Educare - Get a Free Blog

March 7. 2012
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
P.O. Box 570, jefferson City, MO 65102-0570 Phone: 573-7:51,.6400 FAX: 573-751-6010
RELAY MISSOURI for Hearing and Speech Impaired 1-800-735-2966 V?ICE 1-800-735-2466
Margaret T. Donnelly
Director
Fumni Hassan
Educare Early Childhood Center
6814 Natural Bridge Road
S1. Louis. MO 63121
SUBJECT: 000728010
Dear Fumni Hassan,
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor
As you are aware. the S~ction for Child Care Regulation (SCCR) received a complaint alleging rule
violation(s) at your facility on February 8. 2012. Thealh~gation(s). the details of the investigation, the
substantiated licensing rule violations(s). and correction(s) for compliance with licensing rules are
included on the enclosed Substantiated Complaint BCC-5-Oform .
. -Substantiated allegations are placed in the facility's public licensing record retained in the SCCR district
.office. You may reply to this report in writing. If you choose to reply. your response will be filed with
the report in the facility's li.censing record. We welcome any questions at 220 S. Jefferson, S1. Louis,
MO 63101 or at 314-877-0210. .
Shalinda W~ . i/t!~
'ehild Care Facility SpecIalist
. Enclosure
CC .JubrilHassan
www.health.mo.go.v
".'
HeaJtlJy. Missourians for life. :~:~. . .
The Missouri Departmentof Health and Senior Services will.be the leader In promoting, protecting and partnering for health.
.. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNiTY I AFF,IRMA1lVE ACTION" EMPLOYER: Servi~s provided on a nondiscriminatory basis.

. )
MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF HEAlTH & SENIOR SERVICES
SECTION FOR CHILD CARE REGULATION
SUBSTANTIATED COMPLAINT
OF STATUTE OR RULE VIOLATIONS
FACILITY NAME
Educare Early Childhood Center
. STREET ADDRESS
6814 Natural Brid e Road
CITY
st. Louis
REPORTER:
REPORTER NAME
Shanna Fowler
. ZIP CODE
63121
.181 . NAMED
o WITHHELD BY REQUEST
o ANONYMOU.S
REPORTER ADDRESS (STREET. CITY. STATE, ZIP CODE)
See Attached.
See Attached.
See Attach~d .
DATE OF REPORT
2/8/2012
FACILITY TYPE
o HOME
181 GROUP HOME/CENTER
o INSPECTED
o UNUCENSED MORE THAN FOUR
FACILITY NUMBER
000728010
PHONE FACILITY COUNTY
.314 •.381-7674 St. Louis County
REPORT MADE: 0 IN PERSON
~ ~HONE
o WRITTEN
REPORTER PHONE
816-718-8654

Educare Early Childhood Center
6814 NEituralBridge Rd.
S1.Louis, MO 631fl
DVN#0007280 10
314-381-7674
ALLEGATIONS:
On February 7, 2012, SCCR received a complaint from Shanna Fowler stating that a 2
year old was dropped off at the day care at 9:30am. An auto mechanic from next door
,found the child at 10:45am and brought the child to the center and asked if the child w~
supposed to be there. The mechanic found the child outside.
SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION (Wallace):
On Febni8ry 8, 2012, Caron AhIemeyer and I made an unannounced visit to the facility.'
Ms. Ahlemeyer and I met with the Director, Lavonder Torrence. The board president, Dr.
Jubrll Hassan was ptesent at the child care center as well. Also participating in the
interview were Shanna Fowler andDetective Sullivan-Beverly Hills. Other staff
interViewed on February 8,2012 were Chevron Love, Jamillia Lardge, Patrice Wren, and
Tandra Miller.
Interview with the Director Lavonder Torrence on February 8, 2012 at Educare
Early Childhood Center.
Ms. Torrence stated that she arrived at the facility at 8:34 am on February 7, 2012~ Ms.
Torrence informed all of us that the van that Child A was transported on was driven by
Mr. Maurice Phipps and the bus 'monitor was Tiarra Marbley.Ms. Torrence informed us
that Mr. Phipps begins picking children up at 7am and his last pick up is around 9am.
When asked how they are able to dytermine what kids topick up, Ms. Torrence informed
us that they use a roster that iskept on the'bus tb,at informs the drivers which kids to pick
,up and drop off. She stated that the staff had not been using the roster and that she had
not been checking to make sure this was being completed. Ms. Torrence was then ask.ed
how theclriver is notified if a child is not attending school for the day. Mr. Torrence,
c,.stat€ld-,thatMI: ..l?hipps-is-called-via.cellphone by herbuLwasnot sure_QLth~_proc~$sJh~~ ~_.
staffutilize to contact the driver's when she is not present. Once 'the children arrive at
scho()l Ms., Torrence informed us that the ,children are dropped off at the front'door.' Prior
to today, February 8,2012, per Ms. Torrence, the children wl:?r~dropped offinthe back
'at the locked fence. 'The fence is unlocked and the children are led into the facility and
they are allowed to walk to the dassroom themselves. Ms: Torrence also .gtat~ thatthe
van driver and the monitor walk the children to their classroom by the ages of the
children which is contradicting,to what she first informed us. -
Once the children are in their das;" attendance is taken by Ms. Torrence by completing'a
, head count ,of the children. She writes onher atten!lance sheet "P" for present if the
children ate there. Iftheclrildrenare absent she leaves the space blank. Ms: Torrence
stated tbatshejust started today(F~bruary 8, 2012) documenting the time each child "
walks in and when they leave at the frOnt door. Ms. Torren.ce informed Usthat she is the
only one that does attendance and this is taken by going to each classroom and asking

each teacher how many children they have. The teacher's perform a head count. They do
not keep anac~urate record of which child is in which'room. Ms. Torrence also stated
that she did not write the attendance down yesterday but she did have the teachers count
the children in,each classroom. According to Ms. Torrence,. the van driver Maurice
'Phipps said thafhe brought ChiJ~ A in and tokher to Patrice Wren but when Ms.
Torrence asked Ms. Wren; Ms. Wren told her that she'had not seen Child A.
During the interview, Ms. Torrence said that there is an opening in the gate outside and
she feels as if a small c!rildcould have squeezed thf6ugh the gate. Ms. Torrence also
stated that she heard staff talking about the gate being left unlocked by Mr. Phipps. Ms.
Torrence does not recall seeing ChiidA until she was brought in by Mr. Jerry Monroe,
. .
the auto mechanic, from the auto/tire shop next door at 10:45am. She then went on to say
that Child A was crying and informed her that Mr. Phipps left her on the van. Ms.
Torrence stated that she believed Child A.
Detective Sullivan asked if they had a policy for the van procedures; Ms. Torrence said
that they had a policy pertaining to this but she did not know where or how to locate it.
When asked if she notified the mother, she said that she notified the mother at 3:30pm.
When asked about the delay with notifying the parent,.Ms. Torrence stated that she did
not immediately notify the parent because she wanted to do some further investigating.
According to Ms. Torrence, when she notified the mother at 3:30pm, .the mother was very
upset and hung up the phone on her after informing her that she woUld be coming up
there with the authorities. Child A's grandfather came to pick Child A and her brother up.
Around &:30AM-9:00AM on February 7, 2012, Ms. Torrence said that she asked Ms .
. Chevron Love how many children she had in the 2' sroom. Ms. Love informed her that
she had 8 children at this time .. This is the class room that Child A belongs in. However,
Ms. Torrence did not do the count herself or didn't look to see who the kids were. Ms .
. Torrence never went back to the room. Ms. Torrence then asked Ms. Love to assist her
wlth some payroll beca~e it hadto be finished today (February 7, 2012). It was at this
,_.~----timethatMs._Wren_wentinto_ the. room; _Ms. Wren substitutes when teachers are absent.
Ms. Torrence stated thatMs; Wren toldh~~th~t ~he~~~t-t;~-c;bildfe~' to-the mfant/todOler-- .. -_. __. - -~--room
because she was over 8 children. Ms, TorrenCe stated that she .and Ms. Love were
in the room completing'paperworkfor about 2 hours. She stated that shehem;:d
commott6"ii and assumed.that there were more than 8 children and that JamilliaLardge
w~ntin there because she saw herwheIishe came out of the office. Ms. Torrence said
Ms. Wren took the children outside around 9:30am but before 10:30am. Ms. Torrence .
. does not recall hearing Ms. W~enandthe children return back in the facility. Ms .
.Torrence stated that at 10:45 Child A was brought to thefacility.
, . ,
Interview with Jamillia Lardge at EducareEarly Childhood Centeron Februarv:8,
WU. . . '..... .
Ms. Jamillia Large informed us that shewas a teacher's assistant in the 2 year oldsroom
and that Ms. Chevron Love is the lead teacher. She infdrmedus that she entered Ms.
, .". . . ."'
.

'.'
. Love's class around 1:OOpmto allow Ms. Love to take her break. She said that she was
in.the baby room prior to that. Ms. Wren validated that Ms. Torrence is the only staff
person who does attendance. She said that there is no attendance roster and that they just _
complete a head count. They recognize all of the children by their face. Ms. Lardge
denies that two children were sent back to her and said that no 2.year olds were in the
infant/toddler rooni. Ms. Lardge said that she walked past the 2 year olds room when she
needed to go and get milk for the babies around 9:20AM. Based on the layout of the
facility, th.ekitchen is located before the two year olds room. Thus, making it .
unnecessary to travel towards the 2 year olds room. She also stated that she saw Child A
in the 2 year olds room crying because another child had taken a toy from her. Ms.
Lardge said that she saw Child A outside plaYing around 1O:05arn;.10:15am. ~hesaid
that she"saw Child A because she went to discard a diaper. Ms. Lardge said that Ms.
Wren was outSide with sixteen 2 year aIds. Ms. Lardge said that this was not normal to
do this. She also stated that she belIeves Child A got out because Ms. Wren wasn't
paying attention and had too many kids. Ms..Lardge went on to say that the gates are
locked by the van drivers. .
Interview with Chevron Love at Educare Early Childhood Center on FebrUary 8,
2012: .
Ms. Chevron Love said that she arrived at 8am. She could not recall what time the van
arrived. She stated that around 9:00 she got called in with Ms. Torrence to help with
payroll. At this time Ms. Wren took over the class and there were 9 children total in the
class. She stated that the 9thchild waS moved with either Ms. Tandra Milier or Ms. Liz
Bankhead's group. Ms. Love said that she took that class back over around 11:40am.
'She stated that she saw Child A for the first time around 10:45amat the coat rack and she
was ciying.When she went back in the room Ms. Wren had more than 8 children. Ms.
Love .said that 16 kids are enrolled in her class and that it was around 13 kids at that time.
She also said"that there is no set times for doing counts they just see kids come in. She
also said that Ms. Torrence did do a count yesterday.
After the interview with Ms.' Love, we left Educare Early Childhood Center and walked
- ..--- _.__ ._- .--across.theparkingJoUoAuto Concepts_to.interview.Jerry.Monroe.Jt.was ..Sb..alin.da
Wallace, Caron Ablemeyer, Shannon Fowler, and Detective Sullivan.
Interview with Mr. Jerry Monroe from Auto Concepts on FebrUary 8, 2012:
Mr. Monroe saidthatkidswere playing outside when he was outside the first time. He'
said that he saw kids liriing up to go back inside. He then came in to work on a car .. He
later went back outside to smoke. He was-inside for about 5"lOminutes .. He went outside
to smoke. He said he saw the little girl pulling on agate tryingto getinside the gate. He
walked over to her and asked her if she wanted to go inside and she said yes. He then
walked her in the facility alid asked the lady at the front desk ifshe belonged. in h~re.
The lady said ','Yes" and 4e left.
After the interview' with Mr. Monroe atAuto Concepts, we arrived at th~Beverly Hills
Police Department on February, 2012. .' .

