Daycares across St. Louis forgot about children, others accused of scaring kids as punishment

ST. LOUIS – Our Fox 2 News investigation into daycare centers found wide-ranging problems, including teachers punishing kids by locking them in a dark room and others forcing them to face a monster in the closet.

But it was another consistent violation that came up repeatedly. At least nine St. Louis area child care centers have forgotten children over the last two years.

On November 17, 2017, the YWCA on Warson was missing a three-year-old for 48 minutes. Inspectors noted she was left outside until her parent came to pick her up. The child wasn’t in the classroom. They then found her outside in 34-degree wind chill temperatures.

YWCA responded, writing: "...this incident, which was caused by an inaccurate headcount during a staff change, is not indicative of our excellent service. However, even one incident is unacceptable and that's why we immediately self-reported to the appropriate authorities..."

April 19, 2018, Kingdom House, located at S. 11th Street, inspectors said workers forgot a five-year-old boy in a van for 40 minutes. Surveillance video reportedly showed the child eventually leave the van, cross the parking lot, and walk in the front door alone.

The center responded that those employees, "did not follow Kingdom House’s policies or procedures, and had they done so, the child would not have been left behind on the bus. The two employees involved in the incident were terminated, and all employees were given additional training...

One of the incidents involving unusual punishments was reported June 21, 2018 at Strawberry International Schools of St. John. Inspectors substantiated complaints of locking a child in a dark bathroom as punishment. Kids told inspectors about cases like one in which “child c was screaming because the lights were off -- (the teacher) was holding the door locked.”

A teacher told investigators she watched a colleague do it -- then yell, "Are you going to listen to me now?"

Strawberry Schools responded, writing that the accused employee no longer works there, and added, “This complaint came in from a disgruntled employee 3 months later than when the incidents so-called occurred.” The director added the “…children and staff (interviewed) stated they heard people talking but never saw anything.”

The director also said the children listed are still attending the facility and the parents are very happy.

A similar case was reported August 29, 2017 at Immanuel Lutheran Chapel on Old Halls Ferry near Interstate 270. Teachers told on another teacher for putting kids in closets. One worker said she heard her colleague talk about a closet monster named little john and then warned -- "Do you want to go see Mr. Little John?" The report adds” "child b was crying and said, ‘No.’”

During interviews “a (2-year-old) said that his caregiver, put him in the closet.” The center said it also investigated and "...felt it was in the best interest of all parties involved that we accept her letter of resignation effective (immediately)." The director, "We continuously train and educate our staff..."

You can read every “substantiated complaint” at a St. Louis area child care center over the last couple of years on our database. On Tuesday night, tune in at 10 p.m. for our report on a center where a caregiver reportedly shows up drunk.

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These are a list of all “substantiated complaints” at St. Louis area daycares over the last two years.

These are the result of state inspectors checking out a complaint and determining it was true. These reports should be used as just one part of your search for child care.

This is an issue we’ve investigated for more than six years now at Fox 2. After reviewing hundreds of these reports, we’ve learned problems can happen in any facility. That means it’s important to not only consider the conclusions reached by these investigators but also to consider how the centers responded.

In some of these cases, center directors called inspectors on their own facility (as is often required by law, depending on the incident). We also encourage you to talk to daycare directors directly. It’s been our experience that some daycare directors are open about talking about problems they’ve faced while others can become hostile. The way you communicate with a director can offer you a clue about what it will be like to navigate future stresses that are likely to occur in any child care setting.

You’ll note some providers have offered “responses,” which you can also ‘click on’ in this database. If you are involved with one of these centers and wish for your response to be included, please email your response to chris.hayes@tvstl.com and we will add it immediately.

These reports are generated from inspections by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The state agency does more than just investigate complaints, it also conducts spot checks and follow-up visits. You should also consider looking at a facility's complete inspection history by typing in the daycare name in the state’s inspection portal.

Text in orange = Interesting report

Text in green = Response from facility in report