Kindertown day care wins round 1 in court; stays open
By Kathryn Reed
Kindertown day care in South Lake Tahoe will remain open for at least 120 days based on a judge’s ruling Thursday afternoon.
El Dorado County Superior Court Judge James Dawson had little to say before issuing his decision to grant the stay. He asked Brenda Ray, deputy attorney general representing the Department of Social Services, if any child at Kindertown had been put in harms way since August when a child left the center on his own and was found wandering on Highway 50, a couple blocks from the day care. Ray did not know of any incidents.
It is the August incident that led the state to initiate proceedings to close the three-decade-old facility. This is the second time in 16 months the state has tried to close the center.
Ray said the state is appealing last fall’s decision that allowed Kindertown to keep its doors open.
Attorney Mike McLaughlin and Kindertown owner Maria Barrows-Crist outside the courthouse on Feb. 3. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Kindertown owner Maria Barrows-Crist prevailed the first time with the help of attorney Mike McLaughlin of Feldman-Shaw-McLaughlin LLP.
When asked outside the courthouse Feb. 3 if he believed there would be a different outcome at the end of all of this, McLaughlin told Lake Tahoe News, “no.”
“It’s a continuing pattern of abuse by the state,” McLaughlin said.
He said much of the same during the brief court hearing, which was attended by about 30 supporters of Kindertown.
The state had asked Judge Steve Bailey to be removed from the case, which was granted. Bailey is the one who ruled in Kindertown’s favor last year.
Further hearings regarding Kindertown will be before Judge Warren Stracener in Placerville.
Although officials with the state Department of Education were at Kindertown this week letting parents know where else they could enroll their children, Barrows-Crist said no child has left the center because of the latest turmoil.
Congrats Maria! Our kids went to Kindertown and are in their 20’s now and survived.
How does one get reimbursed from the costs of fighting a public entity in court, if one is proved innocent of the charges?
This place is a flea bag run sorry excuse for a day care. If the state of CA actually attempts to close any place down in this era of “let things go,” then they must have credible evidence.
I am really offended by the previous post. I work at Kindertown, and I am not a flea bag. If you have something against Maria that is one thing you don’t need to attack her staff. You don’t know me and you probably don’t know most of the other staff members or you wouldn’t say that. Also, I think that the fifty or so parents that bring their children to Kindertown would disagree with your assessment that we are a “sorry excuse for a daycare”.
When the state loses they can get a new judge everytime. It seems that the state will not let up when they lose and WE are footing the bill, they just don’t care how much money they waste. I don’t know anyone at kindertown but I know how the state operates.
well said Lou.
Public service the ultimate oxymoron in this case.
What?! A missing child?
It is a very good thing that he wasn’t hit by car or kidnapped. I guess someone has to die before anyone can admit that the staff at this center is neglegent at best.
The parents of these children should make these decisions not the gov. unless you like the chinese model.
If you ask me it is better off closed. I HAVE seen the staff and they need a 101 on professionalism. I am sorry but i wouldn’t let my daughter NEAR a daycare that had girls dressing like flusies! Maybe it will invite a new daycare that cares about the mental image they are setting for their students and a little professionalism can be seen. You are teaching more that ABC’s. You are helping mold a child for the rest of their life. And lets just say anything less then modesty isn’t every parents dream, espeacially in a closed community like Tahoe were the teen pregnacy rates are through the ROOF!
Lou- I agree with you that parents should be able to make their own decision where they take their children and in a perfect world we wouldn’t ever need the government to step in.
I find it very interesing when people complain about the state stepping in on this matter. A little boy left a child care facility unnoticed and made it to Highway 50. What if something bad had happened? He could have been kidnapped or hit by a car and killed. Then most people would be asking how the state allowed the facility to stay open after the complaints they’ve received. It’s a total “Catch 22”.
Congrats Maria and all the staff at Kindertwon. I am sorry I wasn’t able to make it yesterday. All of you were in my thoughts. Like I have said before when this happened the first time in 2009, the state is not presenting a solid case, with full facts and full evidence if any. As far as I know, the State has never once interviewed a child attending Kindertown, or any parent of a child attending Kindertown. In fact, one of the State employees was visiting while the court precedings were happening in 2009, instead of questioning me about the care my children are receiving she was more concerned about a bottle of Benadryl being expired by a month and gravely concerned the dosage was not attached in writing by her physician. I said the dosage is clearly on the bottle, she said that wasn’t good enough and I had to drive over to her doctor and have him write the dosage. I, at that point asked her “Since you are here while Kindertown is under scrutiny would you like me to tell you about the care my children are receiving here”? She just rolled her eyes at me. This is why I believe they have no case. Granted, a child escaping is horrible and awful, but as I understand it correctly he has escaped from his own home along with other establishments. I don’t know about many parents, but I am not perfect and it has happened under MY watch, at the beach with our entire family around when she was 3 years old. All of a sudden one moment she was there and you look the next second and she was gone. It was the most terrifying thing and luckily someone we knew found her walking with a cheez-it trying to feed the ducks! Point is it was an accident, an accident that has never happened since. Should she be taken away to a safer home because this happened one time? Accidents happen at home, in our schools and at daycare facilites. They should not be held to a higher standard of operation. I am just baffled that Maria is enduring this again. I find it very telling that not one parent is pulling their child out of Kindertown, and yes we, as parents know what is best for our children when we leave our children in the hands of another caregiver! I also find it fascinating the State wanted to remove Judge Steven Bailey, really? Why? Thank you to Judge James Dawson who seems to have common sense as well.