Iilterview with Patrice Wren at the Beverly Hills Police Department on February 8,
2012:
Ms. Wren informed us that she is the office manager. She also informed us that shehas
been suspended due to the incident that occurred on February 7,2012. Ms. Wren arrived
at 8:22am ,on February it!, 20"12. She went to the 2 year olds room with Ms. Love. Ms.
Wren said that she was sent to the infant's room until about 9:15-9:30am. She then went
back into the 2 year olds room and at this time she reports that she had 11 kids. She sent
three 2 y~ar olds to the 3 year olds room and gave them their food. The van came around .
. 9:45am-1O:00am which gave her four more kids making her have a total of twelve kids.
At this time she saw Child A's brother but did not see Child A. Ms. Wren stated thatno
one physically brought the children to her. She said that the children are familiar with
where to go'so they just go to the classroom's on their own. Ms. Wren stated that one
other child also c~e making the total amount of children fourteen. Ms. Wren indicates
that she took the children outside by herself. Ms. Wren stated that the children stayed
outside for an hour. She stated that Liz Bankhead yelled outside to tell her that lunch was'
ready at 10:22am and sheinform:ed Ms. Bankhead to just put the lunch on the table. Ms.
Wren stated that while she was outside, MaUrice Phipps came outside to take the trash
out She said that when he opened the gate one of the children ran towards the gate so
she yelled out to Mr. Phipps to catch the child. She then reports that she held the child's
hand and all the children went inside. She said that she completes a head count but
doesn't remember doing ahead count either outside or inside on February 7,2012.
Ms. Wren did not report seeing Child A until they were eating lunch and she remembers
Child A having a frown on her face. Ms. Wren reports that Ms. Love asked Child A
where she had been and Child A stated that she was outside crying in the van. Ms. Wren
said that she might have said that she was crying by the van. She was unsure about the
exact statement Ms. Wren said that Mr. Phipps did locl~the gate because one of the kids
had pulled on the lock. . .
Ms. Wren stated that the staff were trained at another Educare Center in Creve Coeur to
get kids off the van and that theyshduld be doing that She said that staff should be
~---- .._~-'---_.-d0ing--head {)ounts, cempl€ting-van-sweeps" and using car.&booster seatsJor all kids. __:__. .
She also stated that the staff takes the booster and car seats off the van aft~r each route
because parents send the seats for their kids. Ms. Wren reports that she noticed the girl
wasn't doing the sheets for the van attendance last week. She stated that she and Ms.
'.Torien~e do attendance. She. .also stated that only some seat belts work in the van but not
all of them. She also stated that she does not believe that the staff did a sweep of the .
van.
Inte~ew with Child A and Parent A on at Beverly Hills Police Department on
.February 8 2012: ,....
. Child A was interviewed while sitting on Parent A's lap. She said that she ri

and got out of the van and that she opened the door herself. She said that the kids were in
school. She then said "Mr. Phipps don't get me out". She said shewas ready to go and
she was laying down i.ilthe seat sleepirig. She also said she was not wearing her seatbelt.
Child A is two years old. '
, -
Interview with Child B with Parent A and Parent B at Beverly Hills Police ,
Department on February 8, 2012: ,
Child B, 'five years old, said that he and his sister get to school by thevm:l. He stated that
Mr. Phipps picks him up with an adult. He said that his sister was asleep on the van and
didn't get off with him and that she was all the way in the back. He said that his si~ter
was laying down sleeping. He said that his sister got left on the van at school. Child B
'stated thatMr. Phipps told him to wake his sister but she didn't wake up and he was
being told by the teachers to get off the van. He also stated that he and his sister do not
Wear seat belts and they do not sit in booster seats. . -
Interview with ParentB-at Beverly Hills Police Department on February 8, 2012:,
'Parent B said that afew months ago this happened before when they were dropped off at
school by their step father. Both Child A and Child B were found outside in the parking
lot by a staff person who was going to the store. Parent B stated that the facility said that
whoever dropped the children -off did not bring the chilcken inside. Ms. Torrence notified
him about this incident but did not notify the mother.
, Interview with Parent A at BeverlvHillsPolice Department on February 8, 2012:
Parent A reports that there was not an incident report filled out about that first incident.
She reports that Ms. Torrence kept changing the story about the first incident. Parent A
states that Child A told her she fell asleep on the van and that she opened the door and
got out herself. Child A also said that a police man brought her into the school. Parent A
thinks that Child A saieJhe was a police officer because he was wearing a blue uniform.
Parent A said that she was notified about the incident at 3:30pm.
--~-~~--~-Ms. AhlemeyerancLIleftthe,ReverlyIDUsPQliceJ::>ep;:iI1:1:l1ent aIld!~tlnned to,~ucare
Childhood Center on February 8, 2012.
Interview with Lavonder Torrence-Director at Educate Early Childhood Center On
February 8,2012. ,
Caron Ahlemeyer and I returned to the facility and interviewed Ms. 'Torrence a second
time. Ms. Torrence said that she called Ms. Hassan in Nigeria after 11am. It was at this
- time that Ms~Torrence stated that she was told by Ms. Hassan not to can Parent A, She
became yery emotional during the interview. Ms-.Torrence stated that she is protecting
others and was very concerned about what would be in the report. She felt thathot
" -, calling Parent A was the wrong thing to' do~ She made the decision to call the mother at
3:30despite bemg told not to do so. Ms. Torrence informed us that the facility is short
'staffed. Ms. Torrence infonDed us that the Hassan's told her to take attendance and for
the staff to, stop. She is not aware of why Ms. Hassan iDformed her to take attendance

and not for the staff to take attendance. Ms. Torrence also informed us that she did not
.contact the proper authorities about the incident with Child A.
Interview with Tandra'MilIer at Educare Early Childhood Center on February 8, .
2012:
Ms. Mille~ arnvedat work (Educare) at 8:45am on February 7,2012. Ms. Miller said
that she saw Child A in the classroom around 9:45am but wasn't certain of the exact
time .. Shealso ~ted thatshe saw Child A putting on her coat to go outside. She said
Ms. Wren took the children. outside and she knows it was more than 8 children but was
not sure of the exact number. She couldn't recall what kind of coat or what kind of
clothes Child A was wearing. She said that she does not keep attendance .
.
After the interview with Ms. Miller, Caron Ahlemeyer and T asked Ms. Torrence to
physically fasten all 13 seat belts in the vans used to transport children while we
observed .. In the van with license plate # V C8-T7C, four of the thirteen seat belts did not
latch. Two seat belts in the fourth row-last seat in the van (both located on the driver's
side) did not latch. The other two seat beltS that did not latch were in the first seat
directly behind the driver and directly behind the passenger seat (next to the aisle) ..
In the van with license plate #004 H2R, six seat belts did not fasten. In the fourth row
three of the seat belts did not fasten, one did fasten. In the first, second, and third row
one seat belt did not fasten in each row. All three of these seat belts were located next to .
the aisle behind, the passenger seat
February 8, 2012, at 4: 10pm, CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace observed Jubril
Hassan and Angela Marbley walk into the building with 15 children. Jubril Hassan had
driven these children in the facility van and Angela Marbley was the assistant monitor.
Ms •.Marbley stated she sat in the front row passenger seat .The van used to transport the
children was the van with license plate DC8 T7C, with only 10 seats with working seat
...beltS .. After_allchildren w~re-br(mghtinsid.e,CCFS.Ahleme-y.eLand_CCE~LW all~~~_
observed the van with two booster seats in place; no seats came off the van with the
.children. The' munes and ~ges-of each child, transported. on the van althat time were
documented. Ages of the children were two3;.years-old, two 4-years-old, four 5-years~
old, thr~e6-years:-old, two 7-years-old, one 8':'years-old,andone9-years-old. This
required thattwo children be in car seats and eleven children be iIi booster seats. Ms.
Marbleystatedthat she remembered buckling a few chijdrenin but aftet the first few she
wouldjlist helplhemin to the car and tell them to buckle themselves in.
Both vehicles were observed to be dirtY with food products atldtrash overflowing,in the
vans. Both vans also had tom seats.
While at the faCility, Caron Ahlemeyer asked Angela Marbley-Hillto show her how to
'properly install a car seat in the van. Ms. Marbleyproperly installed tlleqar seat. Ms.
Marbley-Hill informed us that she is a van driver and that she does transport the children.

Her driver's license was checked to see if she had a Class E drivers license or a CDL
drivers license and she did not have either of the two. Whe:o.Ms. Ahlemeyer asked Ms.
Liz Bankhead, who is a bus monitor, to properly install a car seat, she was not able to
properly install the car seat.' Ms. Ahlemeyer asked Ms. Lisa Watts, who is a van driver,
to properly install the car seat; she was not able to properly install the car seat.
While completing ratio counts and other observations of the facility, C!l!0n Alhemeyer
and I noticed that tliedoqrleading to the outside was blocked with several car'seats iri the
infant roOm. One Infant was also sleeping in a car seat for at least an hour. The staff
Angela Crawford and Shameika Daniels infomled us that the infant was in the car seat
because he would be leaving soon. The infantdid not leave until an hour later. The staff
did not lay the child down on his' back to sleep.
It was also observed that one staff (Ms. Joyce Carr} left the toddler unit thus, putting the.
room out of ratio. In this particular section, there was one staff to four toddlers. When
the teacher (Ms. Carr) left the room, the other teacher (Ms. Izola Winder} from the
adjacent area (which was divided) left that group to watch Ms. Carr's children leaving
her group with Ms ..Adrienpe Fox with seven toddlers. . .
On February 9 2oi2, Caron Ahlemeyer called the facility to request children's attendance'
records and the transportation sign in and out sheets. Dr. Jubril Hassan/Board President
informed Ms. Ahlemeyer that he did not have access to the any of the records becal]Se the
. files were locked up and that Ms. Torrence had the key. He informed Ms. Ahlemeyer
that Ms. Torrence was arrested and taken to jail.
Interview with Lavondet Torrence at the Clayton Jail February 10, 2012
Nancy Scherer, Child Care Supervisor (CCS) and I interviewed Lavonder Torrence
together. Ms Torrencestated that she called Child A's mom at 3:30-3:45pm on February
7, 2012, to tell her about the incident. When Ms. Torrence called Parent A, she told her
that a gentleman from the establishment across the parking lot brought her child ... and the
phone went dead. Ms. Torrence stated that Parent A hung up on her. Ms. Torrence.
called Parent A back and 'Fareilt A said that she was coming to pick up her kids and asked
-how-late, she would- be ,there.-The-ehiJdren'-s grandfather, picked the childrenup~_.PJU',enL -- ,..---------
A told her that.she would be there with the authoritieS. Later that evening, Parent A and
the police showed up at the daycare .. Ms.' TOrI'ence stated that she called the owner, Ms.~
Hassan, to. get advice on what to do before she called Parent A. Ms. Hassan told her not'
to call Parent A.Ms. Torrence said that she knows she should have called Parent A '
earlier; Ms. Torrence saidshe did not take attendance onFebruary 7, 2012 like she
llormally does. When asked what she believes happened on February 7, 2012, Ms.
Torrence stated that she fIrst saw Child A at approXimatelylO:45am on February?, 2012
when the man next door brought her into the facility. Ms. Torrence stated that she
believes what Child A and Child B have said, which is that Child A was left alone in the .
.van.' ,Ms. Torrence said she is being charged with child endange11l1ent, child abuse, and ..
, child neglect. . -
Intervie~withTiaraMarbley at the Clayton Jail February 10,2012

