Discovery Point Day Care Horror
|
The following is a letter we sent to the Discovery Point Child Development Center that explains in detail what happened. Click here to see their response. July 19, 2002 Mr. Clifford M. Clark Dear Mr. Clark: I am writing to let you know of a very unfortunate and disappointing situation at one of your centers. The center is the Discovery Point located at 930 Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Suwanee, GA 30024. It is operated by Mary Ellen Camp and Ronald Camp. Our eight month old son, Matthew, had been attending the center on a part-time basis since he was four months old. I work full-time and my wife works one to two days a week. On those days we were utilizing Discovery Point. The center had no problem accepting Matthew on a drop-in basis at a rate of $60 a day. Up until yesterday, we were not aware of anything unusual or any problems with Matthew or his care. Yesterday afternoon, July 18th, when I arrived to pick Matthew up at 4pm, I was asked to come into the office by Mary Ellen Camp. Ms. Camp proceeded to tell me that they could no longer accept Matthew due to problems he was having adjusting to childcare center. I asked for a further explanation and was told numerous things which I will go into detail about below. First, the prior day that Matthew was there, on Tuesday, the daily parent report showed that he was fed two full jars of baby food and a full six ounce bottle of milk within a two to three hour period. I didn’t read the report in detail until after I got home. When I was at the center picking him up, I was not told of any major problems that day. When my wife read the report, she was very concerned about the amount of food he was given and thought it was very unlikely for him to eat that much in such a short time frame. Because of her motherly concern for the well-being of our son, she wrote a note for me to bring the next time I took Matthew to the center, which was yesterday. The note suggested that when Matthew is overly cranky and upset, that it may be due to such things as boredom, over-stimulation, tiredness, etc. and not necessarily hunger. It was not accusatory in any fashion, and was just an attempt to figure out what exactly was happening. When I dropped Matthew off on Thursday morning, I expressed our concerns to one of the staff who was in the infant room. I believe that morning it was Amy (not sure of her last name). I left the note with her and asked her not to take it personally, that we weren’t upset about anything that was done, but rather just wanted to figure out what was in Matthew’s best interests. She said that she understood completely. One of the things that Ms. Camp told me in yesterday’s meeting, was that her teachers took the note very personally as an attack, and that one of the teachers that has been working there for over six years had basically threatened to leave if Matthew was not expelled from the center. She would not tell me which teacher it was. I since have reason to believe it was the afternoon teacher, who’s name is Susan (again, not sure of her last name). Ms. Camp also told me that other parents had made complaints and that she, Ms. Camp, could not afford to lose other children as a result of the current situation with Matthew. I do not fully know the nature of those complaints. I have heard that possibly the complaints were to the effect that the staff was not properly taking care of the babies. This may have arisen from the fact that when other parents would be at the center, there would be times when Matthew was inconsolable and crying. I asked Ms. Camp what Matthew was doing that was so terrible that was causing these problems. She told me that since he has been going to the center he has not been happy, has had numerous times where they could not pacify him unless they were giving him individual attention, and that they could not keep doing that. What strikes me as odd is that every time I visited the center during the day to check on Matthew, he was always in one of the exersaucers bouncing and laughing, or sleeping peacefully in his crib. On no occasion was I ever told of any serious issues with him. There was never any parent-teacher conference scheduled, any phone calls made to my wife or me, or anything to indicate there was a problem. The meeting yesterday was the first time I had heard any of the foregoing things. Instead of trying to work out a solution, such as adjusting his feedings, etc, I was told by Ms. Camp that basically she had no choice but to tell us that Matthew was not welcome. I even requested at least one week so that we could have the opportunity to look for alternative care. Ms. Camp was completely unreceptive to that idea and said that she could not do that. After that meeting I went into the infant room to retrieve Matthew’s personal items. Susan, the afternoon teacher, acted completely surprised that Matthew was asked to leave the center. She said “Look at him, he’s happy as can be.” He was sitting in a high-chair playing with toys at the time. Based on everything I have heard in talking to the various teachers there, it appears that the one teacher with the issue is the afternoon teacher in the infant room, Susan. There were numerous times when I would pick Matthew up that she was alone in the room with up to seven children, and of course some of them would be crying. The last time I remember that many children in the room was this past week when I dropped Matthew off. I remember counting because it seemed like there were way too many babies for one person to handle. It is a fact of life that infants cry. It is their only means of communicating a need. It is part of infancy and growing up. It appears that Ms. Susan is unable to handle taking care of that many babies on her own. In looking into the rules and regulations provided by the state of Georgia to day care centers, Section 290-2-2.09 states in part: (g) Grouping of Children and Staff: Child Ratios: Clearly then, this Discovery Point center was in violation of state law by having seven children under the supervision of just one caregiver. We have shared this entire story with numerous people, including my co-workers and people in a parent’s group that my wife is part of. I thought it might be helpful to realize the seriousness of what has happened if I quote some of the comments: “I know at my daughter’s school when she was younger they have parent/teacher talks to try to correct the problem, but that was for biting and hitting…not for being a baby! Wow! I’m amazed!” “Sounds like he is just a normal baby….. And that they are the ones with the problem. Not you or Matthew at all!!” “I