JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police and the Department of Children and Families are investigating a local day care after a Northside mother said her baby returned home burned, bruised and bloody last Wednesday.
For the past month, the 2-month-old has been riding a day care bus to Possibilities and Success Child Care Center on Golfair Boulevard. But last week, when the bus driver dropped the child off, his mother and grandmother said he was badly bruised and called the police.
Jasmine Brown said her son, Kaden Davis, returned from the day care bloodied, bruised and scarred.
"The day care bus driver, she took him off the bus and put him on the front porch and it was raining that day, so she got his blanket, shook it off and she seen his face and she went to screaming," Brown said. "The doctors did an X-ray and said it was a footprint over my son side -- a child's footprint over his right eye -- and a burn and bite marks over both eyes. But a burn on his left eyebrow."
Brown told News4Jax she screamed when she saw her young son's face and said her mother, Sheila Davis, came running.
"I know when my grandson left here, he was healthy, and when he came back and I lifted that cover from over him and saw those bruises, rage came over me," said Davis.
Davis said the bus driver then offered to take the family to the hospital, where the 2-month-old's grandmother called 911. Brown called the Possibilities and Success Child Care Center and said the director denied any abuse.
"They said he got sent to school with these bruises," Brown said. "On the daily health care check, since he had cuts and bruises on him, they're supposed to mark it. It's not marked on there on the a.m. part or the p.m. part."
DCF opened an investigation but the family said they're still left with many questions.
"The director tells me that none of the people do anything like that and that the child came to school like that. So I asked her why didn't she call the police, it doesn't make sense," said Viola Tisby, the great-grandmother.
"I would like for something to be done.-More training or (for) it to be closed down, because no other child should leave like that," said Valerie Battle, the infant's aunt.
The family filed a police report, and DCF was contacted by law enforcement. Because the child is so young, DCF had the child medically examined. They plan to question faculty members about the child's abuse in the coming weeks.
News4Jax went by the day care Monday, but it was closed.