Nancy Scherer, child Care Supervisor (CCS) and Iinterviewed Tiara Marbley. Ms. .
Marbley stated that she is the van monitor at Educare and has been the monitor for two.
(2) weekS. Ms. Marbley stated that Maurice Phipps is the van driver: She stated that they
picked Child A up at 8:04am on the mornillg of February 7, 2012. Ms.-Marbley stated
she signed Child A in on the book She statedthey don't sign kids off the van when they
take them into the day care, they only sign them out when they take them back home. Ms .
.Marbley stated that after they picked up Child A, they picked up more kids, dropped
some off at school, picked up more children and went to the day care. She Stated they
picked up fifteen (15) to eighteen (18) children all together but only tookten (10)
children back to the day care; the other children were dropped off at school. Ms. Marbley
stated when they arrived at the day care at approximately 9:30am, they pulled to the back
gate and Mr. Phipps opened the gate. She stated that normally they open the door and
'Mr. Phipps takes the kids in. Ms. Marbley stated that she takes the babies in, but there
weren't any babies on the van that morning so she helped Mr. Phipps walk the'children
inside. She.stated she Was carrying one child that was half asleep. She said that she
specifically remembers seeing Child A walk to her class that morning. She said that the
kids know where to go when they get in the building. She said that she looked in the van
and looked iIi all seats and no children were left in there. Ms. Marbley stated that she and
Mr. Phipps left to go on another van run at 9:30am and made it back to the day care at
approximately 9:50am. She stated they picked up one child on this run, a two year old
.child. He was the only child on the van. She stated that when they arrived back at the
day care, she'checked the van again and no children were left in the van. Ms. Marbley
said that some of the kids have car seats .and that all of the seat belts in the van work. She
stated that Child A was not in a car seat. Ms. Marbley said that Child A was in Ms.
Patrice Wren's class in the morning and l\;1s",Wrentook the children outside that
morning. Ms. Marbley stated that Child A was outside with the class and she believes
that Child A must have slipped through the gate. Ms. Marbley stated that Ms. Wren had
too many children that morning and could not watch all of them. Ms. Marbley said that
Child A was not sleepy that morning: she was in a good mood. She stated that other
mornings, Child A cries for her mom and Ms. Marbleyhas to carry her in to the day care
center. Ms: Marbleyhas not seen a tiansportatioIipolicy but she learned from the person
._._;-_--. _. ~. before her what she is supposed to. _dQ.Ms.Ma.I'lJl~y_sai(lsheis being charged with child
endangerment, child abuse, and child neglect. . ----- . - ----.----.--- --------
Interview with Maurice Phipps at the Clayton Jail February 10, 2012
.. Nancy Scherer, Child Care Supervisor and Iinterviewed Mr. Phipps. Mr. Phipps
infonned us that he was thedriver.afthe van who. transparted Child A fram her home to
the facility:on February 7,2012. He infarmed us that he picked Child A up at 8:04am,
He informed us thatthey (Mr. Phipps & Tiara, Marbley) picked up other kids and drapped
some kids aff at schaal. He informed us that they returned to. the-schaal ,araund 9: 15-
.9:30am. He said that Ms. Mar.bley sits in the back of the van with the kids but wasn't
exactly sur~ which seat she was sitting in. He thinks sheri:lay have been in the 3 rd seat. " .
He informed its that whenhegofta the facility he pUlled up by the gate and gat out and
uni()cked the gate. He helped the ldds affthe van and he~d Ms. Marbley walked the
. kids in to. the bpilding. Mr. Phipps said that they keep a sign in and aut sheet in the van.
, .'

He said that kids are not signed pff until they are dropped. off at home. When asked
about -~transportation policy he did not recall ever reading one. He said that they just
make sure kids are strapped in their seat belts, sitting in assigned seats, and that the kids
are in car seats and making sure they're not fighting. He said that he did not see any kids
on the van and that they made another trip to pick up one 2 year old child. He indicated
_that w:hen they pick kids up from home, they chart the attendance but don't sign them out
of van. Mr. Phipps does not recall seeing Child A or where she was sitting. When he
picks the children up, he goes to the door or he will call the parents to let them know he is
there. -He helps the children on the van and then :Ms. Marbley straps the children in. Mr.
Phipps stated that he does not believe that Child A was in a car seat 1:>litwas not sure
because there were no babies in the van so she might have been in one. He indicated that
he and Ms. 'Marbley walked ill the facility together with the children. He states that they
-walked to the 2 year olds room. When they took the children to the class, Ms. Love was
the teacher at that time. Mr. Phipps said that he was paying attention to each child and
does not remember specifically seeing Child A and does not recall what she was wearing.
He also indicated that he did not count the kids when they got off the van. After making
his second round and dropping off the two year old child approxiinately at 9:40am, he
walked him to his room. After that he put down some area. carpets for the facility. He
indicated that he noticed Ms. Patrice taking the 2 year olds outside. ,The children went
outside. He said that Ms. Wren asked him if Ms. Love was still in the office with Ms.
Torrence. He told Ms. Wren that they were still in the office. Mr. Phipps indicated that
he was ta1dD.gtrash out but put the trash aside in the area he puts the trash at for a brief
moment. He said that as Ms. Wren was going inside, she asked him ifhe saw any other
kids outside., He said that he didn't see any other kids but he heard other kids. He said
that he found out Child A was discovered outside when he was getting ready to clock out.
He said that he gets off at 11:OOam. Mr. Phipps believes that Child A got out the gate
because there is a small opening in the gate. He stated that he has seen a child squeeze
through the gate before. He indicated that they had 10 children that they brought back to
the daycare. When asked if he checked the van to ensure no children were left on the
van, he indicated that he did not get on the van to see if any childien were left on the van
but he did look inside the van from standing outside of the van. He stated that he does
_________ ----~n0tbeli€vtfGhildA was-leftoILthe van because he would have noticed that on the second(
van run. He also stated that he locked the gate backup~he~ aif~fthe-clrildren' were .
inside of the building. Mr. Phipps infOrIJ1edus that he was being charged with child
endangerment, child negl~t, and child abuse. . , -
Interview with Parent A (February 10,2012 via telephone): . _-
I contacted Parent A via telephone on February 10, 20li Parent A informed me that Ms"
Lavonder Torrence called her at 3:30pm on February-7~ 2012 and informed her that there
had been an incident at the facility concerning her daughter(Clrlld A) and she wanted to
- ':find outnioreabout what happened. Parent A stated that she asked Ms. Torrence what
happened. Parent A said that Ms. Torrence informed her that Child A was Qrought into
the facility at 10:45am by a stranger. Ms. Torrence told her thatthe stranger found Child
A otitSideand brought her back into the facility." Parent A said that Ms. Torrence told her
that Child A,was crying, when the stranger brought her ili; Parent A said that she asked

Ms. Torrence if she asked the man what his name was. Ms. Torrence informed her that
he brought her right in to the desk and let her hand go and just walked right back out.
Parent A said that sheaskecl her why she didn't get the man's name. Ms. Torrence said
to her again that he left very quickly. Parent A said that she then asked what time the van
arrived at the daycare. Ms. Torrence informed her that she couldn't be exactly sure about
"thetime the van arrived but she believes the van arrived between 9:00am-9:20am. Parent
A said she asked Ms. Torrence how her child could be unaccounted for, for over an hour,
and no one know. She then asked Ms. Torrence why she did not immediately notifY her.
Per Parent A, Ms. Torrence told her that she was trying to investigate the situation to
gather more information. She said that Ms; TorreIicegot silent and began stuttering her
words. It was at this time that Parent A said that she hung up the phone on Ms. Torrence.
Parent A stated that she needed to calm down and get her thoughts together. Parent A
said that she called Ms. Torrence back five minutes later and told her that she would be
up there with the authorities later.
STATUTE/RULE(S) VIOLATED
Based on the information obtained through the interviews noted above and by
observations made by CCFS Shalinda Wallace and Caron Ahlemeyer, the following rule
violations have been substantiated:
19 CSR 30-62.082 (1) (A) which states: "The premises shall be safe and suitable for the
" care of children."
AND
19 CSR 30-62.082 (2) (A) 9. which states: "The facility shall be clean at all times and
free of dirt, insects, spiders, rodents or other pests."
AND
19 CSR 30-62.092 (1) (A) 1. which states: "All furniture and equipment shall be
constructed safely, in good condition and free of sharp, loose or pointed parts. Only lead
free paint shall be uSed." "
On February 8, 2012 Wallace and Ahlemeyer observed two of the "vehicles "usedto
transport children to be dirty,to have torn seats, trash over flowing, aOOta have"brqken
seat belts. "
19 CSR 30-62.092 (1) (A) 2 . .which states: "Furniture and equipment shall be arranged
to provide a clear passage to all exits."
Wallace and Ahlemeyer observed the door which leads to an outside exit to be blocked
with several carseats in the infant/toddler room. "
"19 CSR 30-62.102 (l1iB) :which states: "Day care personnel shall cooperate with the . "
department." "
AND

19 CSR 30-62.222 (8)which states: "All enrollment records, medical examination
records and attendance records shall be filed in a place known to caregivers and shall be
accessible at all times. Records shall not be in a locked area or removed from the facility
during the hours the facility is open and operating."
AND "
19 CSR 30.;62.222 (17) which states: "Reports to the department shall be submitted as
required. "
Caron Alhemeyer called the facility oryFebruary 9, 2012 to request attendance and
transportation sign in and out records of the children at the day care and the owner
Jubril Hassan informed her that the records were locked up and that he did not have
access to the children's records. He informed Ms. Alhemeyet that the director had the
key to the office and that she had been taken away by the police. The records requested
were not produced -
19 CSR 30-62.102 (1) (J) which states: "All staff shall acquaint themselves with the
child abuse and neglect law and shall make a report of any suspected child abuse or
neglect to the Division of Family Services at the toll free number, 1-800-392-3738."
The licensing r'f:lleviolation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence. She
stated that she did not notify the proper authorities that a 2 year old child was found
outside the facility by Jerry Monroe on February 7, 2012. Ms. Torrence stated that she
was instructed by Funmi Hassan not to tell anyone about the incident.
19 CSR 30-62.112 (1) (A) which states: "The following stafflchild ratios shall be
maintained on the premises at all times: (A) Birth Through Two (2) Years. Groups
composed of mixed ages through two (2)-years shall have no less than one (l) adult to
four (4) children, With no more ,than eight (8) children in agroup;"
-~ "
-19 CSR30:62-~182-(l-)-(D} 10 w"hich-st-ate--s:-'-'Infantsandto.ddler.s_shalL4~ye_constant care
and supervision." -- --- -- - - -- - -
While completing an observation at Educare Chile! Development Center on Fibruary8,
2012, it was observed that one staff (Ms. Joyce Carr) Jeft the "toddler unit thus, putting the
facility out of ratio. In this particular section, there was one staff tofour toddlers. When
the teacher (Ms. Carr) left the room, (heother-teacher (Ms. !iola Winder) from the
adjacent area (which was divided) le/t-thaiarea making that area one teacher (Ms.
Adrienne Fox) to seven toddlers. -'"
19 CSR 30-62.182 (I) (A) 1. which states: "Caregivers shall not leave any child without -
competent adult supervision."
-~

19C5R 30-62.212 (1) (A) whiCh states: "The provider shall be responsible for the care,
safety and supervision of children on field trips or at any time they transport children
away from the facility."
AND _
19 CSR 30-62.212 (3) (G) which states: "Children shall not be left unattended in a
vehicle at any time." -
AND '.
19 CSR 30-62.182 (1) (Aj 2. which states: "A caregiver personally shall admit each
child upon arrival and personally shall dismiss each child upon departure. Children shall
be disIDissed only to the parent(s), guardian, legal custodian, or to individuals approved -
by the parent(s), guardian, or legal custodian." .
AND _.
19C5R 30-62.182 (1) (A) 3. which states: "Caregivers shaJ.1provide frequent, direct
contact so children are not left unobserved on the premises."
The licensing rule violations are based on statements made by lavender Torrence, Jerry
Monroe, Patrice Wren, Chevron Love, Child A, Child A's brother, Maurice Phipps, van
driver, and Tiarra MarMey, van monitor. On February 7,2012, ChildA, a two year old
child, was transported by Educare, Inc. in afacility van. Both Maurice Phipps and
Tiarra Marbley stated that they picked Child A up from her home and they transported
her to Educqre, Inc. Child A stated that she fell asleep in the van, she got out of the van
herself, she stated she was outside alone and she stated she was scared. Child's A
brother stated that his sister, Child A, fell asleep in the van while she was seated in the
last row of seats. He stated that he went into school and his sister stayed in the van.
Jerry Monroe, who works at a nearby business, stated that on February 7, 2012, he went
outside to smoke and heard a child pulling on the gate and screaming. He stated he
walked the little girl into thefacility at approximately.] 0:45.am. Patrice Wren stated
that tbevan arrived at to thefacility at 9:45 or 10:00 on February 7,2012. Ms. Wren
stated that she saw Child'~ A brother come in but she never saw Child A. Ms. Wren
stated she took her class outside at 10:00 am, they:were outsidefor an hour. Ms. Wren
--- --'-'---'~-----st{j.lea sh-e"sawChildA-for thefirst time .that_dayw.henshe_c.am.e..irl#d~with her. class.
She noticed that Child A was sad and asked her why-she had afrownon her lace. She--heard
Us. Love ask Child A where she had. been and Child Asaid she was outside crynng.
Chevron Love stated that she arrived at the facility at 8am on February 7,-2012. She .'
.'could tlotrecall what timethevan arrived. She indicated that around 9:00 she got called
in with Ms. Torrence to help with payrolL Ms. Love. said that she went back into the
classroom around 1l:40 am. She stated that shesaw Child A for the first time that day
around 10:45am at the coat rack and Child A was crying. Ms. To"ence also stated that
she did not see Child A until approximately 1O~.45 am wheJl she was brought into the
facility by the man next door. .'
..- .
'19 CSR 30-62.182 (2) (C} 1. which states: "Daily activities for infan:-tsand toddlers shall .
include: 1.Developmental and exploratory play experiences and free choices of play
appropriate to the interests, needs, and desires of infantsaild toddlers;'; .
. .

