Long Beach day care center slapped with violations

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“Typically, the office gets a complaint and we send an inspector in to investigate,” an OCFS spokesperson said. “Because we’re dealing with children, there could be confidential information contained in the documents.”

In a statement, the agency said, “The violations at Magnolia Child Care Center … were cited on July 31, 2013 during an OCFS inspection. Specific individuals were not cited; the program itself was cited for all violations. The program corrected the violations by terminating an employee and by providing training for the entire Magnolia staff. OCFS was satisfied with the actions taken by the facility to correct the violations.”

A Freedom of Information request submitted to the agency was pending as the Herald went to press on Wednesday.

The city declined to comment on the violations, other than to say that the corporal punishment involved a former employee and is under investigation by the Nassau County district attorney’s office. A spokesman there did not return a call for comment at press time.

One city official, who declined to be identified, said that the incident involved a counselor who allegedly “tapped a child on the hand with a shoe.” The employee, whose name was not disclosed, had worked at the center for 10 years, but was fired the next day, the official said.

According to the city, the Department of Youth and Family Services provides its staff with ongoing professional development and training, in the form of weekly sessions and monthly video conferences, in first aid, CPR, medication administration and child abuse prevention.

Some of the other state violations were the result of clerical errors, the city official said, and have since been corrected. An official explained that staff members attended two seminars on child safety and abuse prevention in August, one with an emphasis on mandated reporting and another on responsibilities, policies, procedures and safety.

“Clearly, everything was corrected,” the official said.

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