STATE OF MICHIGAN GRETCHEN WHITMER
GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS L ANSING
ORLENE HAWKS DIRECTOR
April 14, 2021 Kathleen Conroy
Childtime Childcare, Inc.
21333 Haggerty Road, Suite 100 Novi, MI 48375
RE: License #: Investigation #:
DC630294576 2021D0424005
Childtime Learning Center #0638
Dear Ms. Conroy,
I conducted a special investigation because the child care licensing division received information regarding your facility that related to licensing rules or law. The information was related to the following:
R 400.8140(1) Discipline. R 400.8140(2)(a) Discipline.
The details of the information are in the attached report. To investigate:
• I interviewed the person who made the complaint, program director, child care staff members and parents.
• I completed on-site inspections on the following dates: 03/17/2021, 03/29/2021 As a result of this investigation, I found the following violation(s):
R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting I recommend no change to the current license status.
During this special investigation: Yes No
A rule or law violation was found and a serious injury or death occurred.
611 W. OTTAWA • P.O. BOX 30664 • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909 www.michigan.gov/lara • 517-335-1980
This report and any related corrective action plans must be filed in your licensing notebook. This report and any related corrective action plans will be online for parents to review under the Statewide Search for Licensed Child Care Centers and Homes. Please review the enclosed documentation for accuracy and contact me with any questions. If I am unavailable and you need to speak to someone immediately, please contact the local office at (248) 975-5053.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Jalynski, Licensing Consultant Bureau of Community and Health Systems 51111 Woodward Avenue
MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS BUREAU OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SYSTEMS
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT
I. IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
License #: DC630294576
Investigation #: 2021D0424005
Complaint Receipt Date: 03/15/2021
Investigation Initiation Date: 03/15/2022
Report Due Date: 05/14/2021
Licensee Name: Childtime Childcare, Inc.
Licensee Address: Suite 100
21333 Haggerty Road Novi, MI 48375
Licensee Telephone #: (248) 569-6789
Administrator: Kathleen Conroy, Designee
Licensee Designee: Kathleen Conroy, Designee
Name of Facility: Childtime Learning Center #0638
Facility Address: 27900 Evergreen
Lathrup Village, MI 48076
Facility Telephone #: (248) 569-6789
Original Issuance Date: 12/03/2008
License Status: REGULAR
Effective Date: 06/04/2019
Expiration Date: 06/03/2021
Capacity: 104
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II. ALLEGATION(S)
III. METHODOLOGY
03/15/2021 Special Investigation Intake 2021D0424005
03/15/2021 Special Investigation Initiated - Telephone Interviewed complainant and Child A's mother. 03/17/2021 Contact - Document Received
03/17/2021 Inspection Completed On-site
(10:50 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.) Interviewed program director Laura Bivins, and child care staff members Alexandria Bell, Ajanne Downer, Tiara James, and Ariel Settles.
03/17/2021 Contact Document Received
Photographs concerning masks received. 03/22/2021 Contact Document Received
Email from Kathleen Conroy. 03/23/2021 Contact Document Sent
Email to Kathleen Conroy. 03/23/2021 Contact Document Sent
Email regarding mask mandate 03/29/2021 Contact – Face-to-Face
Center appointment to view videotapes 04/01/2021 Contact—Telephone call made
Interviewed Child C’s mother, Child D’s mother, Child E’s mother, and Child F’s mother.
Violation Established? Ms. Bell and Ms. Downing have scolded Child A (male, age 2 ½),
pushed him onto his cot and yanked his arm.
No
04/08/2021 Exit conference with Kathleen Conroy.
ALLEGATION: Ms. Bell and Ms. Downing have scolded Child A (male, age 2
½), pushed him onto his cot and yanked his arm.INVESTIGATION: I interviewed Child A’s mother by telephone on 3/15/2021. The center has a phone application that enables parents to see the Early Preschool classroom via live feed. She described several things she observed on 02/04/2021 that concerned her.
Between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on 02/04/2021 her son was playing with cars during a transition time. She believes he must not have been listening. She saw a staff member, who she thinks was Ms. Bell, yank him by the hand to go to time out and then yanked his hand to get him to sit down. He was on a carpet away from other kids. Ms. Bell was sitting on the floor nearby, then her son was offscreen. Child A’s mother said that at about 11:00 a.m. Ms. Downer was preparing lunch and her son was not listening. Ms. Bell was noticeably frustrated. Child A stood in front of a cot and she pushed him onto it. He was there 5-7 minutes and then got up and was the last child to be served lunch.
Child A wears pull-ups. After his nap, at about 3:00 p.m. he was standing in front of the bathroom facing the classroom. Child A’s mother said she could see someone from inside the bathroom yank him by the arm and pull him inside but did not know who it was based on the camera view.
Between 3:45 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., Child A’s mother could see her son sitting in a chair. Child B began to pull his chair backwards. Child B started crying. Ms. Downing yelled at Child A, assuming he was to blame. She immediately sent him to time out, then consoled Child B.
