A Duluth daycare is under investigation after it failed to report a disabled 5-year-old’s injuries suffered in a playground “jail” game to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, spokesman Reg Griffin said.
The Kids ‘R’ Kids Pleasant Hill Academy daycare could face a fine and possible revocation for not meeting supervision and required reporting stipulations established by DECAL for a Sept. 6 incident. DECAL authorities weren’t notified in the required time for incidents such as this one.
“If there’s injuries to a child, the daycare is required to report to the agency within 24 hours,” Griffin said. The agency was notified of the incident Sept. 8.
According to email correspondence between the child’s mother Tammy Simmons and the daycare center’s owner Julie Holiday, the child was a “prisoner” during the unsupervised game and was pushed by a fellow student into his “cell,” described as a “playground equipment area.”
Camden, who has cerebral palsy, fell, hit his face on the sidewalk and got a bad scrape across his cheek, Holiday said in the email that was sent to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Simmons. Camden was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Urgent Care unit and released that night, Simmons said.
“This was just two children engaged in innocent play on the playground,” Holiday said. “Camden was accidentally injured.”
A Duluth officer was called to the daycare but decided not to investigate further, according to a police report.
Simmons thinks there’s more to the story.
“Our son’s injuries are not consistent with a simple push,” she said in an email, “and with no adult being able to tell (us) what happened, we are still unsure of who assaulted him and what happened shortly thereafter.” Simmons said Camden was being bullied by the boy who pushed him into a “cell.”
The daycare reached out to the family Sept. 7, Simmons said in an email. When she tried to get more information, Simmons said daycare officials were dismissive and reluctant to let her see footage of the incident, which she was told only showed the teacher taking the child into the building.
“There was a lack of transparency and nobody knew what happened,” Simmons said.
But Holiday said she made numerous efforts to reach Simmons and didn’t get in contact with her until Sept. 10, after she made multiple phone calls and sent emails. She said she even made efforts to show Simmons video of the incident.
Holiday said the daycare also was not made aware of any restrictions Camden may have had.
“He had no restrictions,” she said. “He plays with everyone in class. He was engaged in creative play on the playground.”
Kids ‘R’ Kids spokeswoman Keisha Williams said the daycare followed proper protocol.
“We were notified of the incident from (Holiday) and we had them give us the play-by-play,” Williams said.
She said she understands how difficult a child’s hard fall can be for a parent.
“One thing we try to do is be transparent,” Williams said. “It’s tough when children take a more serious fall.”
Williams said parents are able to watch their kids live on their “Watch Me Grow” system so that they are aware of what’s going on in classrooms.
Camden no longer attends the daycare and is being looked after by a nanny.
The daycare was also investigated March 23 when a parent wasn’t immediately notified of their 2-year-old having a bite mark on their arm.
The daycare could face a fine or a year of license revocation among other repercussions.
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