complaint·January 20, 2022

Page 2. LPA Corral and Mejorado interviewed the Assistant Director and other staff present during the incident. The day of the incident, the Assistant Director spoke to the concerned bystander, then spoke to the staff involved and an additional teacher present on the playground. The Assistant Director was informed by the subject teacher that they were redirecting a child because the child was crying. During the investigation, it was learned that the Assistant Director went to the playground, but did not observe anything unusual. The Assistant Director then spoke to the facility’s Director about the call they received regarding the incident, and they contacted the facility’s District Leader to discuss further steps to be taken. Further interviews conducted by LPA’s Corral and Mejorado, revealed the Director spoke to the staff involved. When Director addressed the subject staff, by their own admission, they indicated that they could have changed their tone with the child. Director provided the subject staff with training material regarding re-direction tactics, transitioning techniques, and proper use of tone when communicating with children. The Director stated she will conduct check-ins and watch the staff interact with children. The subject teacher was placed on “Final Coaching”, which means according to facility’s policies, this is a final warning and if any other similar situation occurs, the staff member will be terminated. During staff interviews, it was disclosed the subject teacher has been trying to fix their volume because they are naturally loud and that they are working on their voice to have a lower tone. The subject teacher also admits that they did get a little loud. Throughout the investigation, it was disclosed that the subject staff was spoken to about how they redirected the child. It was confirmed that the staff received training material regarding how to transition and proper ways to speak to children. By staff’s own admission, “it wasn't right how I spoke to the child” staff informed LPAs they apologized to the child and the child’s mother. LPA Corral and Mejorado investigated the above allegation and gathered the following information. Throughout the investigation, LPA's conducted interviews, reviewed facility records, and obtained copies of the training material that was provided to staff. The subject staff was placed on “Final Coaching”, meaning if similar behavior happens again they will be terminated. Staff made statements regarding the tone and volume of their voice. There was also a video provided during the investigation which shows staff speaking to the child in a loud manner, where staff is heard using a high volume to address the child. By staff’s own admission and the facility documentation, the allegation stating staff yelled at a child, is being Substantiated. Continue to Page 3. Page 3. Based on the information that was obtained throughout the investigation, the preponderance of evidence standard has been met, therefore the allegation is found to be Substantiated. This constitutes a violation of Children’s Personal Rights. This allegation is being cited on the attached LIC 9099D. LPA Corral informed licensee that this report dated 01/20/2022 documents a Type A citation. Type A citation shall be posted for 30 consecutive days as there are immediate risks to the personal rights of children in care. LPA Corral also informed the Director to provide a copy of this licensing report that documents the Type A citation to parents/guardians of all children currently enrolled by the next business day or the next day the children are in care, and to any newly enrolled parents/guardians for 12 months from the date of this report. A signed Acknowledgement of Receipt of Licensing Report (LIC 9224) must be placed in the child's file for verification. Failure to comply with posting requirements shall result in an immediate civil penalty of $100. Exit interview was conducted and Complaint Report was reviewed with Director Emily Calhoun. A Notice of Site Visit was provided, Director was reminded it must remain posted for 30 days. End of Report. Page 2. LPA Corral and Mejorado interviewed Assistant Director who spoke to the concerned bystander, then spoke to the staff member involved and an additional teacher who was present. The Assistant Director went to the playground but did not observe a child crying and nothing unusual was going on. Staff explained to Assistant Director what happened, Assistant Director then checked the child and observed no marking or bruising on the child. Assistant Director stated she then spoke to the Director about the call they received, and they called the District Leader to discuss further steps to be taken. LPA Corral and Mejorado interviewed the Director who spoke to the subject staff involved. Staff told Director they grabbed the child’s hand to lead the child to the tables. Director provided staff with training regarding re-direction tactics, transitioning techniques, proper use of tone when communicating with children, and appropriate use of physical children touch. Director will conduct check-ins and watch staff’s interactaction with children. LPA Corral and Mejorado also interviewed the subject teacher, during the interview it was disclosed that they did grab the child to lead the child. The staff explained how the child was grabbed and how they held the child from the arm, then by the hands. Staff disclosed they were not trained on how to handle the children which is why training material was provided from the Director. LPA Corral also interviewed the child’s parents on 12/20/2021 and again on 12/27/2021; both of the parents confirmed they saw the video. Both parents were read the Personal Rights regulation and they both indicated they do not feel or believe their child’s personal rights were violated nor did they believe their child was handled in an aggressive manner. LPA Corral and Mejorado also viewed the video, in the video the subject teacher is seen holding the child’s arm and hand. The video does not show the child being handled in a rough or aggressive manner. The allegation that was reported states the teacher handled the child roughly, but from the video provided, it is unclear if the child was handled in a rough manner, the video shows the teacher guiding the child. Assistant Director also checked the child and there were no markings observed on the child. The parents were also interviewed, and they did not believe their child was handled in a rough manner. Continue to Page 3. Page 3. LPA’s investigated the above allegation and gathered evidence surrounding the allegation. Throughout this investigation, LPA Corral and Mejorado conducted interviews, reviewed facility records, and obtained copies of facility documentation. Based on the information obtained throughout the investigation there is insufficient evidence to corroborate that a staff handled a child in a rough manner. Although the allegations may have happened or are valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove the allegation did or did not occur, therefore the allegation is Unsubstantiated. Exit interview was conducted and Complaint Report was reviewed with Director, Emily Calhoun. A Notice of Site Visit was provided, Licensee was reminded it must remain posted for 30 days. End of Report.