Burned baby recovering; day care investigated

Workers at Southside day care center say burning was accidental

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police and child welfare workers were at a Southside day care center Monday, four days after an 11-month-old girl was burned by scalding water.

Kennedy Ross suffered second-degree burns to her chin, neck and arm while at A Child's Choice Development Center on Beach Boulevard on Thursday.

Day care workers called the girl's mother at work, and the Kennedy's grandmother took her to the emergency room.

Ross' family says Kennedy saw another doctor at Nemours Hospital on Monday and her burns are improving. The family says they are looking for a new day care center as they will not return the girl to A Child's Choice.  They are also in the process of hiring an attorney.

While workers told Channel 4 the child was burned accidentally when water being boiled for her bottle splashed on her, Florida law requires that such an accident be reported to the Department of Children and Families.

Employees at the center admitted they did not notify DCF about the incident.

"There could be potential violations, including lack of proper supervision of the child, and also concerns regarding keeping these things that could put kids in danger -- such as hot water (or) anything toxic -- they're not keeping them away from children," said DCF spokesman John Harrell. "Those are things we'll be looking into, but we need to investigate carefully."

The day care center has been open for 10 years. DCF says the facility had a few minor violations for improper documentation during its most recent inspection in May 2011.