Indiana officials have slammed a Far-Northside day care, saying it violated nearly two dozen state requirements when its employees failed to report suspected child abuse. Ali Al-Awadi, 20, Indianapolis, was charged last month with felony child molesting in a case involving a 4-year-old girl at the Children’s Choice Learning Center at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, Marion Superior Court records show. The 4-year-old told other caregivers at the day care that “Mr. Ali” had put his finger inside her during nap time, but they didn’t report the girl’s accusation to authorities until nearly 20 hours later, court records show. State day-care inspectors conducted an inspection of the day care on Aug. 29, after being notified about the allegations. They cited the day care for 23 violations relating to Children’s Choice’s failure to report suspected child abuse to the parents, Indiana Department of Child Services and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, state inspection records show. Those citations were dated Aug. 29 but not uploaded until recently to the state’s Carefinder website. Among the violations cited by the state inspectors: • The facility did not report alleged abuse to parents, DCS or the FSSA within one hour of knowledge of the incident. • A caregiver shared knowledge of suspected abuse with other co-workers. • Children’s Choice Learning Center did not tell the state that one of its employees had been arrested. • Day-care employees questioned the child and suspected perpetrator about the allegations. • The day care failed to follow its own policy for reporting suspected child abuse. • No proof of national criminal history checks for two caregivers who were working the day state officials came for their inspection. It is unclear what, if any, action the state will take against Children’s Choice for its violations. The day care is listed as a level three in Paths to Quality, the second-highest level in a rating system used by the state to help parents identify quality child-care programs. Bridget Perry, a spokeswoman for Bright Horizons Children’s Centers LLC, which operates the day care, said Children’s Choice Learning Center’s new leadership team has implemented a corrective action plan to ensure compliance with the state’s requirements. Jennifer Wynn, the director of the day care, was placed on administrative leave Aug. 22 “due to questions that came up as we started our investigation,” Perry previously told The Star. Assistant Director Heidi Conces resigned. “The new team has been working with families and communicating regularly with them about these issues and the changes we have made,” Perry said. “We are committed to working closely with all agencies and to supporting families in every way possible.” Meanwhile, Al-Awadi’s criminal case still is pending. He was released from jail late last month after posting bond.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:00:01 +0000
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