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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Daycare Provider Get 21 Years In Prison
Country Kids 07:52 AM 03-10-2018
I just saw a daycare provider in Bend, OR receives 21 years in prison. She was arrested last year and sentenced yesterday.

She repeatedly left children alone between the hours of 11-2 so she could go tanning, the gym, shopping etc. Her method of getting them to sleep-Melatonin. After a roommate called the police and they started watching the daycare and when she left one day they did a "raid".

One child was found with an overloaded diaper that a police officer immediately changed, another one was found with vomit on face, body, neck and was at risk of choking. Countless other things were also witnessed at that time.

One baby has baby shaken syndrome, another was burned while in her care, others injured, etc.

She would ask parents not to come to the childcare during the hours of 11-2 because that is when she would leave. She made a fake certificate to show she was license, lied about being a nurse, said she had cpr/first aid training, had countless hours of classes, the list goes on.

Parents said there is such a need for childcare in the area and they had no choice but to place their child with her. Many parents lost jobs after this, a few marriages/relationships broke up, several children need therapy, and most will have life long issues with sleep because of being given so much melatonin.

Hopefully this will be a wake up call for providers who are illegal, not offering quality care, etc.
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Unregistered 01:48 PM 03-10-2018
I’m registered it’s just keeps logging me out every time I click a new page.
Anyways this is just sad. I think my mom old me about this lady she saw her on the iternet the other day.
I think about stories like this honestly when I have families that call me asking for prices and want the cheapest care in town and I’m priced like I am because I’m good at what I do but also because the quality of care and the license I have to pay for and the training and upkeep with clean it’s and supplies and stuff and think about the price range these people are looking for and hope to God they are goood providers because it’s scary. Honestly scary what you can accidentally put your kids into if your not careful.
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Josiegirl 02:08 PM 03-10-2018
Do you have a link to the story? That is so sad. Did this woman expect her room mate to watch the kids? I guess I don't understand exactly what was going on. I hate that you hear about horribly scary situations like this but when do you hear about the excellent childcare facilities that are out there? Good news doesn't make the news.
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Josiegirl 02:13 PM 03-10-2018
There was a long article in our local paper today about the need for quality child care in our state. Many providers have closed because of the new regs. and the cost plus amount of paperwork now needed to keep up. Then they went into talking about the STARS program and how it helps to identify quality programs that have 4-5 STARS. It takes a lot more than keeping up with paperwork to indicate quality child care. BUT I also believe parents have a huge responsibility with selecting care they're comfortable with, and using their gut feelings. Check references, check the state website, ask people for names of their providers, etc., etc. Don't just do cheap.
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flying_babyb 03:22 PM 03-10-2018
we have youngstar and Many centers are not hiring anyone that dosent have an associates degree now due to the fact they need so many level 12 teachers to qualify for 5 stars. Ive been turned down for many jobs because of it! Ive worked at 5 stars, 2 stars ect. Funny thing? the 2-3 stars offer better care and a more homey feeling!
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Country Kids 03:41 PM 03-10-2018
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
There was a long article in our local paper today about the need for quality child care in our state. Many providers have closed because of the new regs. and the cost plus amount of paperwork now needed to keep up. Then they went into talking about the STARS program and how it helps to identify quality programs that have 4-5 STARS. It takes a lot more than keeping up with paperwork to indicate quality child care. BUT I also believe parents have a huge responsibility with selecting care they're comfortable with, and using their gut feelings. Check references, check the state website, ask people for names of their providers, etc., etc. Don't just do cheap.
I don't have a link-sorry! I was just today saw an article where California is losing childcare's because of all the new laws, QRIS, expectations, etc. California it seems is starting to be in a crisis mode for home daycare.
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Country Kids 03:43 PM 03-10-2018
Originally Posted by flying_babyb:
we have youngstar and Many centers are not hiring anyone that dosent have an associates degree now due to the fact they need so many level 12 teachers to qualify for 5 stars. Ive been turned down for many jobs because of it! Ive worked at 5 stars, 2 stars ect. Funny thing? the 2-3 stars offer better care and a more homey feeling!
I am a three star but actually have people pick me over five stars because they say I have more to offer and it feels more like a home. One mom said-I don't care how many stars a person has. If I don't feel comfortable with them, or something seems off I'm not leaving my child there.
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Blackcat31 07:22 AM 03-11-2018
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
Do you have a link to the story? That is so sad. Did this woman expect her room mate to watch the kids? I guess I don't understand exactly what was going on. I hate that you hear about horribly scary situations like this but when do you hear about the excellent childcare facilities that are out there? Good news doesn't make the news.
http://www.ktvz.com/news/day-of-reck...lone/713998612
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Josiegirl 03:02 PM 03-11-2018
Wow, she's the worst of the worst. I cannot imagine what all the parents are feeling. But this woman had a criminal history; how did she get away with so much, even before the child care crimes?? Those poor children. So glad she was found out, and jailed.
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Mike 03:13 PM 03-11-2018
Quite a range of comments there.

