A Bossier City daycare center is one of two facilities whose licenses have been revoked by the Louisiana Department of Education.

The department says public funding has been terminated following recent inspections that turned up dozens of violations of state law. Storybook Daycare and Discovery Zone on Airline Drive in Bossier City and Our Blessings Christian Daycare Learning Center in Baton Rouge were issued revocation letters July 29.

"We take the welfare of Louisiana's youngest citizens very seriously," said State Education Superintendent John White in a news release. "We're not going to allow unsafe child care centers to operate in this state. If an early learning center has disregard for the state's laws and regulations, we're going to revoke its license."

According to the news release, during a May 2015 inspection of Storybook, state licensing staff discovered the child care center failed to correct many of the same deficiencies cited during a December 2014 inspection. The center did not have current State Central Registry documentation or criminal background checks for all employees, and the center did not meet the child/staff ratio requirements at all times. The center was cited for 30 deficiencies during the May visit.

The department also inspected Our Blessings in June 2015 after receiving a complaint that child care employees left a child at a Baton Rouge restaurant during a field trip in May. License staff cited the child care center for 20 deficiencies, including not reporting the incident to the department or the child's parents, not having parental permission slips for the field trip, and not having a state-qualified director on staff.

The two centers are now ineligible for public funding through the Child Care Assistance Program, which subsidizes child care for low-income families. Affected families will be referred to licensed facilities eligible to receive the funding.

The centers have 15 days from receipt of the revocation letter to appeal the deparment's decision, and are allowed to remain open and operate without a license until appeals are exhausted, or the 15 days expire.

 

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