Incident investigation·December 20, 2024

On 12/20/2024 at 12:45pm, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Jialing “Julianne” Zhu conducted an unannounced case management inspection for the purpose of investigating a reported incident. LPA met with Director Marilyn Graves. Also present during the inspection were 13 fingerprint-cleared staff and 62 children in care. The facility is within ratio and in compliance with capacity regulations today. The incident occurred on 12/11/2024 and was reported to Licensing on 12/12/2024. Per director, one (1) preschooler was left unattended for approximately 4 minutes in the outdoor play area after class had transitioned back into the classroom. During today’s inspection, LPA reviewed the above information with Director and conducted an interview to obtain more information. The facility was toured to conduct a Health and Safety Inspection of the outdoor play area where the child was reportedly unsupervised. The outdoor play area where the unsupervised child was found is fully fenced all around. One side of the fence is at least 5 feet high and has a gate that leads out of the facility. The gate is equipped with a push bar handle and alarm. The fence on the opposite side is approximately 3.5 feet high and shared with another outdoor play area. At the time of the incident, the unsupervised child was alone in the yard as the teacher transitioned inside with the children. The door to the yard was closed. Two (2) teachers were present in the other yard supervising their own children. One of the teachers heard the child, looked over into the other yard, and noticed the child alone. The teacher immediately went into the other yard and brought the child into the classroom. A health check was conducted immediately, and the child was unharmed. Based on the obtained information and LPA’s observation, LPA determined the child was left unsupervised, which posed an immediate threat to the health and safety of the child in care. After this incident, the following actions has been taken by the facility: child’s parent was notified, director talked to all teachers about the importance of name to face checks, the parent community was notified of this incident via email on 12/12/2024, and a mandatory staff meeting was held on 12/16/2024. LPA obtained a copy of the email sent to the parent community and meeting minutes from the staff meeting along with the attendance sheet. The facility already has a name-to-face check system in place where children are checked off on a clipboard. Additional steps have been put in-place: verbal confirmation of how many children is inside/outside during transitions. Page 1 of 2. See LIC 809C. Absence of supervision is an Immediate $500 violation. In addition, the facility was previously cited for absence of supervision on 05/22/2024. LPA determined this is a repeat violation within as 12-month period of California Code of Regulations 101229(a)(1), which will result in an immediate civil penalty of $1000. In summary, a Type A deficiency was issued and an immediate civil penalty of $1000 was assessed during today’s inspection. As a result of the Type A deficiency cited during today’s inspection, a copy of this report and LIC 9224 Acknowledgment of Receipt of Licensing Reports must be provided to parents/guardians of current enrolled children in care and all children newly enrolled following a 12-month period of this report. The LIC 9224 must be signed within the next business day the children are in care and is to be kept in the children’s files. A Notice of Site Visit was given and must remain posted for 30 days. Exit interview was conducted, report was reviewed, and Appeal Rights were provided to Director Marilyn Graves. Page 2 of 2. End of Report.