It is good to see these kind of people caught now and then. Like the saying goes, one bad apple can spoil a whole bunch. These cases do a double take though. It's good to see them get caught, but then others get a negative opinion on child care overall because of it too. Many parents don't realise these kind of people are a minority.
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MarinaVanessa 08:53 PM 03-11-2018
Originally Posted by Josiegirl:
Did this woman expect her room mate to watch the kids?
I read that it was her ex that turned her in
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amberrose3dg 03:46 AM 03-12-2018
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I’m registered it’s just keeps logging me out every time I click a new page.
Anyways this is just sad. I think my mom old me about this lady she saw her on the iternet the other day.
I think about stories like this honestly when I have families that call me asking for prices and want the cheapest care in town and I’m priced like I am because I’m good at what I do but also because the quality of care and the license I have to pay for and the training and upkeep with clean it’s and supplies and stuff and think about the price range these people are looking for and hope to God they are goood providers because it’s scary. Honestly scary what you can accidentally put your kids into if your not careful.
Yes! This made me actually cry. I think 21 years is a light sentence for what she did. I'm not sure with all of the abuse why no parents reported her or didn't seem like they did. I have a couple of kids in my daycare that came from a shady licensed daycare.I cringe when parents call and only interested in the rates or how much time I am closed that they have to pay for. This is why I think monsters like this get away with what they do. Desperate parents that either cannot find childcare or in their eyes cannot afford quality care.
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Blackcat31 06:37 AM 03-12-2018
I have very mixed feelings about a lot of aspects of this case.

Some parents brought their children there for over a year.
Some close to a year. Many had suspicions but no one acted.

What the provider did was beyond acceptable.

However, I feel the children are the only victims in this situation. The parents are somewhat responsible as well.

The judge told the parents "You (as parents) find a way to blame yourself, even if it's not your fault,"

~ and while I do not feel in any way that this provider shouldn't be punished severely, I still think parents bear a portion of responsibility in this.

I know many will disagree or not see it that way, but I do and being in this profession for as long as I have, I am always astounded at the lengths providers will go when risking the lives of other people's children, I will forever be jaded when it comes to how the media and public portray parents when something like this happens.

A one time situation that made a parent feel "off" or unsure of the provider thus not returning makes sense...but sudden recalls of all the times a parent felt that same instinct or uncertainty but still left their child there for months/years.

I'm sorry but that just doesn't sit well with me and IMHO paints ALL parents as "innocent victims" when it comes to taking responsibility on all levels for their child. Which in turn means none of us should ever be fully trusted.

Shame on this provider for her horrendous acts of selfishness and carelessness....but shame on these parents for not listening to those instincts, blindly believing this provider and for not taking at least a sliver of responsibility in this.

Sad and tragic on so many levels.
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Pestle 06:50 AM 03-12-2018
This is horrific.

I wish there were more responsible sifting of the litany of abuse, neglect, and resultant child behavioral issues in this article. Some of these items are typical of child behaviors, or at least not out of the range of normal. Additionally, children pass through periods of challenging behavior, and it's easy to misattribute those periods to a correlating change in providers, just because it's a new behavior. In this case the behaviors might be due to the care provider, but they might not, and I don't want parents or prosecutors thinking these are signs of abuse.

