JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In this week's Day Care Report Card, 14 local day cares were visited by Department and Children and Family counselors for an inspection.
Three of those day cares were hit with violations. News4Jax visited two of the day cares in Jacksonville Beach. They both had a similar violation that was paperwork-related and one day care already has an easy fix for the issue.
Palms Preschool and Extended Day Program on Third Street South received two violations during its last inspection.
According to a report, a staff member did not have a training transcript on file. The director of the preschool said it was a new employee, and a staff member was able to print the transcript during the inspection.
Palms Preschool was also cited after a counselor found several incident reports that did not include the date that the parent was notified of the incident. The DCF report notes that the incident reports were signed but not dated. The director of the preschool said she has addressed the problem.
"Oftentimes parents just sign their name and forget to date it," Lynn Mallinson said. "So the teachers are trying to help the parents remember to put the date on it, and if they don't the teachers are doing it as they sign it."
Palms Preschool is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Mallinson said she holds the program to a high standard, especially when it comes to DCF standards.
"We understand that that's their job, and so we always try to make sure we're doing everything we need to be doing, because we are here for the safety and health of the children," Mallinson said.
Beach United Methodist Church Early Learning Center on Eighth Avenue North received just one violation during its latest inspection.
DCF counselors found several incident reports did not have dates documented with parents' signatures.
A DCF spokesperson said for incidents involving injuries, day cares are required to contact a parent or guardian for the child immediately to make them aware of the situation.
Beach United Early Learning Center will have to follow up with DCF and send completed incident reports for the week.
A spokesperson with DCF said those day cares were first-time offenders when it came to the violations relating to incident reports. If they receive more violations regarding those reports, they could face a fine.
ECS Early Learning at Exchange South on Philips Highway was cited because a bottle of bleach was left in an unlocked low cabinet. The bleach was moved to a higher shelf out of children's reach during the inspection.??
Day cares that scored perfectly during their latest DCF inspections were:
- AC Center Inc on St. Johns Bluff Road South
- Kampus Kids on Kinglsey Avenue
- Episcopal Children's Services Learning Center 5 on Belmont Boulevard
- The Goddard School on Spartina Court
- Visionary Dreamers of Today Learning Center on Cesery Boulevard
- Orange Park Preschool and Learning Center Inc. on College Drive
- Orange Park Kindergarten on Moody Avenue
- J and J Day Care and Learning Center Inc. on Lem Turner Road
- YMCA Before and After School at Argyle Elementary on Spencer Plantation Boulevard in Orange Park
- Prodigies Early Learning Center on Beach Boulevard
- Daystar Daycare and Learning Academy on Lone Star Road
Each week, News4Jax will review reports provided by DCF. To report concerns or complaints about a child care facility, call 904-485-9564.
You can also go to http://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/child-care/parent-resources and select "Provider Search" to search for any local child care facility.