Starkville’s First United Methodist Church Weekday Ministries was fined $100 by the state after a self-reported violation in September.
The Mississippi State Department of Health was contacted by FUMC Weekday Ministries after a two-year-old was left outside unattended on the facility’s lower playground, according to investigative records made public by the agency. MSDH records say the child was outside alone in a locked, fenced-in area for no more than two or three minutes before being spotted by a staff member.
Daycare staff notified the MSDH Hotline of the violation on the same day as the incident occurred.
Two caregivers on staff at the daycare were given written “employee warning notices,” and neither employee had been cited for infractions in the past.
Both have been employed with the daycare for less than a year.
The state also cited the daycare for not informing the child’s parents of the incident. For this individual infraction, the daycare was fined $50.
According to the timeline provided by the MSDH, the daycare has been cited multiple times for similar offenses. In November 2015, a complaint was filed with the state concerning a pair of two-year- old children left unattended, which resulted in a $50 fine.
In March 2014, the daycare self-reported that atwo-year-old was left on the playground unattended, which resulted in a $50 fine.
The state also received a complaint in 2013 concerning two school-age children left unsupervised across the street from the daycare.
Any class I violation of regulations put forth by the MSDH is punishable by a penalty of $500 for the first occurrence.
However, following the investigation, it was recommended that a plan of correction be issued and a monetary penalty of $100 assessed, with the $500 fine waived.