AND
19 CSR 30-62.182 (2) (C) 3. which states: "Daily activities for infants and toddler~ shall
include: 3. A -supervised nap period that meets the child's individual needs. Unless a
written exception from a child's physician is on file -atthe facility, a child under twelve
(12) months of age shall be placed on his/h.er back to sleep. An infant's head shall remain
uncovered during sleep. After awakening, an infant may remain in the crib as long as s/h.e
is content, but never for periods longer than thirty (30) minutes. Toddlers shall be taken
out of bed for other activities when they awaken;" .
While completing ratio CQuntsand other observationsofthefacility on February 8, 2012,
Caron Alhemeyer andl noticed an infant was sleeping in car seat for at least an hour.
The staff Angela Crawfordand Shameika Daniels informed us that the infant was in the
car seat because he would be leaving soon. The infant did not leave until anhour later.
The infant was not placed on his back while he was asleep and was allowed to sleep in a
car seat for an hour.
19 CSR 30-62.192 (5) (A) which states: "In case of accident or injury to a child, the
provider shall notify the parent(s) immediately. If the child requires emergency medical
care, the provider shall follow the parent's(s') written instructions."
AND
19 CSR 30-62~192(5) (B) which states: "Information regarding the date and'
circumstance of any accident or injury shall be noted in the child's record."
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence and
Aldisha Smith Ms. Torrence stated that on February 7,2012, a two year old child, Child
A, was brought back into thefacility by the mechanic next door at approximately 10:45
am. Ms. Torrence stated that she did not call Child A's mother to notify her of the
incident until 3:30 pm. Parent A confirmed that she was not notified o/the incident until
3:30 pm on February 7, 2012. . - -'
T9- CSR 3o-':'blZ12-(2) (A}which states: '~Thedriver of any vehicie-used-totranspoR- -children
shall be no less than eighteen (18) years of age and shall have a valid driver's
-li~nse as required by Missouri law." .
Ms. Marbley-Hill informed us that she is a van driver and that she does transport/he
children. Her driver's license was checked to See if she had a Class E drivers lice~e or a
CDL drivers license and she did not have either of the two. .
. .
19 CSR 30-62.212 (3) (A) which states: "All children shall be seated in a permanent seat
and re~ained by seat belts or child restraint devices. as required by Missouri law." .'
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by ChildA, Parent BandTiara
Marbley, as well as by observations made by€CFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace.
Child's A brother, age 4, stated that neither he nor his two year old sister, ChildA~ were
in car seats when they were tranSported in a/acility van on February 7, 2012. Tiara

i.
Marbley, van monitor, stated that Child A, a twoyear old child, was not in a child safety
seat when she wastransportedjrom her home-to Educare on February 7, 2012. In
addition, on February 8,2012, at 4:10 pm, CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace
_observed Jubril Hassan and Angela Marbley walk into the building with 15 children.
Jubril Hassan had driven these children in the facility van and Angela Marbley was the
assistant monitor. Ms. Marbley stated she sat in the jrontrdw passenger seat. - The van
- used to transport the children was the van with license plate UC8 T7C, with only lo'seats
_ with working seat belts. After all children were brought inside, CCFS Ahlemeyer and -
CCFS Wallace observed the van with two booster seats in place;' no seats came off the
van with the children. The names and ages of each child transported on the van at that
time were documented. Ages of the children were two 3-years-old, two 4-years-old, four
5-years-old, three 6~years-old, two 7-years-old, one 8-years-old, and one 9-years-old.
This required that two children be in car seats and eleven children be in booster seats.
Ms. Marbley stated that she remembered buckling afew children in but after the first few
she would just help them in to the carandlell them to buckle themselves in. While at the
facility, Caron Ahlemeyer asked Angela Marbley-Hill to show her how to properly
install a car seat in the van. Ms. Marbley properly installed the car seat. When Ms.
Ahlemeyer asked the Ms. Liz Bankhead, who isa bus monitor, toproperly install a car
seat, she was not able to properly install the car seat. Ms. Ahlemeyer asked Ms. Lisa
Watts, who is a van driver, to properly install the car seat; she was not able to properly
install the car seat.
19 CSR 30-62.212 (3) (L) which states: "Head counts shall be taken before leaving the
facility, after entering the vehicle, during afield trip, aftertaking the children to
bathrooms, after returning to the vehicle and when back at the facility."
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Maurice Phipps and Tiara
Marbley. Mr. Phipps stated that he did not count the children as they entered the van on
February.7, 2012. Ms. Marbley said that she and Mr. Phipps picked up between 15 and
18 children~thiJt morning. -Both Mr. Phipps-and Ms. "Marbley statedthat _theydid rJQf. ---.:.-----. --.
count the children when they took theminside~ __
19 CSR 30.;62.212 (3)(M) which.states: "When children leave the vehicle, the vehicle.
shall be inspected to ensure that no children are left on or under seats." ~
. .
The licensing rule violation is based onstatements made by Lavonder Torrence, Child A,
.ChildA 's brother,: Parent A and ParentB, stating that Child A was left on the van. Ms.
Torrence stated that Child A informed her that Mr. Phipps left her pn the van. Child A
stated to us (Wallace, Alhmeyer,.Shanna Fowler and Detectoive Sullivan), parent, A, and
Parent B thalMr; Phipps left her on the van and she was crying. She informed us that
she let herself oilt of the van. The van monitor TiarraMarbleyand the vandriver .
..Maurice Phipps did not inspect the van to ensure not children were left on the van.-

19 CSR 30-62.222 (1) which states: "The child"care provider shall maintain accurate
records to meet administrative rc:quirements and to ensure knowledge of the individual
needs of children and their fanlilies."
AND
19 CSR 30-62.222 (6) which states: "Daily child attendance records shall be maintained
"and kept on file a mininium of one (1) year."
AND
19 CSR 30-62.222 (7) which states: "Daily staff and volunteer attendance records shall
be maintained and kept on file a minimum of one (1) year."
This lif;ensing rule violation is based on statements made by Maurice Phipps, Tiara
Marbley and Lavon,der Torrence. Maurice Phipps and Tiara Marbley stated they sign
children in when they pick them up, however, children are not signed out until the
children are taken home. SCCR staffrequested to see the sign in sheet that is maintained
in the van, however, it was not produced Ms. Torrence stated that she takes attendance
for the facility during the day. She stated that she walks through the classrooms and
takes a head count and then by memory, Ms. Torrence marks a uP" on the attendance
sheet to indicate a child is present on the sheet that she keeps in her office. Ms.
Torrence stated that she did not take attendance on February 7, 2012 .
. 19 CSR 30-62.222 (16) which states: "All records shall be available in the facility for
inspection by fhedepartment upon request."
.The licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence. Ms.
Torrence was asked to provide Uswith Transportation attendance log. This information
was not available for inspection upon our req7:lest.
Corrections:
On February 10, 2012, the lIcense was immediately suspended .
....

Missouri Department of Health 'and Senior Services
P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570 -Phone: 573-751-6400 FAX: 573-751-6010
RELAY MISSOURI for Hearing and Speech Impaired 1-800-735-2966 VOICE 1-80Q..735-2466
Margaret T. Donnelly
Oirector
February 10,,2012
Hand Delivered
and'via Certified Mail # 7008 0500 0000 9472 8695
Jubril Hassan, Board President
Educate, Inc. d/b/a Educare Early Childhood Center
25 Heather Hill Lane
St.Louis, M063132
.~ .. "
RE: Immediate Suspension Letter - DVN # 000728010
Dear Mr. Hassan,
www,health.rno.gov.
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor
The Missouri Departn:ient of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Section for Child Care Regulation
(SeCR) records indicate that Educare, Inc. owns and operates a licensed child care center located at
6814 Natural BridgeRoad, St. Louis, MO 63121. This letter is to notify youthatthe Missouri
Department of Health and Senior Service:;, through its Section for Child Care Regulation (SCCR), is ,
immediately suspending the child care license for Educare, Inc. d/b/a Educare Early Childhood Center.
The license is being immediately suspended because the SCCR has learned that a tWo (2) year old child
was left in the facility van after being picked up from her home by your facility staff on February 7,
2012. The childwas left in the van at approximately 9:30 am on that date. At approximately 10:45arn,
a mechanic from a business located next to your child care facility heard the child screaming and
banging on the fence to get in, retrieved her and took her into the center. In addition, Lavonder
Torrence, facility director, neglected to call the parent or the proper authorities to l'eport the incident.
Ms. Torrence stated that she called Ms. Hassan and was instructed not to tell anyone of the incident.
___ .-~.:.Thisdoesnot.demonstrate.that Educare,lnc.js.able toprovid.e_a.safe_eu\'iI:onrnepJ fo~fhlidJ~rl.
DHSS/SCCR has the authority to create rules and l'egulations "to establish standards of service and care
to b~rendered'; to children by licensed child care providers.IDHSS/ SCCR is authorized to
.immediatelysuspeild Ii day care license "if the department ofhea,lthand senior services finds that there
is ,a threat of in;rrIlinent bocIilyharrn to the children in care.,;2
.You may appeal this decision to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The
, appeal. must be made in writing and mus~ be receive'd' within ten (1 0) days from the. date of this
letter. Failuretoappeal this immediate suspension or if the department's :decision to immediately
1UnderSectiml210.i~Ll(3);RSMo (SlJPp'20W). Seess210.201-210.259, RSMo (Supp2010) and 19
CSR30-6LOlO - 19 CSR 30-61.220. . .
2 Section 210.245.4 RSMo(Supp2010).
. . . . Healthy Missourians for life. . ... . •
The Missouri Departmerit of Health and Senior Services will be the leadE;!rinpl'omoting, protecting .and partriering for health,
. . .) . . . .
_AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY I AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER: Services providedori a nondiscrtminaiory basis.