I'm not saying the abuse has no effect, but I'm saying children are complex creatures and it's a dangerous error to start looking at all their little quirks as a sign of an abuser present in their lives. It's a blurry line between responsible vigilance and paranoia. For instance:

  • she said her child didn’t sleep through the night until after he turned a year old
  • Another mother said her children would start crying the moment she turned down Neatherlin's street
  • and their time in her home changed their behavior - her son trying to ransack the refrigerator and cupboards


I don't feel like those belong in a list of events like burns and Medevac flights. While the melatonin is obviously abusive, it's not right to spin it as though a baby who won't sleep through the night is medically damaged without making it clear that it's unusual for any infant to always sleep through the night--a good night's sleep is just not a reality for a large portion of families with kids under a year or two old. (Or, in my case, under six?) And raiding the pantry can be a sign of food insecurity, or of compulsive behaviors stemming from a developmental disorder like Autism, or just of being old enough to figure out the cabinets and really enjoying your new independence. If there's more evidence that this was an abuse-related behavior, that should be published, instead of just stating the behavior as if that's proof of abuse.

Also, way to destroy the integrity of every other care provider's nap time rules by using it as a cover for the fact that you aren't actually a day care provider, but just a compulsive shopper hoarding babies at your house:
Parents were told they could not pick up or drop off children between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. "because this was 'nap time' for the children," and it would disrupt all of them
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Mike 07:39 AM 03-12-2018
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I have very mixed feelings about a lot of aspects of this case.

Some parents brought their children there for over a year.
Some close to a year. Many had suspicions but no one acted.

What the provider did was beyond acceptable.

However, I feel the children are the only victims in this situation. The parents are somewhat responsible as well.

The judge told the parents "You (as parents) find a way to blame yourself, even if it's not your fault,"

~ and while I do not feel in any way that this provider shouldn't be punished severely, I still think parents bear a portion of responsibility in this.

I know many will disagree or not see it that way, but I do and being in this profession for as long as I have, I am always astounded at the lengths providers will go when risking the lives of other people's children, I will forever be jaded when it comes to how the media and public portray parents when something like this happens.

A one time situation that made a parent feel "off" or unsure of the provider thus not returning makes sense...but sudden recalls of all the times a parent felt that same instinct or uncertainty but still left their child there for months/years.

I'm sorry but that just doesn't sit well with me and IMHO paints ALL parents as "innocent victims" when it comes to taking responsibility on all levels for their child. Which in turn means none of us should ever be fully trusted.

Shame on this provider for her horrendous acts of selfishness and carelessness....but shame on these parents for not listening to those instincts, blindly believing this provider and for not taking at least a sliver of responsibility in this.

Sad and tragic on so many levels.

Don't worry about me disagreeing with you. Sometimes even parents should be punished for poor parenting.
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Josiegirl 09:46 AM 03-12-2018
Originally Posted by Mike:

Don't worry about me disagreeing with you. Sometimes even parents should be punished for poor parenting.
Yep, same here. I feel parents have to step up and choose child care very carefully. I cannot imagine otherwise. It's not like buying a bad pair of shoes you can return to the store. Your child's life is in someone else's hands, usually full work weeks. And basically, parents don't know what's going on. That's why I could never leave my own children with anyone else. I cannot imagine the amount of trust and faith a parent needs to have to do that.
A couple years ago in our state, a little dcb drowned in a stream at a dc. Many parents had made remarks, after the tragic event, that they had noticed things that were off..... but evidently no one raised any red flags or concerns with the state. I 2nd guess myself about a whole lotta stuff every day but when it came to my kids, I did not. If my gut felt strange, I wouldn't allow whatever was happening to happen.
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happymom 09:49 AM 03-12-2018
As a parent who was part of a similar situation, I have a VERY hard time blaming the parents.

Providers that lie know how to cover their butts.

I was referred to my in home (unlicensed) daycare provider by a friend. Provider was my friends cousin, she had just moved here from a neighboring city about 20 minutes away and her current clients were commuting until they found new care closer to their home/work.

I was a new mom. My son was 11 weeks old. I went to her house for a tour, asked the normal questions, got references. I called and spoke to her past clients, overkill? I dunno.

Everything checked out. I knew she was unlicensed. But by this point I trusted her. I met with a half dozen daycare facilities and in home facilities, she was perfect in my eyes. Being unlicensed didn't bother me, who needs a state agency watching everything you do and nitpicking.