To the person who is concerned about image etc, staff dressing like floosies? In my experience with my own little ones, infants and young children don’t judge people by what the person looks like or what they are wearing, they base their opinion on having a positive or negative interaction with that individual. As I have said before, caring for children in a daycare facility is a hard difficult job, if they wanted to come to work in their pajamas so they can be more comfortable bending down and squatting down to a child’s level a million times a day, I would understand!
I work at KIndertown and it’s sad that people see us that way, but people will talk. The kids love us there and it makes me happy to know that even though parents have read the newspaper about the incident they keep bringing their kids in and people keep calling to enroll their kids there. I don’t think kid will get an example of teen pregnancy from the way we dress if we in fact dressed that way, there’s tv,radio music Internet even their own parents. Don’t Blame teachers for the mistakes your kids make in high school or older. Kids follow example from parents!! Grow up! I hope whatever you guys say doesnt come back and bite you later on.
Good point Sno
I hope for in a daycare that my children like the caregiver very well. And if they go to a daycare for long enough some of the teachers could have an impression on them. I assume that the teachers are great people and if my daughter is looking up to a girl that is showing inapropriate parts of her body then I can’t imagine being GREATFUL for that no matter how good the teaching. It is the example at this crucial time in their learning that they are absorbing and I would prefer they absorb modesty then lack of clothing.
For all the people that dislike Kindertown I have to ask.Are you there everyday seeing what goes on?If not,than how can you say one way or another what kind of place it is.
It doesn’t matter what happens everyday. All it takes is ONE deadly day and then nothing can be taken back. And there is the professional image of the staff that can clue you into the way things are ran… A classy looking staff VS. an overly causual staff creates a vibe of peace of mind or carelessness. The importance of image in your career says alot. If you LOOK like your in order, the more likely you WILL be in order. How can sloppiness engourage or inspire you to get things in check? In my mind, it can not.
I’m sorry, but what inappropriate body parts are we showing? we don’t walk around in belly shirts and mini skirts. Also I would like to point out AGAIN that this boy escaped from every other center he has been in including Sierra House Elementary School and his own home. He is a specific case of something that this one child does but none of the other centers or his own home are being taken to court. It is only Maria that is being attacked. It is clearly personal. Gia has posted a link before to all of the violations that other centers have received and they are all the same as ours and none of them are being taken to court.
I’d also like to say that if you can’t use your name in a posting then perhaps you know that what you are saying does not hold water and you are too embarrassed to associate yourself with idle gossip? The parents and the people that work at Kindertown are proud to associate ourselves with a business that cares enough about the children that they teach to stand by maria through all the job uncertainty and constant harassment from State Licensing. Not a month goes by that we don’t get a visit from Licensing, does this happen to any other center in Tahoe? Or any other town for that matter? If there is another case of this then please let me know. When Licensing visits they jump at the chance to pin anything they can on Maria there was a box in a cabinet and the woman from the state didn’t even look at it twice she told Maria is shouldn’t be there because the woman assumed it was matches. In another incident there was a box cutter in a drawer which had no blade in it and the woman AGAIN did not inspect the product and wrote it down. Thankfully both of these times Maria was right there with the woman and showed her that it was not what she thought it was and both times the woman had to strike the citations from her record. Another time the state visited there was a pool with a crack in it which had blown off of the roof of one of the sheds over the weekend. It was in the morning and the children were not in the yard where the pool was and it was clearly not being used in any way, yet the state felt the need to write Maria up for it. Are we perfect, certainly not, I think you would be hard pressed to find a center in Tahoe or in the United States that has not had it’s fair share of accidents and mistakes, we are human and things happen. Are we sorry for the things that happen? Of course we are. Maria apologized to the parent of the child which escaped and the parent saw fit not to remove his child from the center. If it is enough for him should the state not also accept Maria’s apology and move on?
Ha Ha You all knew he tries to escape and did not think it fit to keep an eye on him? Wow that really made her look better. Touche!
If a 3 year old can see down a females shirt it clarifies as inapropriate body parts. Get some class. It is a JOB at a DAYCARE, not the freaking casinos!
And maybe some people choose to NOT damage their name with the humiliating relation with such a (qoute) “Flea Bag Daycare”. Everyone has different standards, I suppose.
There’s ignorant people out there that think theyre a gift sent from God! Leave KIndertown alone. Dont take your kids there! Dont recommend Kindertown to anyone if you want to,but leave them the he’ll alone!!! What the he’ll do u care o how they dress ur kids don’t go there right!!! Im sure because your kids don’t or won’t go to Kindertown they’ll be perfect angels and it makes you the best parent ever, wake the hell up people! No one is perfect! If you can do a better job than these girls than you take care of these kids! I’m sure you’ll do a better job since you just run your mouths! U hope your daughters don’t get pregnant at a young age, because then it won’t be Kindertown’s fault it’d be the lack of parenting you give your kids.
As a matter of fact my children will be better off not going to this daycare. By seeing the future outcome of having my children around people that are influencing them in innapropriate dress or whatever else, i am indeed being a GREAT mother. Being a parent is helping set your child up for a better future and placing them in a low standard enviroment will possibly ensure they pick up those unwanted characteristics. So yes the chances of my child being better are high because i chose to be a good parent by keeping them from absorbing what i don’t want them to. So in choosing to not assiociate with people from this place or anyother alike it, will indeed show my parenting skills, when my child isn’t looking or acting like them.