suspend your license is upheld by the hearing officer, you maybe placed on the Family Care
Safety Registry pursuant to Section 210:900 to 210.936,RSMo (Supp 2010). Send your request for
appeal to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Section for Child Care-
Regulation, P. O. Box 570, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102. Direct your request to the atientionof
Sue Porting, Assistant Section Administrator. The funumber for Ms. Porting is (S73)S26~5345.
, The following violations are the basis for the immediate suspension:
On or_about February 8, 2012, the SCCR received a complaint alleging that . DOB
3/4/09) was dropped off at the day care at 9:30 am on February 7, 2012. An auto mechanic from next
door found the child at 10:45 am and brought the child to the center and asked if the child was supposed
to be there. He told facility staff that he found the child outside.
On or about Febru.ary 8, 2012, Sharina Fowler told CCFS Ahlem~ Wallace that Maurice
Phipps, van driver, and Tiara Marbley, van monitor, picke~ up _ (2 yrS old) from, her
home on February 7, 2012, in the Educare van and brought her to the facility at approximately 9:30 am
They then went on another van run to pick up one more child and brought him back to the center.
On or about February 8, 2012; CCFS Caron Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace, along with Sharma Fowler
and Detective Sullivan interviewed Jerry Monroe. Mr. Monroe is an auto mechanic from Auto Concepts
. next door to the -day care center. Mr. Monroe stated that on February 7,2012, he went outside to smoke
and heard a child pulling on the gate and screaming. He went over to the littl~ girl and asked her if she
wanted to go inside. She ~aid, "yes". He walked her in to the facility at approximately 10:45 am and
asked thelady at the front desk if she belonged in there. The lady said, "yes" and he left.
- 0
On or about February 8, 2012, Lavonder Torrence, director, was mterviewed by. CCFS Caron
Ahlemeyer and CCFS Shalinda Wallace along with Sharma Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly HillsPolice Department. Ms~ Lavonder stated that prior to February 8, 2012, children would be
dropped off by the van driver in the back at the locked fence. The fence would be unlocked and the
children led in to the facility and then the children were allowed to walk totheir classrooms themselves .
.Ms. Torrence contradicted herself by then saying that the van driver and the monitor walk the children to
-theirclassroomby.the.ages of -the childrea-AtttmdanGe is-only taken by taking aJIe.ad..-.C.!:mnt
classrooms andthen by memory, Ms. -Torrence marks a "P" on the attendance sheet that she keeps in her
office. On February 7, 2012, Mr. Phipps told Ms. Torrence that he brought ~ to her classromn
where Ms. Patrice Wren was the teacher. Ms. Wren told Ms. Torrericethatshe had not seen_
that morning. Ms. Torrence said that she believes that "'was left on the van but she does not
know how she got.offofthe van... . )told Ms. TOlTence she was cryingbecauseMr._~.,.hipps left
her .on the van. Ms. Torrence said that it is in tbeirpolicy to check the van after they drop'-otr the kids. ,
Ms. Torrence could not find the policy to show it to CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace.-Ms.
. Torrence statedt1lat_~ stranger walked. 8in at 10:45 am-and she called' the parent at 3:30 pm to .
. tell her what had happened. The parent,was very unhappy with her and hung up'on her but then 'called ..
backto tell her she was on her way there with: the authorities. . - ,.
.'. On or,abotrtFebruary 7,2012, Chevrop Love, a teacher 'in the two year old Classroom, was interviewed
by CCFS Caron Ahlemeyer and CCFS Shalirida Wallace along with Shanna Fowler and Detective
Sullivan with the Beverly Hills Police Department Ms. Chevron Love said that she arrived to the
2
in Jh~.__

facility at8 am on February 7, 2012. 'She could not recall what time the van arrived. She indicated that
around 9:00 she got called in with Ms. Torrence to help with payroll. At this time, Ms. Wren took over
the class and there were nine (9) children total in the class. She stated that the 9 th child waSmoved with
either Ms. Tandra Miller or Ms. Liz Bankhead's group. Ms. Love said that she took the classback over
around i1:40 am. She indicated that she saw _ for the first time arounq 10:45 am at the coat
rack and'" was crying. She also said that there are not set times for doing counts, theyjust see
kids come in~
On or about February 7, 2012, Patrice Wren, office manager, was interviewed by CCFS Caron
AWemeyer and CCFSShalinda Wallace along with Shallni Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills PoliceDepartment. Ms. Wren stated that she werttinto the 2's room to relieve Ms~Love
because Ms. Torrenceneeded Ms. Love in the office to help her. The van arrived at 9:45 or 10:00. Ms.
Wren stated that she Saw_'sbrother come in but she never saw a She said that the
drivers do not bring the kids to the classrooms, the kids know where to go. Ms. Wren took her class
outside at1 0:00 am, they were outside for an hour. Ms. Wren stated that she took her class of two year
aIds outside; she had thirteen (13) children. Ms. Wren said she took them outside so she could be in
ratio. Ms. ,Wren said that if she ~akesthem outside, she can have more thaneight (8) children. Ms.
Wren said that while she was outside with her class, she saw Mr.Phipps taking out the trash when they
were in the process of going back inside. Ms. Wren said to Mr. Phipps, "Mr. Phipps, don't let that little
-- boy out the gate." The gate was locked when Mr. Phipps went back inside. Ms. Wren saw'" for
the first time when they came inside. ' She yelled for the cook to bring some lunch for her. She noticed
that ••• awas sad and asked her why she had a frown on her face. She heard Ms. Love ask
, --"where she,wasand'~ said she was outside crying.
On or about February 8, 2012, and her mother, AIdisha Smith were interviewed by
CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace, along with Shanna Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills Police Department. • said that Mr. Phipps drives her in the van and she said, "Mr.
Phipps don't get'me out". She said that she fell asleep and she was outside by herself and scared.
_stated that she opened the van door by herself. Aldisha Smith stated that she was notified.by
Ms. Torrence at 3:30 pm about the incident. Ms. Smith stated that she did receive an incident report
when she arrived at the facility.
On or about February 7, 2012, ~ brother, was interviewed by CCFS Caron
Ahlemeyer and CCFSShalindaWallace along with ShannaFowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills Police Department.~tated that his sister fell asleep on the bus. She was lying down
,on the seat; she was not in a car seat. M stated that he w~snot in a car 'seat either. When they got to
school, Mr. Phipps told •• to wake up his sister~ _said he did not want her to stay on the bus.
:went in to school and his sister stayed on the bus. "said his sister was iiJthe very back seat
and he was in front of her. . . " .
-
.' On or about F~bruary 8, 2012, CCFSAhlemeyer and CCFS Wallace went back to the child care center
, to. gather paperwork and interviewtnore staff. Ms. Torrence stated that she did not call •••• 's
parents until 3:30 pm to infonn them of the incidentbecause she had been to.ldby Ms. Funmi Hassan not
to tell anyone about th~ incident. Ms~Torrencedid'not notify the proper authorities of the incident.
3

On February 8, 2012,CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace viewed the interiors of both vans used by
, . .
the facility. The vap used to transport is the van with license plateUC8 T7C; the van is
a 14 passenger vehicle~ The van was observed to not be in good condition in that three seats were torn
with foam exposed; stains were observed on all seats, armrests, floors, and the ceilings; and the debris, .
dirt, and food particles were observed throughout the seats and floors. Lavonder Torrrence was asked to
buckle each seat to confirm that all seat belts worked in the van.. Gfthe 13 seats in the rear, of the van,
only 9 seats were observed'with working seat belts.
On February 8, 2012; CCFS Ahlemeyerand CCFS .Wallace viewed the interior of the 2 nd van used by
the facility with license plate UD4 H2R; the van is a'14passenge't vehicle. The vall was observed to not
be in good condition in that three seats were torn with foam exposed; stains were observed on all seats,
arm rests, floors, and the ceilings; and the debris, dirt, and food particles were observed throughout the
seats and floors. Lavonder Torrrence was asked to buckle each seat to confirm that all seat belts worked
in the van. Of the 13 seats in the rear of the van, only 10 seats were observed with working seat belts.
This vah was observed with a booster seat already in place in one of the seats without a working seat
belt.
On February 8, 2012, at 4: I 0 pm, 15 walked in to the building with Angela Marbley & Jubril Hassan
after having just been' picked up and transported to the faCility. Jubril Hassan was the driver and Angela
Marbley was the ,assistant monitor. Ms. Marbley stated she sat in the front row passenger seat. The van
used to transport the children was the 14 passenger van with license plate De8 T7C, with only 10 seats
with working seat belts. After all. children were brought inside, CCFS A4lemeyer and CCFS Wallace
observed the van with,two booster seats in place; no seats caIne off the van with the children. The
names" and ages of each child transported on the van at that time were documented. Ages of the children
were two 3~year-olds, two 4-year-olds, four 5-year-olds, three 6-year-olds, two 7-year-olds, one 8-yearold,
and one 9-year-old. This required that two children be in carseats and eleven children be in booster
seats. Ms. Marbley stated that she remembered buckling a few children in but after the first few she
would just help them into ,the car and tell them to buckle themselves in.
"
On or about February 9, 2012, CCFS Ahlemeyer spoke with Jubril Hassan, board president, and he
informed CCFS Ahlemeyerthat Lavender Torrence had been picked up and arrested at the facility .
.~----' C,CFS..t\hJemey..e.[called~the Beverly Hills Pol-iceDeparUfwnt and was--im-ermed-that-MlimricePhippsand--
, Tiarra Marbley, van monitor, were also arrested for child endangerment
'incident
related to the February 7, 2012,
..
On or about February 10, 2012, CCS Nancy Scherer and CCFSWallace interviewed Lavonder
Torrence, at the S1.Louis County jail holdingcel1..Ms. Torrence stated that she called_s mom"
at 3 :30 -3:45 pm onFebruary 7, 2012, to telLthe mother about the incident.' When Ms; Torr~nce called
Aldisha Smith, ~mom, she told Ms. Smith that a gentleman from the establishment across the
parking lot hrought her child ..... and the phone went dead. Ms. Torrence stated,that Ms. AIdisha Smith
hung up on her. Ms. Torre:p.cecall.edMs. Smith back and Ms. Smith said she was coming to pick up her
kids and~ked howlate she would be th~:r:e. The children's grandfather picked the children up" Ms;
Smith told her that she would be there with the authorities. Later that evening, Ms. Smith and the police
showed up'at the day care. M~.Torren0'~

normally does. When asked what she believes happened on February 7,2012, Ms. Torrence stated that
she first saw at approximately 10:45 ani on that day when the man next door brought
her into the facility. Ms. Torrence stated that she believes what "'and _ hirve said,
which is that_was left alone in the van. Ms. Torrence saidshe is being charged with child
. endangerment, child abuse and child neglect. . ,
On or about 'February 10,2012, CCS Nancy Scherer and CCFSWallace interviewed Tiara Mal'bley at
the S1. Louis County jail holding cell. Ms. Marbley stated that she is the van monitor at Educare and has
been the monitor for two (2) weeks. Ms. Mar-bley stated that Maurice Phipps is the van driver. She
stated that they picked up at 8:04 on the momingof February 7, 2012. Ms. Marbley .
stated she signed ._in the book. She stated they don't sign kids off the van when they take them
into the day care, they only sign them out when they take them back home. Ms. Marbley stated that
after they picked up _ they picked up more kids, dropped some off at school, picked l,lPmore
children 'and went to the day.care. She stated they picked up fifteen (15) to eighteen (18) children all
together but only took ten (10) children back to the day care; the other children were dropped off at
school. Ms. Marbley stated when they arrived at the day care at approximately 9:30 am, they pulled to
the back gate and Mr. Phipps opened the gate. She stated that normally they open the door and Mr.
Phipps takes. the kids in. Ms. Marbley stated that she takes the babies in, but there weren't any babies on
the van that morning so she helped Mr. Phipps take walk the children inside. She stated she was
carrying one child that was half asleep. She said that she specifically remembers seeing •••. walk
to her class that morning. She said that the kids know where to go when they get in the building. She
said that she looked in the van and looked'in all seats' and no children were .left in there. Ms. Marbley
stated that she and Mr. Phipps left to go on another van run at 9:30 am and made it back to the day care
at approximately 9:50 am. She stated they picked up one child on this run, a two year old child. He was
the only child on the van.. She stated that when they arrived back at the day care, she checked the van
again and no children were left in the van. Ms. Marbley said that some of the kids have car seats and
that all of the seat belts in the van work. She stated that 2liIIE Was not in a car seat. Ms.
Marbley said that j was in Ms. Patrice Wren's Class in the morning and Ms. Wren took the
children outside that morning. Ms. Marbley stated that _ was outside with the class and she
believes that ~ust have slipped through the gate. Ms. Marbley stated that Ms. Wren had too
. many children that morning and could not watch all of them. Ms; Marbley said that'- was not
-- ._~_.g~epy .t:b,;;].t. morning; she.was ina .good mood. She stated that other- mornings, ~ries-for-her'
mom and Ms. Marbley has to carry her in to the day care center, Ms. Marbley has not seen a .
transportation policy but she learned from the person before her what she is supposed to do. Ms:
Marbley said she is being charged with child endangerment, child abuse aild child neglect.
On or aboutFebruary 10,.2012, CCS Nancy Scherer and CCFS Wallace interviewed MauricePhippsat
, the Sf: Louis CountY jail holding cell. Mr. Phipps said that he is the van .driver for Educare .. Mr. Phipps
stated they picked.~p at 8:05 am on February 7, 2012, and returned to the.day care around 9: 10 '
-9: 15 am. ' He said he got out of the van, went around and helped the children get out Ms. Marbley got"
'in the van and helped the children out and they both helpe~ the children to their classes. Mr. Phipps said
he did not 'see any kids in the van. He stated he stood outside of tllevan and looked in. Mr. Phipps
.stated that Ghildren are signed in when they pick them up. on the van but not signed out untiLthey drop
them back off at home. Mr. Phipps stated that both he and Ms. Marbley walked in to the facility with
the children. Mr. Phipps said he did not count the children and he did not get in the van andJook in each
seat to enslire.that no children were left in the'vehicle, he looked from outside. He stated he'specifically
• ' , I "
5

