Johnson said the investigation will include speaking with the daycare staff, speaking with parents as needed, and conducting a site visit. The department’s findings are public and will be posted online.
A search of past JFS inspections of My Father’s House indicates several past non-compliance issues, including two other times children were found to be left alone.
“We’re implementing some additional protocols for drop-off and pick-up,” said Nicole Crawford, owner of My Father’s House.
Those changes include a new sign-in and sign-out sheet and additional head count sheets, Crawford said Wednesday.
“We impact the community in a positive way … this was an unfortunate miscommunication,” Crawford said. “This is a growing opportunity to be more effective and sharpen our skills.”
The center was found to be “partially compliant” during each of its last four inspections, from February 2014 to August 2015. During that period, six serious risk non-compliances were found, which “present an elevated risk of harm to children,” according to JFS.
Twice during inspections in 2014, My Father’s House was found to have violations relating to supervision of children.
In February 2014, a school-aged child was “observed alone in another classroom and the responsible staff member was unaware of the child’s location,” according to the inspection report.
During that visit, it was also found an employee that was rehired did not have their criminal records checks updated.
Crawford said the February 2014 incident with a child alone in a classroom was an 8- or 9-year-old girl reading a book and journaling to “unwind” before returning to the homeless shelter where she lived.
Crawford said state law does allow school-age children to be out of sight for five minutes while going to the restroom or getting a drink.
My Father’s House was inspected again in December 2014 after a complaint was made. During that inspection, a serious risk was found of a child being left unattended in a bathroom, according to the inspection.
“Children shall be within sight and hearing of child-care staff members. No child shall ever be left alone or unsupervised,” reads the state code.
The corrective actions included training staff on supervision policies.
Crawford said in that incident, a 3-year-old was in the bathroom and a staff member was on the other side of the cracked door. The daycare center immediately updated its policies after the inspection, she said.
During that same visit, a blanket was found to be hung over the side of a crib, which is prohibited due to strangulation or suffocation risks and obstructing the view of the child for staff members, according to JFS documents.
Dayton police said previously no criminal charges were being pursued. A check with Dayton police over the last decade showed only one visit to the daycare center in December 2015 for a client dispute.
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