am outraged at how unprofessional this childcare center was. This issue had nothing to do with Matthew or you and your husband. It is all about a poorly run childcare center and Matthew is better off out of there. It is disgusting to me how this was handled. If the workers can’t handle it they should get a new job or the childcare center should hire more/better people. There is no BABY that is so unmanageable that a childcare center should kick him out.” “I cannot BELIEVE the nerve of that director. She handled this situation so poorly. And why would she even WANT an employee who can’t handle the very children she is supposed to be caring for??!!” “I’ll be sure to steer people away [from Discovery Point] if the issue ever comes up.” As you can see by the comments of others that have heard this story, the entire situation was handled extremely poorly by the director/owner of the center, who is one of your franchisees representing the Discovery Point brand name. I am sure you realize the best advertising for a child care provider is word of mouth. Unfortunately for your company, this same method of advertising can have the complete opposite effect on business. Up until yesterday we were completely satisfied and happy with the level of care our son was receiving at Discovery Point. In fact, when asked about it by other parents, our answer was always, “Every time I pick Matthew up he is smiling, happy and content, so they must be doing something right.” Obviously now our opinion, and our answer, has changed. I do hope that you take this situation seriously and look into the practices at the center in Suwanee. I wouldn’t want any other parent to have to endure what we did yesterday. My wife spent the entire evening upset and crying because she felt we have failed as parents in some way. We can not help but wonder how often Matthew suffered because Ms. Susan, and/or the other teachers, could not handle the infants entrusted to their care. The most important thing in our lives is our son, and of course we feel very protective when it comes to him. If this was not a serious and traumatic incident for us, I would not have just spent my time away from him to write you this detailed letter. In addition, we would like our annual $55 enrollment fee refunded to us since we were not allowed to complete the year. We enrolled Matthew on March 14, 2002. Thank you for your understanding and expected actions. We would appreciate a follow-up letter from you detailing what actions you have taken. Sincerely, Michael S.Buchsbaum Cc: Ms. Mary Ellen Camp Director Discovery Point Child Development Center 930 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Suwanee, GA 30024
Georgia Department of Human Resources Office of Regulatory Services Child Care Licensing, Suite 32.458 Two Peachtree Street, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30303 |
|
The following is the response from the franchise. Click here to see our response to theirs..
|
| The following is our response to their reply. Click here to see their reply.
August 9, 2002 Ms. Diane Clark Dear Ms. Clark: Thank you for your August 6th response to our initial letter concerning Matthew’s care at your Suwanee franchise at the address listed below. I am not quite sure that you read our letter in detail before drafting your reply. You stated, “It appears to us that the staff did everything they could to solve the problem…” One of the most important things, as we indicated in our letter, they could have done was never attempted. The staff at the center should have brought any problems to our attention when they occurred by way of a parent conference, or at the least, a phone call. We were never informed about the severity of the situation until we were asked not to return. I asked one of the teachers about this, and her response was that they are instructed not to raise issues with the parents, but instead to bring any problems to the attention of the director. Therefore, I place direct blame for this situation on Ms. Mary Ellen Camp, the director of the center. Again, she had not mentioned any problems to me until the day she expelled our 8 month old son from day care. You also stated in your reply that, “[the crying episodes] did create a situation in which the other infants in the room became upset.” I once again have no first hand knowledge of this. At no time when I was present, did any of Matthew’s actions directly or indirectly affect the other infants in the room. I was also never informed of any particular days or times when his behavior did affect others. Perhaps the most angering part of your reply is the last sentence in which you state, “At a later date, after Matthew has matured more, we would welcome the opportunity to offer care again.” According to your advertising, you welcome infants six weeks of age and older. Perhaps you should add “ and mature “ to your enrollment requirements. Infants are all individual and develop at different rates. If your staff is not able to handle infants at different stages of development, then that should be advertised and mentioned to the parents at the time of enrollment. Also, according to your website today: Discovery Point’s low child-to-teacher ratios mean your child will develop strong, loving relationships. When children feel loved, they feel free to discover more about themselves and the world around them. And when you know your children are receiving the attention, affection and approval you want for them, you’ll feel better, too! In Matthew’s case, your center was not able to provide the attention and affection that you so boldly advertise. He had some crying episodes. Your center’s response to these was not attention and affection, but rather dismissal. This entire situation, including your response, has been discussed among many parents. Is this really the final impression you want your daycare center to leave? You also failed to address our request for a refund of the $55 annual enrollment fee. Obviously it was not our decision to leave the center and therefore we should not be financially penalized in addition to the emotional distress already suffered as a result of the negligence of your center. Once again, we are asking for a refund of the enrollment fee. If this issue is not addressed, we will be forced to consider further action. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, |
|
We received a phone call on Monday, August 12th from Mary Ellen Camp, the director of the facility we went to. She said that she is mailing us the $55 enrollment fee refund. She offered no apology, explanation or further details.
|
|
The following is the last response from the center.
|
