Child care center under fire after boy, 5, left on bus for 1.5 hours

Nov. 21--A Garden City child care center is under state investigation for allegedly leaving a 5-year-old boy alone on a bus for an hour and a half in cold weather, resulting in injury.

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs' Bureau of Community and Health Systems on Monday issued an an order of summary suspension and notice of intent to revoke the license of Jade Child Development Center on Cherry Hill Road.

Representatives of Jade Child Development could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

According to a special investigation report by state regulators dated Nov. 16, here's what happened:

The child's mother arrived at the center at about 5:40 p.m. on Nov. 9 to discover him missing from his classroom. The center's assistant director suggested that another staffer check the bathrooms while she went outside to check the bus.

The assistant director found the child standing on the bus crying. She took him inside, and fired the caregiver for leaving the child on the bus.

The child's mom told her that the boy was wet from urinating on himself while trapped on the bus. The assistant director also said she heard the boy tell his mother, "I'm sorry, I fell asleep" on the bus.

An investigation found that the bus arrived at the daycare center around 4:20 p.m. and the boy was not found until after his mother arrived at 5:40 p.m. According to AccuWeather, the temperature outside that day was 39 degrees.

The boy's mom took him to Children's Hospital of Michigan's emergency room, which diagnosed him with "frost nipped toes."

An investigation found the facility in violation of the state rules on providing appropriate care and supervision of children.

Under the suspension, the center is prohibited from accepting children for care and requires it to inform current clients that it no longer can provide care.

The child care center can appeal the findings. The case will be forwarded to the Michigan Administrative Hearing System (MAHS) for a hearing date.

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