I don’t think S1 was drunk. S1 told us S1 was hung over. Staff#3(S3) stated that S1 told S3 that S1 was still hung over. S5 and S3 stated that S1 did not smell like alcohol. Staff#6 (S6) stated that S6 has never had anyone come to the facility smelling like alcohol. S1 denied coming to work drunk. S6 provided LPA with the facility’s staff policy and stated the staff policy is given to the staff members when they start employment at the facility. On the staff policy it states, team members are prohibited from reporting for duty or remaining on duty with any alcohol in their systems. Page 2 of 3 Regarding allegation (3) Staff was smoking at the facility. During the investigation, LPA inspected the facility and did not observe any concerns regarding the allegation. 6 out of 6 staff members stated they have not seen a staff member smoke marijuana at the facility. 6 out of 6 staff members stated they have not smelled marijuana at the facility. S1 denied smoking marijuana at the facility. On 3/28/2025, LPA interviewed 3 parents, and the 3 parents did not disclose any concerns regarding the allegations. Based on information gather from LPA’s interviews with 6 staff members, 4 children, and 3 parents, the preponderance of evidence has not been met. Although the allegations may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violations (1) Staff spoke inappropriately regarding child (2) Staff came to work under the influence (3) Staff was smoking at the facility; therefore, the allegations are UNSUBSTANTIATED. Exit interview was conducted with Director, Melinda Marchese. The Notice of Site Visit was posted. Director was informed that the Notice of Site Visit must be posted for 30 consecutive days. The Director was provided with a copy of their appeal rights (LIC 9058) and their signature on this form acknowledges receipt of these rights. First level appeals should be sent to the regional manager to the address listed above. Page 3 of 3