A Whiteland daycare has been placed on probation by the state for the fourth time since April 2015.
Childtime Learning Center, 565 Tracy Road, was issued a probationary license through the end of March.
While still on probation, the daycare reported to the state that a caregiver had used inappropriate discipline with several children on March 16. An inspection about a week later on March 24 also found that there wasn’t a sufficient number of caregivers at the center during an early afternoon toddler nap time.
The center was short two caregivers at the time, but specific details about the inappropriate discipline were not available.
“At this time the action that was taken by our office was a probationary license,” said Marni Lemons, a spokesperson for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. “We may take other action in the future, based upon whether or not the child care facility is making the needed improvements.”
The center conducted additional training for staff after the incident with the shortage of caregivers, and will continue to work with the state to meet all of its licensing requirements, Childtime Learning Centers spokesperson Lydia Cisaruk said. The company is based in Michigan and runs more than 200 child care centers across the U.S.
“We take our responsibility as caregivers very seriously, and remain committed to providing high quality early education and care,” she said.
The violations happened while the center will still on probation after a December incident in which an infant was given breast milk that had been sent to the facility for another infant. That mix up resulted in the center being put on probation through the end of March.
Though the most recent violations occurred while the center was already on probation, they didn’t rise to the level where the state would consider revoking the license, Lemons said.
“Our goal here isn’t to shut down childcare, it is to make sure there is adequate, safe childcare available for all the families that desperately need it,” Lemons said.
Online state records show the childcare facility has a maximum capacity of 130 children with ages ranging from infants to 12 years old.
This is the fourth time the daycare has been placed on probation by the state since April 2015.
In June 2016, the center’s child-to-staff ratios did not meet state requirements. During an inspection, one caregiver was watching 19 pre-kindergarten-aged children. The maximum amount that can be watched by one caregiver at any given time is 12.
And in April 2015, the center was cited when a child left a classroom unnoticed and was unsupervised for several minutes inside the building before a worker noticed him.
The probationary license lasts three months, and during that time period, the center could undergo additional inspections by the state. The daycare must also correct the issue it was initially cited for, under state requirements.
