The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says it has issued an Emergency Order of Suspension to Little Rainbow Day Care Home at 1105 Haven Dr. in Junction City. According to KDHE, state law allows it to issue such an order when the Secretary finds it necessary to protect children in the home from a threat to their health or safety. It said the order is subject to appeal. The KDHE said a surveyor conducted a complaint investigation at Little Rainbow on April 28 and found that the daycare providers were behaving in a manner that was considered physically harmful and emotionally detrimental to the children in their care. According to the KDHE surveyor, the licensee inappropriately handled the children in her care and failed to intervene when she saw that children were being mishandled by the Secondary Provider. It also found that the licensee used prohibited punishment. It said the daycare providers would yank, pull, shove and grab children on multiple occasions. The KDHE said the surveyor observed the provider hit a two-year-old in the face when asked to move away from her and the child fell to the floor. It said the provider then proceeded to yank the same child up by the arm, and when let go, the child again dropped to the ground and cried. It said the provider was then seen firmly grabbing the child by its head and held it there as the child tried to get away. The KDHE said it was also observed the provider mishandle children at lunchtime. It said as children waited to wash their hands in the bathroom, the provider firmly gripped multiple children by the shoulder, and even shoved one. It said when the child said “ow” and began to cry, the provider gripped the child by both shoulders and whispered in its ear. It said the provider was also seen shoving a child back into a cabinet. According to the KDHE, each person caring for children was not free of the physical, mental or emotional handicaps necessary to protect children and was not qualified to have an understanding of children. The KDHE even said the provider attempted to lock the surveyor out of the home when the surveyor stepped out. It said the provider began to push and shove children away from the door to try to lock it, and upon reentry to the home, the provider got close to the surveyor and yelled with children present. At one point a child attempted to flee the rough hands of the provider and hide behind the surveyor, to which she yanked the child away, gripped its hands tightly and shoved it away.
At one point, the KDHE said a 7-month-old infant was seen in an adult recliner crying and struggling to sit up. It also said two children were called “twin” and “other twin” by the provider and not by their names. It said when children cried in the daycare center, the providers would not check on the children, but instead, respond by yelling at them.
The KDHE said Secretary Dr. Lee Norman found these reasons to be enough to order the emergency suspension of Little Rainbow Day Care Home.