On different occasions when Child A has been in time out, he has sometimes sat at a table without any toys.
Child A’s mother said she addressed her concerns with Ms. Downer when she arrived to pick up her son and with Ms. Bivins at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. She said she had many conversations with staff about her concerns. After speaking with Ms. Bivins, she would see some short-term improvement. She disenrolled Child A and his older sibling on 03/02/2021 after her son told her on 03/01/2021 that he was afraid and did not want to go to the center.
4 son at 6:45 a.m. the next morning (02/05/2021) to share her concerns about what she had seen on the live feed. Ms. Bivins said his mother made assumptions that the staff members were yelling at her son and questioned how she had determined this since there is no audio with the live feed and staff members are masked. She did not recall Child A’s mother using the word “yanking” to describe staff members’ interactions. Child A’s mother told her staff would grab a child and sit them down harder than she would. Regarding an incident where he was placed in time out, she said the staff members made a judgment call about what had happened when they heard Child B crying. Ms. Bivins said she took Child B out of the classroom a few days later, due to the complaints alleging favoritism. She said she did not review the videotape concerning the 02/04/2021 allegations since Child A’s mother continued to bring Child A to the center and she did not see it as serious. She said she did not contact LARA about the allegations for this same reason and said the complaints were ongoing. Ms. Givens talked to staff members about the allegations and was satisfied with their account of what had happened on 02/04/2021.
Ms. Bivins said Child A struggled with his recent transition from the 2’s classroom to Early Preschool. He and his mother liked his prior staff members. Ms. Bivins said Child A’s mother soon expressed concerns about a variety of things, including misplaced clothing after he began attending the Early Preschool room on
01/23/2021. Ms. Bivins said that she has not received complaints from parents or staff about Ms. Bell and Ms. Downer who have been employed for years.
Ms. Bivins described the staff members’ interactions with children as positive. She said that Ms. Bell is a good, loving staff member that “gets down on their level” to interact. Ms. Downing is “loving.” She has a lot of energy and sings and dances with the children.
I asked if time out was a method of discipline. She said children may be redirected to another area or activity away from other children with a staff member nearby. The separation is not timed, and they are always offered activities and are free to rejoin the group when they are ready. Staff talk to the child about what had transpired. There is no “time out” chair.
I reviewed the discipline policy for preschool children. It described positive methods of discipline such as staff communication with the child and recommendations for staff to maintain eye contact with the child, create a safe place to allow children to work out emotions, and expressing warmth to children.
I interviewed Ms. Bell at the center. She was Child A’s primary caregiver in the Early Preschool classroom and has been employed for three years. Regarding the
allegation of yanking Child A, she said when she takes a child by the hand,
more gentle and is more aware of how her actions may look after this was brought to her attention.
To discipline, children are sometimes taken aside and are usually given a book or something to do. There are times when children are asked to rejoin the group or offered activities and refuse. Child A’s mother spoke to her son and told her she is okay with the discipline and everything she does and was shocked to hear about these concerns one week later.
She recalls Child A’s mother questioning her about an encounter with Child A and Child B. She said that she and Ms. Downer had done the best that they could to quickly assess the situation and that they had not seen everything. She denied having favorites. She acknowledged picking up Child B and consoling her and said this is a typical response when children are crying.
Regarding the lunchtime incident, Ms. Bell said there were three children running around the classroom, including Child A. She said all three children were asked to rest on their cots until lunch was ready. She said she has not had any other
complaints from parents about her interactions with others.
I interviewed Ms. Downer at the center. She has been employed for six years and was one of Child A’s staff members in the Early Preschool classroom. She denied yanking on children, pushing them down, or interacting aggressively with children or witnessing other staff engage in this behavior. She said staff do not yell at children, though it is sometimes necessary to speak loudly especially while wearing masks. Discipline typically involves redirecting the child to another activity. Staff speak to children at eye level. They may be apart from the group but are still permitted to play with toys,
I interviewed Tianna Jones at the center. She has been employed for six years and is a substitute staff member in the Early Preschool room once or twice weekly. She has worked with Ms. Bell and Ms. Downer. She denied seeing either staff member interact in an inappropriate or rough way. She has not seen anyone yank on a child. She believes the parents love the two staff members and has not heard any
complaints about them. She said discipline involves redirecting. A child may be directed to a table and given a book or other activity.