emembers taking all of the kids in the building but ..cannot specifically remember each child
individualiy so he couId not say if _ was in the group when they took the children inside. Mr.
..Phipps stated that after dropping off the first group of children, they Ieft to get one more child. He stated
. they returned to the day care atapproxirn:ately 9:40 am with one more two (2) year old child .. Mr.
Phipps stated that Ms. Patrice was taking the two year old class outside. Mr. Phipps said there is a small
opening in the gate and he has seen a child squeeze through that opening before. Mr. Phipps said he is
being charged with child endangermegt, chilct abuse and child neglect. . . .
Onor about February 10,2012, CCFS Wallace called Ms. Aldisha Smith. Ms. Smith stated that Ms.
Lavonder Torrence calied her at 3:30 pm on February 7, 2012 and informed her that there had been an
incident at the facility concerning her daughter and she wanted to find out more about what happened ..
Ms. Smith stated that she asked Ms. Torrence what happened. Ms. Smith said that Ms. Torrence .
informed her that _was brought into the facility at 10:45 am by a stranger. Ms. Torrence told
her that the stranger found • .outside and brought her 'back into the facility. Ms. Smithsaid that
•• _.was crying when the stranger brought her in. Ms. Smith said that she asked Ms. Torrence if
she asked the man what his name was. Ms. Torrence informed her that he brought her right in to the
desk and let her hand go and just walked right back out. Ms. Smith said that she asked her why she
didn't get the man's name. Ms. Torrence said to heragain that he left.very quickly. Ms. Smith said that
she then asked what time the van arrived at the daycaie. Ms. Torrence informed her that she couldn't be
exactly sure about the time the van arrived but she believes the van arrived between 9:00 am-9:20 am.
Ms. Smith said she asked Ms. Torrence how her child could be unaccounted for, for over an 40ur and no
one know. She then asked Ms. Torrence why she did not immediately notify her. Ms. Srriith stated that
Ms. Torrence told her that she was trying to' investigate the situation to gather more information; She
said that Ms. TOITencegot silent and began stuttering her words. It was at this 11methat Ms. Smith said
that she hung up the phone on Ms. Torrence. Ms. Smith stated that she needed to calm down and get her
thoughts together. Ms. Smith said that she called Ms. Torrence back five minutes later and told her that
she would coming to the facility with the authorities later.
The rule and statute violations as set forth below represent a threat of imminent bodily harroto the
children in your care:
. ._J9.CSR 3f)-64.Hl2 (l)_(J). whichstates:."AlLstaffshall-acquaintthemselveswiththechildalmse-and- . .__ ._._...
. neglect law and shall make a report of any suspected childabuse or neglect to the Division of Family
Services at the toll freenumber, 1-800-392-3738." . .
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence. Shes:tated that she did
..not notify the proper authorities that a 2 year old child was found outside the facility by Jerry Monroe on
. February?, 2012. Ms. Torrence stated that she was instructed by Fumni Hassan not to tell anyone B:bout.
the incident. .
19 CSR 30-62.182(1) (A)J. which states: "Caregiverssb~l not leave any child without competent
adult supervisIon." . . .
19 CSR 30'"62.182(1) (A) 3. whi~bstates:"Caregivets shall p~ovide frequent, direct contact so
children are notIeftunobserved on the premises.~' . .
6

19 CSR 30-62212 (1) (A) which states: "The provider shall be responsible for the care, safety and
supervision of children on field trips or at any time they transport children away from the facility."
19 CSR 30-~2.212 (3) (G) which states: "Children shall not be left unattended in a vehicle at anytime."
These licensing rule violations are based on statements made by LaVonder TOlTence, Jeny Monroe,
Patrice Wren, Chevron Love, ..•• , and . Maurice Phipps, van driver, and Tiarra
Marbley, van monitor. On February 7,2012, a two year. old child, was transported by .
Educare, Inc. in a facility van. Both Maurice Phipps and Tiarra Marbley stated that they picked
- . up from her home and they transpOlted her to Educare, Inc. -.-... stated that
she fell asleep in the van, she got out of the van herself, she stated she was oll~ide alone and she stated
she was scared ...••••• stated that his sister, _ fen asleep in the van while she was seated
in the last row of seats. He stated that he Went into school and his sister stayed in the van. Jerry
.Monroe, who works at a nearby business, stated that on February 7, 2012, he went outside to smoke and
heard a child pulling on the gate and screaming. He stated he walked the little girl into the facility at
approximately 10:45 am. Patrice Wren stated that the van arrived at to the facility at 9:45 or 10:00 on
February 7, 2012. Ms. Wren stated that she saw_s brother come in but she never saw_
..' Ms. Wren stated she took her class outside at 10:00 am, they were outside for an hour. Ms. Wren stated
she saw~forthe first time that day when she came inside with her class. She noticed that
- was sad and asked her why she had a frown on her face. She heard Ms. Love ask . •
where she had been and~ said she was outside crying. Chevron Love stated that she arrived at
the facility at 8 am on February 7, 2012. She could not recall what time the van arrived. She indicated
that around 9:00 she got called in with Ms. Torrence to help with payroll. Ms. Love said that she went
back into the classroom around 11:40.am. She stated that she saw~for the first time that day
around !0:45am at the coat rack and ~was crying. Ms. Torrence also stated that she did not see
door.
until approximately 10:45 am when she was brought into the facility by the man next
19 CSR 30-62.192 (5) (A) which states: "In case of accident or injury toa child, the provider shall
notify the parent(s) immediately. Ifthechild requires emergency medical care, the provider shall follow
. the parent's(s') _written _in~~ctions."_.___ .
This licensing rule violatioIiis based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence and Aldisha Smith. Ms.
. .
Torren,ce stated that on February 7,2012, a two yearoldchild, was brought back into
the~. bl the m.'eChanic.~ext door at a.p..J)r~ximatel~ 10:45 am.. Ms. To:rence stated that she did n.ot
call~ mother to nonfy her of the mCldent unnI3:30pm.Ms. SmIth confirmed that she was not
notified of the incident until 3:30 pm on Februmy 7,2012'- .
, .
19 CSR.30-62.212 (3) (A) which states: "All children shall be seated in a pennanent seat and restrained
by:seatbeltsor child restraint devices as required by Missouri law."
This licensing rule viol.arion is basedon Statements made by_ and Tiara Marbley, as well as
. by observationsI11ad~ by CCFS Ahlemeyer ,and C

in a child safety seat when she was transported from herhome to Educare on February 7, 2012. In
addition, on February 8, 2012, at 4:10 pm, CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace observed J~bril Hassan
and Angela Marbley walk into the building with 15 children. Jubril Hassan had driven these children in
the facility van and Angela Marbleywas the assistant monitor. Ms. Marbley stated she sat in the.front
row passenger seat. The van used to transport the children was the van with license plate UC8 T7C,
with only I o seats with working seat belts. After all children were brought inside, CCFS Ahlemeyer and
CCFS Wallace observed the van with two booster seats in place; no seats came off the vall with the
children. The names and ages of each child transported on the van at that time were documented. Ages
. of the children were two 3-years-old, two 4-years-old, four 5-years-old, three 6-years-old, two 7-yearsold,
one 8-years-old, and one 9-years.,-0Id. This required that two children be in car seats and eleven
chlIdren be in booster seats. Ms. Marbley stated that she remembered buckling a few.children in but
after the first few she would just, help them in to the car and tell them to buckle themselves in.
This"li'censing rule violation is based on statements made by Ma~ce Phipps and Tiara Marbley. Mr.
Phipps stated that he did not count the children as they entered the van on February 7, 2012. Ms.
Marbley said that she and Mr. Phipps picked up between 15 and 18 children that morning. Both Mr.
Phipps and Ms. Marbley stated that they did not countthe children when they took them inside.
19 CSR 30-62.222 (1) which states: "The child care provider shall maintain accurate records to meet
a

.. "
Cc: Sue Porting, Assistant Section Administrator
Nancy Scherer, Child Care Supervisor
Nancy Smith, Child Care Facility Specialist
loi Cunningham, Legal C.oupsel
------------ --c-------~~------.""______;_ - - -
9 .
Sincerely,
~.lkJlfI!f
Kathy Quick, Administrator
Section for Child Care Regulation

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
P.O. Box.570, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570 Phone: 573-751-6400 FAX: 573-751-6010
RELAY MISSOURI for Hearing and Speech Impaired 1-800-735-2966 VOICE 1-800-735-2466
Margaret T. Donnelly
Director
February 10,2012
. Hand Delivered .
and Via Certified Mail Number 7008 0500 0000 9472 8701
Jubril Hassan, Board'President
Educare, Inc; d/b/a Educare Early Childhood Center
25 Heather Hill Lane
S1.Louis,"MO 63132
.RE: Revocation Letter - DVN # 000728010
Dear Jubril Hassan;
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor
The Mis~ouri Department of Health and"Senior Services (DHSS), Section for Child Care Regulation
(SCCR) records indicate that Educare, Inc. owns and operates a licensed child care center at 6814 "
Natural Bridge Road; St. Louis, MO 63121. This letter is to notify you that the Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services, through its Section for Child Care Regulation (SCeR), is revoking the child
care center license for Educar~, Inc. d/b/a Educare Early Childhood Center. The license is being
revoked because the SCCR has learned that a two (2) year old child was left in the facility van after
being picked up from her home by your facility staff on February 7; 2012. The child was left in the van
at approximately 9:30 am on that date. At approximately 10:45 am, a mechanic from a business located
next to your child care facility heard the child screaming and banging on the fence to get in, retrieved
her and took her into the center. In addition, Lavonder Torrence, facility director, neglected to call the
parentor the proper authorities to report the incident. Ms. Torrence stated that she called Ms. Hassan
and was instructed not to tell anyone of the incident. This does not demonstrate that Educare, Inc. is
ableto.provide ..a..safe_enyironmentforchildren.. .. .
LICENSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Your originalcblld care license was issued onJuly-10, 1996. Your curr~nt child care license was issued
on July 1,2010 and will expire oulune 30,-2012. This license allows you to care for 212 children, ages
birth through 13 years; 6:00am to 6:00 am: This license is further limited to no more than 32 children
in the infant/toddler unit; no more "than20 children under 12 months; Monday through Saturday.
FACTS REGARDING THE REVOCATION OFTRE LICENSE.
On or about February 8, 2012, the SCeR received a complaint alleging that (DOB
3/4/09) was dropped. off at the day care "at9:30 am on Febri:zary7,2QI2. An auto mechanic from nex~
"door foUnd the child at 10:45 am and brought the child to the center and asked if the child was supposed
"to be there~ "He told facility staff that he found the child outside. .'
1

