Incident investigation·May 21, 2026

On 05/21/26, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Kelli Waters, arrived at the facility unannounced for the a subsequent case management visit regarding an unusual incident report (UIR) submitted to Community Care Licensing (CCL), regarding an incident that took place on 03/30/26. LPA met with Facility Representative, Darlene Witherwax, and informed her of the reason for the visit. LPA conducted a facility inspection, took census of the facility, and conducted interviews. On 04/01/26, Program Director submitted a UIR and stated the following: On 03/30/26, Program Director received a parent phone call in which their child (C1) stated they witnessed a staff member (S1) hit another child (C2) with a shoe. During the investigation, LPA Waters interviewed pertinent parties, including children, and reviewed documents. Interviews revealed that the alleged incident was not witnessed by the two other staff members in the room or any other children present when the incident took place. LPA Waters was unable to determine if the reported incident took place and was unable to interview C2 to corroborate. In addition, San Jacinto Unified School District Early Childhood Education program cross reported the incident to Child Protective Services (CPS) as well as to the School Resource Officer (SRO) from the San Jacinto Police Department. Both agencies conducted independent investigations and found no evidence to pursue further action and deemed the allegation unfounded. LPA Waters determined that the facility took the necessary steps to ensure children's safety. Based on the information obtained during the visit, there appears to be no violation of Title 22 Regulations pertaining to the reported incident. An exit interview was held with the Facility Representative. A copy of the report and appeal rights were provided. A Notice of Site Visit was issued and must be posted for 30 days.