Complaint·January 13, 2025

On 11/06/24 the Orange County Child Care Office received a complaint alleging (1) Licensee does not ensure tables and chairs are scaled to the size of the day care children. (2) Unqualified staff are providing care and supervision to day care children. (3) Licensee encourages staff to make false statement to CCL. Reporting Party (RP) stated the children\342\200\231s furniture is not age appropriate. RP stated the tables are too high and the chairs are too big for the preschool children and are constantly falling out of the chairs. RP stated there are instructional aides (not fully qualified) that are helping in the class all day and at times are left alone with children. RP stated the administration have instructed the employees to lie to licensing about the role of instructional aids and say they are volunteers. During the investigation, LPA inspected the furniture of the facility, interviewed 6 staff members, attempted to interview 5 children but only 4 children qualified, reviewed instructional aide files, and interviewed 4 parents. Regarding allegation (1) Licensee does not ensure tables and chairs are scaled to the size of the day care children. During the staff interview, 6 out of 6 staff members stated they have had no injuries with the children due to the chairs being too high or the tables being too big. Staff#2 (S2) stated the tables were lowered so they can be child sized tables. Staff#6 (S6) stated they have purchased smaller tables and chairs for the 2-year-old classroom and new chairs for room# 7. S6 provided LPA with documents of purchase orders and shipping confirmation of new tables and chairs. On 11/7/2024, LPA inspected the tables and chairs in room# 7, room# 8, and observed standard child size tables and chairs. On 12/19/2024, LPA inspected the classroom furniture observed new tables and chairs for the age of the children. 3 out of 4 children stated the tables in the classroom were not too big. 4 out 4 children stated they have not fallen out of the classroom chair. The 4 parents interviewed did not disclosed any concerns regarding this allegation. Page 2 of 3 Regarding allegation (2) Unqualified staff are providing care and supervision to day care children. During the staff interview, 6 out of 6 staff denied instructional aides were left alone supervising the children. S1 stated the following: the instructional aide assists in the classroom, under the direction of the lead teacher. They are district employees. They help the program to remain in the 1:8 (3\342\200\2234-year-old class) and 1:4 (2\342\200\2233-year-old class) adult to child ratios. They are under constant supervision of the lead teacher and/or the site supervisor. They do not take children to the restroom or other locations without being directly under the supervision of the lead teacher or site supervisor. They do interact with children throughout the day, assisting with large and small group activities, and facilitating play during child choice times of the day. LPA also reviewed the instructional aide files. The 4 parents interviewed did not disclosed any concerns regarding this allegation. Regarding allegation (3) Licensee encourage staff to make false statement to CCL During the staff interview, 6 out of 6 staff members stated they have not been instructed to lie to licensing about the role of the instructional aides. Staff#6 (S6) stated they have not instructed staff members to lie to licensing about the role of the instructional aide. Based on information gather from LPA\342\200\231s interviews with 6 staff, 4 children, and 4 parents, the preponderance of (1) Licensee does not ensure tables and chairs are scaled to the size of the day care children. (2) Unqualified staff are providing care and supervision to day care children. (3) Licensee encourages staff to make false statement to CCL evidence has not been met. Although the allegations may have happened or are valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violations did or did not occur; therefore, the allegation s are UNSUBSTANTIATED. Exit interview was conducted with Director, Darcy Spicer. The Notice of Site Visit was posted. Director was informed that the Notice of Site Visit must be posted for 30 consecutive days. The principal 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