o,~or, about F~bruary ~, 2.012, Shanna Fowler tol.d CCF,'S Ahlem. ;tECC. Wallace that Maurice
PhIppS, van drIver, and Tiara Marbley, vanmomtor, pIcked up (2 yrs old) from her
home on February 7, 2012, iIi the Educare van and brought her to the facility at approximately 9:30 am
They then went on another van run to pick up one more child and brought him back to the center.
On or about February 8, 2012,CCFS Caron Ahll,::meyer and CCFS Wal1ace~along with Sharma Fowler
and Detective Sullivan interviewed Jerry Monroe. Mr. Monroe is an auto mechanic from Auto Concepts
next door to the day care center. Mr. Monroe stated that on February 7, 2012, he went outside to smoke
and heard a child pulling on the gate and screaming. He went over to the little girl and asked her if she
wanted to go inside. She said, "yes". He walked her into the facility at approximateiy 10:45 am and
asked the lady at the front desk if she belonged in there. The lady said, "yes" and he left.
On or about February 8, 2012, Lavonder Torrence, director, was interview~d by CCFS Caron
Ahlemeyer and CCFS Shalinda, Wallace along with Shanna Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills Police Department. Ms. Lavonder stated that prior to February 8, 2012, children would be
dropped off 'by the vah driver in the back at the locked fence. The fence would be unlocked and the
children led in to the facility and then the children were allowed to walk to their classrooms themselves.
Ms. Torrence contradicted herself by then saying that the van driver and the m6nitorwalk the children to
their classroom by the ages of the children. Attendance is only taken by taking a head count in the
classrooms and thenby memory, Ms. Torrence marks a "P" on the attendance sheet that she keeps in her
office. On February 7,2012, Mr. Phipps told Ms. Torrence that he brought ~ to her classroom
where Ms. Patrice Wren was the teacher. Ms. Wren told Ms. Torrence that she had not seen F ,J
that morning. Ms. Torrence said that she believes that .'. was left on the van but she does not
know how she got off of the van. '--told Ms. Torrence she was crying because Mr. Phipps left
her on the van. Ms. Torrence said that it is in their policy to check the van after they drop off the kids.
Ms. Torrence could not find the policy to show it to CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace. Ms.
Torrence stated that a stranger walked ~in at 10:45 am and she called the parent at 3:30 pm to
tell her what had happened. The parent was very unhappy with her and hung ~p on her but then called
back to tell her she was on her way there with the authorities.
On or about February 7, 2012, Chevron Love, a teacher in the two year old classroom, was interviewed
---_.,~._.b¥ CCFS--Caron .Ahlemeyer and CCFSShalinda Wallace, along with Shanna- Fowler--and-Detective
Sullivan with the Beverly Hills Police DepartInent. Ms~ Chevron Love said thafshe arrived to the
facility at 8 am on February' 7, 2012. She could not recaIl what time the van arrived .. She, indicated that
.around 9:00 she got called iIi with Ms. Torrence to help with payroll. At this time, Ms. Wren took over
. the ciass and there were nine (9) children total in the class._ She s!ated that the''''9 th child was moved with '
either Ms. TandraMiller or Ms. Liz Bankhead's group. Ms. Love said that she took the ~lass back over
around 1I :40 am. She indicated that she saw~for the first time around 10:45 am afthe cmtt
rack arid ~as crying. She also said that there are not set ~mes for doing counts, they just see "
kids come in. '
. Dnor ab,out February 7, 2012, Patrice Wr:en, office manager, was interviewed by CCFS Caron
Ahlemeyer and CCFS Shalinda WallaceaI~mg with Sharma Fowler and Detective Sullivanwith the
Beverly Hills' Police Department Ms. Wrenstate4 that she went mto the 2' sroom to relieve Ms. Love
because, Ms. Torrence needed,Ms. Love in the office to help her. The van arrived at 9:45 or 10:00. Ms.
'Wren stated. that she saw ~sbrother come in but she never saw ~ :.She said that the

drivers do not bring the kids to the classrooms, the kids know where to go. Ms. Wren took her class
outside at 10:00 am, they were outside for an h(;)Ur.Ms. Wren stated that she took her class of two year
aIds outside; she had thirteen (13) children. Ms. Wren said she took them outside so she could be in
ratio .. Ms. Wren said that if she takes them outside, she can have more than eight (8) children.' Ms.
Wren said that while she wa~ outside with her cIass,~he saw Mr. Phipps taking out the trash wheri.they .
were in the process of going back inside. Ms. Wren. s;Udto Mr. Phipps, "Mr; Phipps, don't let that little
boy out the gate." The gate was locked whep. Mr. Phipps went back inside. Ms. Wren saw ~r
the first time when they cariJ.einside. She yelled for the cook to bring some lunch for her. She noticed
that ~as sad and asked her why she had a frown on her face. She heard Ms. Love ask I
••• ~jwhere she was and ~aid she was outside crying.
On or about February 8, 2012, •••••••• and her mother, Aldisha Smith were interviewed by
. CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace, along with Sharina Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills Police Department. •• said that Mr. Phipps drives her in the van and she said, "Mr.
Phipps don't get me out". She said that she fell asleep and she was outside by herself and scared.
_stated that-she opened the van door by herself. AIdisha Smith stated that she was notified by
Ms. Torrence at-3 :30 pm about the incident. Ms. Smith stated that she did receive an incident report
when she an'ived at the facility.
On or about February 7, 2012, _, _sbrother, was interviewed by CCFS Caron'
Ahlemeyer and CCFS Shalinda Wallace along with Sharma Fowler and Detective Sullivan with the
Beverly Hills Police Department. "stated that his sister fell asleep on the bus. She was lying down
on the seat; she was not in a car seat. ~ated that he was not in a car seat either. When they got-to
school, Mr. Phipps told __ to wake up his sister. "-said he did not want her to stay on the bus.
went in to school and his sister stayed on the bus. _said his sister was in the very back seat
and he was in front of her.
On or about February 8, 2012, CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace went back to the child care center
to gather paperwork and .interview more staff .. Ms. Torrence stated th~t she did not call .? ••
parents until 3:30 pm to inform them of the incident because she had been told by Ms. Funmi Hassan not
to tell anyone about the incident. Ms. Torrence did not notify the proper authorities of the incident
On February 8, 2012, CCFSAhlemeyer and CCFS Wallace viewed the interiors of both vans usedby
the facility. Thevan used to transport. is the van with licenseplate (lC8 Tic; the van is
a 14 paSsenger vehicle. The van was observed to.not be in good condition in that three seats were tom
with foam exposed;. stains. were observed on all seats, arm rests, floors, arid the cc:ilings; and the debris,
dirt, and food particleswereobseived throughout the seats and floors. Lavonder Torrrence was aSked to
buckle each seat to confmn that all seat belts worked in the van. Of the 1J seats in the rear of the van,
only 9 seats wereobl)erved with working seat belts.
0D: February 8~2012, CCFS Ahlemeyerand CCFS Wallaceviewed the interior of the 2 nd van used by
the faciiity with license plate 004 H2R; the yanis a 14 passenger vehicle. The van was observed to not
be in good condition in that three seats were torn with foam exposed; stains were observed on all seats,
armrests, floor,s, and the ceilings; andthe debris, dirt, and food particles were observed throughout the
seats and floors. Lavonder Torrrence was ~kedto buckle each seat to confiiJ:p.that all seat belts worked
iIi the van. Of the 13 seats in the rear of the van, only 1o seats were observed with working seat belts ..

.This van was observed with a booster seat already in place in one of the seatswithout a working seat
belt.
On February 8,2012, at 4:10 pm, 15 walked in to the building with Angela Marbley & Jubril Hassan
after having just been picked up and transported to the facility. Jubi-ilHassan was the driver and Angela
Marbley was-the assistant monitor. Ms. Marbley ~tated sp.e sat in the front row passenger seat. The van
used to transport the children was the 14 passenger van with licenseplate DC8 T7C, with only 10 seats
with working seat belts. After all children were brought inside, CCFS Ahlemeyer and CCFS Wallace
. observed the van with two booster seats in place; no seats came off the v~ with the children. The
names and ages of each child transported on the van at that time were documented. Ages of the children
were two 3-year-olds, two 4-year-olds, four 5-year-olds, three 6-ye&r-olds,two 7-year-olds, one 8-yearold,
and one 9.:;year-old.This required that two children be in car seats and eleven children be in'booster
seats. Ms. Marbley stated that she remembered buckling a few children iribut after the first few she
would just help them ip to the car and tell them to buckle themselves in.
On or about February 9, 2012, CCFS Ahlemeyer spoke with Jubril Hassan, board president, and he
informed CCFS' Ahlemeyer that Lavonder Torrence had been picked up and arrested at the facility..
CCFS Ahlemeyer called the Beverly Hills Police Department and was informed that Maurice Phipps and
Tiarra Marbley, van monitor, were also arrested for child endangerment related to the February 7,2012,
incident.
On or about February 10, 2012, CCSNancy Scherer' and CCFS Wallace interviewed Lavonder
Torrence, at the St. Louis Countyjail holding cell. Ms. Torrence stated that she called_s mom
at 3:30 - 3:45 pm on February 7, 2012, to tell the mother about the incident. When Ms. Torrence called
Aldisha Smith,_smom, she told Ms. Smith that a gentleman from the establishment across the .
parking lot brought her child..... and the phone went dead. Ms. Torrence stated that Ms. Aldisha Smith
,hung up on her. Ms. Torrence called Ms. Smith back and Ms: Smith said she was coming to pick up her
kids and asked how late she would be there. The children's grandfather picked the children up. Ms.
Smith told her that she would be there with the authorities. Later that evening, Ms. Smith and the police
showed up at the day care. Ms. Torrence stated that she called the owner, Ms. Hassan, to get advice on
what to do before she called Aldisha Smith. Ms. Hassan told' her not to call the mom. She said she
.~-- -knows she -sheuld have eal-ledearlier. Ms, TorreneeBaidshe.did. Bot take attendancethatda:y like she - -- ._. ~
. normally does. When asked what she believes happenedon february 7, 2012, Ms. Torrence stated that
she first sa~ . . at approximately 10:45.am on that day when the man next door brought.
her into the facility. Ms. Torrence stated that she believes what. ; • and . have said,
'which is th.at~was left alone in the van. Ms. Torrence said she is being charged with child
endangerment, child abuse and child neglect. .
. " . :". .' ." ~
On arabout February 10,2012, CCS Nancy Scherer and CCFS Wallace interviewed Tiara Marbleyat
the St. Louis County jail holding cell. Ms. Marbley stated that she is the van monitor at Educare and has
been the monitor for two (2) weeks. Ms. Marbley stated that Maurice Phipps is the van driver. She
stated tha~ they picked ~ up at 8:04 on the morning .of February 7,.2012. ;Ms. Marbley
stated she signed••••• in the book. She stated they don't sIgn kids off the van when they take them
Into.tJ1eday care~they only sign them out when' they take-them t>ackhome. Ms. Marbley stated,that.
after they picked up 7' they picked up more kids, dropped some off at school, picked up more.:
children and went to the day care. She stated they picked up fifteen (15) ~oeighteen(18) children all