6 As indicated, the video for 02/04/2021 regarding Child A was unavailable when the complaint was received on 03/15/2021. I asked to see other footage of the
classroom to see how the staff members interacted with children and disciplined them. District Manager Kathleen Conroy said that she had to request video from a third party and that I could select the dates and times within the past seven days. I chose to watch 03/19/2021, 03/22/2021, and 03/23/2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and watched them on 03/29/2021. I scanned through video for all three days and watched about one hour and forty-five minutes of the footage. Ms. Bivins and Ms. Conroy were among those present during the viewing and I focused on transition times. The information gained from viewing this was limited by the dim lighting, poor resolution, and lack of audio. I viewed it on a 12–14-inch laptop computer There was a single camera angle taken from the corner of the classroom. The tables the
children most often used for play were on the far right. The other area children commonly gathered was on a carpet for circle time and group activities located on the far-left side. With staff wearing masks and no audio, I had no way of knowing whether any children were scolded. I did not see any obvious signs of scolding like finger wagging.
I sometimes saw children sitting alone at a table. The children were always given books or puzzles and used them when they were away from the group. I was told children could rejoin the group when they are ready but are not forced. I witnessed children swap books while they were seated away from others, then independently rejoin the group. I was told that one child had a strong preference for being away from others and that staff were working on a plan to better integrate the child with the group. Overall, in the footage I viewed, I could not easily determine when discipline was taking place.
The only time when it was obvious that children were not doing what was expected was during naptime. Children sometimes stood up on their cots or walked away from them. I don’t know whether staff said anything to them at these times. Children eventually returned to their cots on their own. When they returned to their cots, staff would cover them with their blankets.
I did not see either staff member yank children by the arm, pull on them to get them to sit down, or push a child. Twice I saw, who I believe was Ms. Bell, redirect a child by taking him or her by the hand. Both times she walked in front of them at a quicker pace than the child’s natural gait.
I interviewed four parents who have children that currently attend the Early
Preschool Classroom. All parents identified Alexandria Bell and Ajanne Downer as their child’s staff members and referred to them as Ms. Alex and Ms. AJ. Everyone interviewed said it has been difficult to observe staff members interacting with children due to COVID restrictions and the need to drop off and pick up children at the door. Some parents said they had an opportunity to get to know Ms. Alex and Ms. AJ prior to these restrictions and with other siblings. Some said they had a chance to see interactions at the door or to observe them while the children were playing outside. None of the parents interviewed mentioned that they had observed interactions on the live feed.
Child C’s mother said her child loves attending school. She indicated that the staff members are “So loving,” and that is what she likes best. She is also very pleased with how much her child is learning. Child C’s mother said her child has cried when it’s time to go home and said she wants Ms. Alex and Ms. AJ to come to her house. She indicated she cannot say enough good things about the center.
Child D’s mother said she has not had much of a chance to get to know the staff members or see them interact with children. Her child has recently expressed some resistance toward attending and she is not sure why.
Child E’s mother said Ms. AJ is nice, animated, and creative. She said she doesn’t know Ms. Alex. She said that her children like both staff members and enjoy
attending and that her experience at the center has been positive.
Child F’s mother said recent opportunities to witness interaction has been limited but that she’s known Ms. AJ a long time. She described Ms. AJ as super creative and very good. She has had less of a chance to see Ms. Alex interact with children. She said her child loves both staff members and enjoys attending. She said the staff are like family and that they genuinely care about her kids.
APPLICABLE RULE
R 400.8140 Discipline.
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ANALYSIS: Positive methods of discipline are used.
There was no evidence that child care staff members scold children or that children are denied a chance to play when apart from the group, or that they are unable to independently rejoin the group when ready, per my classroom video observations and staff interviews. Child C’s mother, Child D’s mother, Child E’s mother, and Child F’s mother did not report any concerns with how staff members interact with children.
CONCLUSION: VIOLATION NOT ESTABLISHED
APPLICABLE RULE
R 400.8140 Discipline.
(2) All of the following means of punishment are prohibited: (a) Hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, pinching, or inflicting other forms of corporal punishment.
ANALYSIS: There was no evidence that staff members use any prohibited or
corporal forms of punishment.
I did not see Ms. Bell or Ms. Downer yank children’s arms or push children. Staff interviewed denied seeing this or any other aggressive or corporal forms of punishment. Child C’s mother, Child D’s mother, Child E’s mother, and Child F’s mother did not report any concerns with how staff members interact with
children.
CONCLUSION: VIOLATION NOT ESTABLISHED
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS:
INVESTIGATION: Ms. Bivins acknowledged that she had received a complaint alleging various types of inappropriate care from Child A’s mother on or about 2/5/2021 and did not contact LARA when this occurred as previously described in this report.
APPLICABLE RULE
R 400.8158 Incident, accident, injury, illness, death, fire reporting.
phone, fax, or email, within 24 hours of the occurrence of any of the following:
(b) An incident involving an allegation of inappropriate contact.
ANALYSIS: The program director did not notify LARA within 24 hours of
receiving an allegation of inappropriate contact.
CONCLUSION: VIOLATION ESTABLISHED
Note: It was also alleged that the caregivers in the Early Preschool room do not consistently and properly wear masks in the classroom. Since there is no applicable child care licensing rule or statute, this allegation was not formally investigated. It was referred to the proper health authority on 3/23/2021.
IV. RECOMMENDATION