Just saying, you DON'T know what kinds of parents these are. What happened was they left their kids under someone else's care and their kids were left alone, injured and drugged. Are they the type of parents who look for a last minute babysitter on facebook yardsale pages? Maybe. But you don't know that.
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Play Care 09:51 AM 03-12-2018
This was absolutely terrible and she deserved a long sentence. I also agree with Blackcat that some of the parents here also do bear some responsibility. How much time do they spend online/social media and they couldn't be bothered to really look up the person they left their child with?!

But I do think we need to be clear here, she was NOT a Child Care Provider. She was POSING as one to make money.
If someone who gets caught pretending to be a police officer, the headline wouldn't read "Police Officer arrested."
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Blackcat31 10:02 AM 03-12-2018
Originally Posted by happymom:
As a parent who was part of a similar situation, I have a VERY hard time blaming the parents.

Providers that lie know how to cover their butts.

I was referred to my in home (unlicensed) daycare provider by a friend. Provider was my friends cousin, she had just moved here from a neighboring city about 20 minutes away and her current clients were commuting until they found new care closer to their home/work.

I was a new mom. My son was 11 weeks old. I went to her house for a tour, asked the normal questions, got references. I called and spoke to her past clients, overkill? I dunno.

Everything checked out. I knew she was unlicensed. But by this point I trusted her. I met with a half dozen daycare facilities and in home facilities, she was perfect in my eyes. Being unlicensed didn't bother me, who needs a state agency watching everything you do and nitpicking.

Just saying, you DON'T know what kinds of parents these are. What happened was they left their kids under someone else's care and their kids were left alone, injured and drugged. Are they the type of parents who look for a last minute babysitter on facebook yardsale pages? Maybe. But you don't know that.
FWIW~ I am not entirely blaming the parents but I do think they bear some responsibility.
Not in a black and white way.

There are several different articles online about this situation and in several of them I read statements from parents that openly stated they had doubts and/or suspicions etc but yet failed to act on any of them.

Those ARE the parents I feel bear a partial responsibility in this.

You had a similar situation...you felt something was off. Rather than continue to blindly trust your provider, you opted instead to remove them and to look elsewhere.

That is what I expect most parents would do.

I also don't expect parents to just blindly trust me. I expect them to look my name/info and record up on our state's licensing look up, I expect them to do their due diligence in researching anything about me they need to do in order to feel comfortable leaving their child in my care and if at ANY time they have something that makes them uncomfortable or leery to ask me, ask licensing, ask other parent etc... but above all else, do not bring your child back to any environment or to any caregiver you dont feel comfortable using.

I wouldn't blame any parent for anything that happens in child care that they were not aware of...because you are correct in stating that there are some providers that do know how to lie and cover their butts but when you (general you as a parent) are suspicious but still return then some of the blame does fall on you.
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happymom 10:04 AM 03-12-2018
Originally Posted by Play Care:

But I do think we need to be clear here, she was NOT a Child Care Provider. She was POSING as one to make money.
If someone who gets caught pretending to be a police officer, the headline wouldn't read "Police Officer arrested."
This too. Poor kids
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Country Kids 10:11 AM 03-12-2018
Today there was a news article about a mom leaving a child alone in the car for 1/2 an hour while she was in doing laundry or something at a store. The child was 6 and I guess the car wasn't totally visible from where the mom was.

There was nothing said of why the mom left the child in the car so just upto speculation.
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daycarediva 10:19 AM 03-12-2018
WHO WROTE THAT?

That was incredibly difficult to understand with the 'he said' 'she said'. Whatever happened to proof reading?

Was the provider's own child left alone? or just the daycare?

Some of the complaints- raiding snacks, not sleeping through the night at a year, constipation, are RIDICULOUS and I hope she (despite deserving of this sentence) is NOT charged with neglect or another crime due to those allegations.

I took several children from a crappy illegal daycare. It's rough. Parents, and children, are starting to trust me, but it definitely takes time. I had a LOT of 'pop ins'.

Did a LOT of 'facebook live' videoing and posting updates super often.
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Country Kids 11:07 AM 03-12-2018
It was several children left alone at a childcare so the provider could go tanning, go to the gym, shopping, etc.

