Incident investigation·September 9, 2022

On 09/09/2022 at 9:00am, Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Christina Uribe conducted an Unannounced Case Management Visit for the purpose of investigating a reported incident . LPA met with Interim Director, Nurten Celen, also present at the time of the inspection were 13 staff & 20 children. The facility is within ratio & capacity compliance today. The facility was toured to conduct a Health and Safety inspection. The facility currently operates 7:00am-6:30pm, Monday-Friday in the Chickadess, Wren, Duck, & Puffin classrooms. Incident on 08/19/2022: Interim Director reported an incident which took place around 9:30am in which a child in care was left unattended in the play yard of the facility. During an interview, Interim Director explained that when the Wren classroom transitioned from outdoor to indoor, the teachers conducted a name-to-face check at the entrance into the classroom and noticed that one child was unaccounted for. A teacher immediately went back to the play yard and found the child inside of a play structure. It was estimated that the duration of time that the child was unaccounted for was at least 1 minute. The Interim Director stated that normally the teachers line the children up at the gate out of the play area to account for each child and then walk through the gate and turn the corner that leads to the classroom door. Instead on this day the teachers lined the children up, went through the gate, turned the corner and then performed the name-to-face check at the door to the classroom. During a tour of the play area, LPA Uribe took photos for documentation of the play structure, play yard, and area of which the children are normally assembled to conduct the name-to-face check before proceeding through the gate and around the corner into the classroom. Absence of supervision is a zero tolerance policy which results in the citation of a Type A Violation and the issuance of an immediate civil penalty of $500.00. Page 1 of 3 ***Continued on LIC 809C*** Following the incident, the Interim Director provided LPA Uribe proof of having held a staff meeting in which the incident was discussed, a plan was developed to ensure supervision at all times, and staff members within the Wren classroom had a one-on-one conference with the Interim Director. Sign In & Out Procedure: During today's visit, LPA Uribe reviewed the sign in and out records for the day of the incident (08/19/22) and found several discrepancies. The facility has 3 separate records for attendance each day, one is maintained throughout the day by center staff known as the Child Supervision Record and the other two are sign in and out records which are utilized by the parents. One is an app called Curacubby which uses a QR code and PIN assigned to each family for sign in and out. Additionally, the other format is a paper form which the facility also has parents use to sign their child in and out each day. However, when comparing the staff maintained record and the two sign in and out records, there were discrepancies in the number of children in attendance on this day. 1 child was only signed in on the paper form, but was not signed out when picked up. 1 child was signed in on the app but was not signed out when picked up. 5 children were not signed in or out on either the paper form nor the app. During an interview, the Interim Director stated that there have been some technical issues with the app which has been restricting some parents from signing their child in or out. Additionally, the reason why they also have the paper form is to know exactly which parent signed in or out. The app assigns each family one PIN and therefore when a child is dropped off or picked up, the app automatically generates one parent's name as the person signing in or out. Additionally, the paper form has not been consistently used by each parent each day when signing in or out, regardless of whether or not they were able to successfully electronically sign the child in or out. The facility had previously received a Technical Violation on 06/03/22 for this same issue. Due to the incomplete records for sign in and out, the facility is being issued a Type B Violation. Interim Director : During interview, LPA Uribe found that the previous director resigned from the position in mid-July 2022. Since then the Assistant Director has assumed the title and responsibility of facility representative as the Interim Director. However, Community Care Licensing was not made aware of this change in the director position. The facility received a Technical Violation for this same issue on 04/01/22. This results in the issuance of a Type B Violation. Page 2 of 3 ***Continued on LIC 809C*** LPA Uribe informed Interim Director, Nurten Celen that this report dated 09/09/2022 documents 1 Type A citation which shall be posted for 30 consecutive days as there is immediate risk to the health, safety, or personal rights of children in care. Also, LPA Uribe informed the Interim Diredctor to provide a copy of this licensing report dated 09/09/2022 that documents any 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), or other written statement, must be placed in the child's file for verification. A notice of site visit was given and must remain posted for 30 days. Failure to comply with posting requirements shall result in an immediate civil penalty of $100. Exit interview conducted, report was reviewed, and appeal rights were given to the Interim Director, Nurten Celen. Page 3 of 3 ***End of Report***