Jan 2024: BPN reviewed all the daycares & preschools in Albany and El Cerrito to see what percentage had citations and complaints during the past 3 years. The reason we checked those cities is because they have a manageable number of facilities and are fairly representative of the East Bay.
Total facilities reviewed: 73
Number of facilities that had ...
- Type A violation: 15 (20%)
- Type B violation: 33 (45%)
- Parent complaint: 12 (16%)
Note: Some facilities had more than one violation; the tally above represents the number of facilities that had at least one of that type, not the total number of citations. Each numbered item below represents one facility, which may have one than one citation.
Type A
- an adult living at the home did not have a background check/ fingerprints (large daycare)
- five infants were present with only one caregiver (4 is the max for a small daycare)
- unqualified staff (education + exp); not enough staff to meet ratio; no health reports for staff (preschool)
- owner refused to admit inspection officials; 4 infants + 1 toddler present (4 infants is the max for one caregiver)
- exceeded capacity by 10; unsupervised children were observed (after-school care)
- six infants present (max is 4)
- sixteen children present, only 14 allowed for large daycare
- babies observed not placed on back for sleeping
- large daycare had 13 including 4 infants - should be 12 with 4 infants
- staff is pinching children as a form of discipline
- large daycare (3 citations): on an unannounced visit they had 26 children though only licensed for 14; one of the teachers had no background check; on the next visit they had one more child than they were licensed for
- large daycare (5 citations): not enough adults for number of children present
- large daycare had 5 infants, only 4 allowed
- small daycare (4 citations) : not enough adults present for number of children, owner not present, adult caregiver not registered as staff and no background check; on a second visit, adult to child ratio again not met
- small daycare (9 citations) more than 4 infants present on multiple unannounced visits, infants sleeping unattended behind a closed door on multiple visits: 5 infants present; 7 infants present with assistant only, who had no CPR certificate, 3 of them in a closed-off room; 7 infants present with only one adult; 3 infants sleeping unattended behind a closed door, infant swaddled and placed on stomach and crib covered with sheet; assistant not listed as staff and not fingerprinted alone with infants, 3 more children than license allowed
Type B
- no lead test report for water supply
- parents not notified about lack of liability insurance; immunization records for some staff and children not on file; no mandated reporter certificates on file
- didn't send sick child home, other children exposed
- water damage in classroom; bathroom inaccessible while being repaired (preschool)
- a child was left unattended for a few minutes (preschool)
- no fire drill every 6 months
- no sleep logs for infants; adult son living at the home did not have a background check/ fingerprints
- damaged fence needs repair
- no updated CPR/first aid classes (every 2 years is required)
- no health screening reports for staff
- one of the children had no health report from doctor on file
- immunization records for staff not on file
- roster not current (7 children not included)
- staff member yelled at another staff member in front of the children
- no fire drill every 6 months; no mandated reporter training on file
- expired fire extinguisher; no carbon monoxide detector; some children had no emergency contact info
- no carbon monoxide detector; no mandated reporter's certificate; no CPR certificate
- no mandated reporter's certificate
- no mandated reporter's certificate
- no fingerprints/background check for owner's adult son who lives in the home
- preschool (2 citations) drinking fountain exceeded lead content allowance; unqualified teacher (ECE units)
- no CPR/first aid certificate (small daycare)
- child was accidentally and unintentionally touched inappropriately by licensee’s husband.
- preschool (2 citations) didn't change child's clothes after accident; preschool didn't take precautions after child tested positive for Covid
- large daycare (11 citations) CPR expired, carbon monoxide not working; mandated reporter training expired, no fire drill log, no children and staff records were available during inspection
- daycare (2 citations) no background check for assistant; licensed for 12 children but 13 were present
- preschool: drinking fountain exceeded lead allowance;
- large daycare (3 citations): no mandated reporter's certificate, expired CPR certificate; 5 infants present but only 4 are allowed
- large daycare (5 citations): no CPR/first aid certificate, no mandated reporter's certificate, cleaning fluids accessible to children
- preschool (3 citations): no emergency consent forms, no admission agreement forms,
- daycare: no roster
- daycare: no mandated reporter's certificate
- small daycare (4 citations): no fire drills, no mandated reporter's certificate, roster did not include all children present (over capacity), CPR certificate not current
- large daycare (3 citations) safety gates needed on stairs, dangerous items found during inspection, previous off-limits area now being used by children
Complaints
- daycare is in poor repair (substantiated, citations issued)
- children are left to cry for extended periods (unsubstantiated)
- children are restrained and left to cry for extended periods (unsubstantiated)
- staff yelled at another staff (substantiated, violations issued); staff prevented a child from eating lunch (unsubstantiated)
- infant's sleep plan not followed; more children than license allows; child given another child's pacifier & breastmilk (unsubstantiated - no citations)
- child injured while in care (unsubstantiated)
- teacher hurt child's arm while preventing her from running away (unsubstantiated); Staff behavior is aggressive towards children (unsubstantiated); Child had an accident and parents were called to pick up but child's clothes weren't changed (substantiated); staff not taking Covid precautions (substantiated); Staff pinched a child and handled them in a rough manner (substantiated)
- small daycare: complaint was substantiated and two Type A citations were issued but complaint is not available
- preschool: "Personal Rights - inappropriate interaction between staff and child" (unsubstantiated)
- small daycare: complaint listed but it is not available (unsubstantiated)