Happened several times a week it seems. The police did a "raid" on it when she left one time and after that the reports started coming in from parents. One of which a child ended up needing to be life flighted but had to go by ambulance due to weather.
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hwichlaz 08:10 AM 03-13-2018
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
I don't have a link-sorry! I was just today saw an article where California is losing childcare's because of all the new laws, QRIS, expectations, etc. California it seems is starting to be in a crisis mode for home daycare.
I’ve been licensed in California for 18 years. There haven’t been many changes at all, and QRIS is not required, nor will it be any time soon. It’s voluntary, and it doesn’t get you any higher pay rate.
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hwichlaz 08:16 AM 03-13-2018
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
Today there was a news article about a mom leaving a child alone in the car for 1/2 an hour while she was in doing laundry or something at a store. The child was 6 and I guess the car wasn't totally visible from where the mom was.

There was nothing said of why the mom left the child in the car so just upto speculation.
That’s not even illegal if it was in California, if the child could have gone to get mom at any time. The law for not leaving children alone in the car is for kids under 6. It’s a poorly written law, and too much is left up to interpretation, which is NEVER a good thing. You’ll eventually get some cop with his panties in a bunch contacting CPS because mom left 4 kids in the car to run in to pay for gas at the gas station when the card reader at the pump didn’t work. Leaving children buckled into their seats in that situation is much safer than crossing a gas station lot with several children that you can’t hold onto at once. Parents need to be able to make some judgment calls. My girls would have been fine sitting in the car reading a book or playing a game while I switched laundry around at 6. My son wouldn’t have been comfortable doing it and would have come with me. But both of my girls would have much rather not had their reading interrupted, lol. AND once someone tried to open our car door and get in when my oldest was sitting in the car reading....guess what...she did great. She laid on the horn so I’d come out. The poor man was scared to death...he was driving a car identical to ours and simply tried to stick his key in the wrong car door. I was at the ATM that time.
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Play Care 09:39 AM 03-13-2018
Originally Posted by hwichlaz:
That’s not even illegal if it was in California, if the child could have gone to get mom at any time. The law for not leaving children alone in the car is for kids under 6. It’s a poorly written law, and too much is left up to interpretation, which is NEVER a good thing. You’ll eventually get some cop with his panties in a bunch contacting CPS because mom left 4 kids in the car to run in to pay for gas at the gas station when the card reader at the pump didn’t work. Leaving children buckled into their seats in that situation is much safer than crossing a gas station lot with several children that you can’t hold onto at once. Parents need to be able to make some judgment calls. My girls would have been fine sitting in the car reading a book or playing a game while I switched laundry around at 6. My son wouldn’t have been comfortable doing it and would have come with me. But both of my girls would have much rather not had their reading interrupted, lol. AND once someone tried to open our car door and get in when my oldest was sitting in the car reading....guess what...she did great. She laid on the horn so I’d come out. The poor man was scared to death...he was driving a car identical to ours and simply tried to stick his key in the wrong car door. I was at the ATM that time.
Yes! When I was bringing my whole crew to preschool, I had an arrangement with the school where I would park right up front, take the child out, walk him to the bottom of the steps and send him in. The teacher would wave from inside and I'd get back in the car and go on my merry way. I *never* was out of sight of the car. The steps are literally a few feet from the curb. And yet this other mom would come and stand at my car (while I was about two feet away) and act as if she was doing me a favor by "staying" with the kids. I said to her "I'm RIGHT here" Even the preschool teacher was like I could see if I were in the building, but that never happened. It was bizarre.
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Georgiads 12:04 PM 03-13-2018
I definitely don’t have patience for people who want to take the cheapest and easiest route when it comes to childcare and still expect 5 star quality.

I’ve had lazy parents who can’t be bothered to dress their child or comb their hair or bathe them tell me that nannies are too expensive, but I see they’ve just purchased a new luxury car.


I would never leave my child with anyone who gave me reason to wonder. If I was suspicious about something I would initiate a conversation with the provider and then decide if it was a misunderstanding or if I needed to immediately remove my child from the situation. If I use FMLA or have to leave my job so be it.
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