together but only took ten (IO) children back to the day care; the other children were dropped off at
school. Ms. Marbley stated when they arrived at the day care at approximately 9:30am, they pulled to
the back gate and Mr. Phipps"opened the gate. She stated that normally they.open the door and Mr.
Phipps takes'the kids in. Ms. Marbley stated that she takes the babies in, but there weren't any babies on
the van that morning so she helped Mr. Phipps take walk the children inside. She stated she was
"carryingorie child that was half asleep. She said that she specifically remembers seeing•••• walk
to her class that morning. She said that the kids know where to go when they get in the building. She
said thatsp.e looked in the van and looked in aU seats and no children we'releft in there. Ms. Marbley
stated that she and Mr. Phipps left to go .onanother van run at 9:30 am and made it back to the day care .-;
at approximately 9:50 am. She stated they picked up one child on thisrun, a two year old child. He was
the only child on the van. She stated that when they arrived back at the day care. she checked the van
again and no children were left in the van. Ms. Marbley said that some of the kids have car seats and
that all of the seat belts in the van work. She stated that •••••• was not in a car seat. Ms..
Marb1eysaid that _ was in Ms. Patrice Wren's class in the morning and Ms. Wren took the
children outside that morning..Ms. Marbley stated that"_ was outside with the class and she
believes that __ must have slipped through the gate. Ms. Marbley stated that Ms. Wren had too
many children that morning and could not watch all of them. Ms. Marbley said that~was not
sleepy that morning; she was iiJ.a good mood. She stated that other mornings, _ cries for her
"mom and Ms. Marbley has to carry her in to the day care center. Ms. Marbley has not seen a
transportation policy but she learned from the person befo"reher what she is supposed to do. Ms.
Marbleysaid she is being charged with child endangerment, child abuse andchild neglect.
On or about February 10,2012, CCS Nancy Scherer and CCFS Wallaceinterviewed-Maurice Phipps at
the St. Louis Countyjail holding cell. Mr. Phipps said thathe is the van driver for Educare. Mr. Phipps
stated they picked~up at 8:05 am on February 7, 2012, and returned to the day care around 9:10
- 9:15 am. He said he got out of the van, went around and helped the childrel1get out. Ms. Marbley got
in the van and helped the children out and they both helped the children to their classes. Mr. Phipps said
he did not see any kids in the van. He stated he stood outside of the van and looked in. Mr. Phipps
stated that children are signed in when they pick them up on the van but not signed out until they drop
them back off at home. Mr. Phipps stated that both he and Ms. Marbley walked in to the facility with
the children; Mr.Phipps said he didPootcount the children and he did not get in the van and look in each
- ':seat-toensUre that no children were left in the vehicle, he looked from outside. He-stated-hespecifically'remerribers
taking all of theIGds. in the building but cannot specifically remember each child
individually so he couldnot say if _. was inthe group when they took the children in~ide. Mr.
Phipps stated that after dropping-off the first groupof children, they left to get one more child. He stated
they returned to the day care at approximately 9:40 am with one more two (2} year old child. Mr.
Phipps Stated that Ms. Patrice was taking the two year old class outside. Mr.'Phipps said th(;:reis a smaIl
opening in the gate and he has seen a child squeeze through that opening before. Mr. Phipps said he is
being charged with child endangerment, child abuse and child neglect. " .
. ,
.
'. .
On or about February 10. 2012, CCFS Wallace called Ms. Aldisha Smith. Ms. Smith stated that Ms.
LavonderTorrencecalled her at 3:30 pm on February 7, 2012 andinformed her that there had been an
incident at the facility concerning her daughter andshe wanted to find (mtmore about what happened.
Ms. Smith stated that she asked Ms. Torrence what happened. Ms. Smith said that Ms. Torrence
infonned her that _was~rought~nto the facility at 10:45.a:n by a str~~er. Ms: To~renc~told .
her that the strange~. ,outsIde and brought herbackmtothefaclhty. Ms. SmIth sald that

~was crying when the stranger brought her in. Ms. Smith s~.idthat she asked Ms. Torrence if
she asked the man what his narne was. Ms. Torrence informed her that he brought her right in to the
desk and let .her hand go and just walked right back out. Ms. Smith ~aid that she asked her'Why she
didn't get theman~s name. Ms. Torrence said to her again that he left very quickly. Ms. Smith said that
she then asked what tinie the van arrived at the daycare. Ms. Torrence informed her that she couldn't be
exactly sure abouHhe time the van arrived but she believes .the van arrived between 9:00 am-9:20 am.
Ms. Smith said she asked Ms. Torrence howher child could be unaccounted for, for over an hour and no
o.ne know. She then asked Ms. Torrence why she rlid not immediately notify her. Ms. Smith stated that
Ms. Torrence told her that she was trying to investigate the situation to gather more information. She
said that Ms. Torrence got silent and began stuttering her words. It was at this time that Ms. Smith said
_thatshe hung up the phone on Ms. Torrence. Ms. Smith stated that she needed to calm down and get her
thoughts together. Ms. Smith said that she called Ms. Torrence back five minutes later and told her that
she would coming to the facility with the authorities later.
RULE VIOLATIONS
Section 210.221.1 stating:
"The department of health shall have the following powers and duties:
(2) ... deny, suspend, place on probation or revoke the license of such person as fail to obey the
provisions of sections 210.201 to 210.245 or the rules and regulations made by the department."
19 CSR 30-62.102 (1) (J) which states: "All staff shall acquaint themselves with the child abuse and
neglect law and shall make a report of ariy suspected child abuse or neglect to the Division of Family
Services at the toll freenumber, 1-800-392-3738." .
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence. She stated that she did
not notify the proper authorities that a 2 year old child was Jound outside the facility by Jerry Monroe on
February 7, 2012. Ms. Torrence stated that she was instructed byFunmi Hassan not to tell anyone about
the incident.
19 CSR 30-62.182(1) (A) 1. which states: "Caregivers shall not leave any child without competent
~--adUlf supervision:" . - .. ...---------.
19 CSR 30-62.182 (1) (A) 3. whi~h states: "Caregivers shall provide frequent, direct contact so
....... children .are not left unobserved 'on the premises." ..
19 CSR 36-62.212 (1) (A) which states: "The provider shall be responsible fo~the care, safety and
supervision of children on field trips or at anytlroe they transport children away frOm the facility.;'
19C5R 30-62.212 (3} (G) which states: "Children shall notbe left unattended in a vehicle at any tim~."
These licensing nile violations are based Oli statements made by Lavonder Torrence, Jerry Monroe, .
Patrice Wren, Chevron Love, '~ and , .Maurice Phipps, van driver, and Tiai:ra
Marbley, van monitor. On February 7, 2Q12,: .Fl. ,.atwe year old child, was transported by
Educate, Inc. in a facility van. Both Maurice Phipps and Tiarra Marbley stated that they picked
• .F. up from her home and they transporte~ her to Educare, Inc. .. stated that

she felI asleep in the van, she got out of the van herself. she stated she was outside ~one and .she.stated
she was scared. _stated that his siste~ fell asleep inthe van while she was seated
in the last row of seats. He stated that he went {ilto school arid his sister stayed in the van. Jerry
Monr~e, who works at a nearby business,'stated that on February 7,2012, he went outside to smoke and
heard a child pulling on the gate and screaming. He stated he walked the little girl into the facility at
approximately 10:45 am. Patrice Wren stated that the van arrived at to the 'facility at 9:45 lor 10:00 on .
February 7, 2012. Ms. Wren stated that she saw ~ brother come in but she never saw_
Ms. Wren stated she took her class outside at 10:00 am, they were outside far an hour. Ms~ Wren stated
she saw.••••• for the first tirrie that day when she came inside with her class. She noticed that .'
,-,was sad anq asked her why she had Ei frown on her face. She heard Ms. Love ask_
where she had been and,-said she was outside crying. Chevron Love stated that she arrived at .
the facility at 8 am on February 7, 2012. She could not recall what time the van arrived. She indicated
that around 9:00 she got called in with Ms. Torrence to help with payroll. Ms. Love said that she went
back into the classroom around 11:40 am. She stated that she saw_for the first timethat day
around 1O:45am atthe coat rack and 2 twas cryIng. Ms. Torrence also stated that she did not see
until approximately 10:45am when she was brought into the facility by the man next
door.
19 CSR 30-62.192 (5) (A) which states: "In case of accident or injury to a child, the provider shall
notify the parent(s) immediately. If the child requires emergency medical care, the provider shall follow
the parent's(s') written instructions."
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Lavonder Torrence and Aldisha Smith. Ms.
Torrence stated that on February 7, 2012, a two year old child, __ was brought back into
the facility by the'mechanicnext door at approximately 10:45 am. Ms. Torrence stated that she did not
calI •••• s mother to notify her of the incident until 3:30 pm, Ms. Smith confinned that she was not
notified of the incident until 3:30 pm on February 7, 2012.
. .
. 19 CSR 30-62.112 (3) (A) which states: "All children shall be seated in a permanent seat and restrained
by seat belts or child restraint devices as required by Missouri law."
.. _:~~_IhisJicensingrule violationjs basedonstatemen~madeb¥ __ and TiaraMarbley,aswelJas."" _ .
by observations made by CCFS Ahlemeyer andCCFS Wallace.' age 4, stated that neither
he nor his two year old sister, _ were in car seats when they were transported in a facility van on
February 7, 2012~ Tiara Marbley, van momtor; stated that ••••••• , a two year old child, was not
in a child safety seat wl;J.enshe was transported framher hameto Educare on' February 7; 2012. In
.addition, on February 8, 2012, at 4: 10 pm, CCFSAhletneyer and CCFS Wallace observed Jubril Hassan.
and Tiara Marbley walk into the building with 15 children. Jubril Hassan had driven these children in .
the facility vall and Tiara Marbley was the assistant monitor. Ms. Marbleystated she satin the frontrow
passenger seat. The' van used to transport the children was the van with license plate UC8 T7C, with
only 1o seats with working seat belts. After allchHdren were brought inside, CCFS Ahlemeyer and
CeFS Wallace observed the van with two booster seats in place; no seats came off the van with the .
children, The names and ages of each child transported on the van at that time were documeIlted:Ages
of the children. were two 3-years::,old, two 4,.years-old, four 5-years-old, three 6-years-old, two 7-yearsold,
one 8-years,..0Id, and one 9-years-old .. This required that two children be in car seats and eleven

childr~n be in booster seats. Ms. Marbley stated that she remembered buckling a few children in b\lt
after the first few she would just help them in to the car and tell them to buckle themselves in.
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Maurice Phipps and' Tiara Marbley. Mr.
Phipps stated that he did not count the children as they entered the van on February 7,2012. Ms.
Marbley said that she and Mr. Phipps picked up between 15 and 18 children that morning. Both Mr.
Phipps and -Ms. Marbley stated,that they did not count the children when they took them inside.
19 CSR30-62.222 (l)which states~ "The child care provider shall maintain accurate records to meet
administrative requirements and to ensure knowledge of the individual-needs of children and their
fainilies."
This licensing rule violation is based on statements made by Maurice Phipps, Tiara Marbley and
Lavonder Torrence: Maurice Phipps and "TiaraMarbley stated they sign children in when they pick them
up, however, children are not signed out until the children are taken home. _SCCR staff requested to see
the sign in sheet that is maintain in the van, however, it was not produced. Ms. Torrence stated that she
takes attendance ror the facility during the day. She stated that she ~alks through the classrooms and .
takes a head count and then by memory, Ms. Torrence marks a "P" on the attendance sheet to indicate a
child is present on the sheet that she keeps in her office. Ms. Torrence stated that she did not take
attendance on Febrqary 7, 2012.
APPEAL PROCEDURE
You may appeal the decision to revoke your license application by requesting a hearing
before the Administrative Hearing Commission (Commission). To receive a hearing, the Missouri
Department of Health and Senior Services, Section for Child Care Regulation, must receive a
written request within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter. Please direct the request to the
attention of Sue Porting, Assistant Section Administrator, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City,
Missouri 65102. The fax number for Ms. Porting is (573) 526-5345.
. -
. Ifyourequesta-hearing,DHSS/SCCR has-ninety (90) days.to-file-a-complaint'witu.the- .-._.-
Commission.-After receiving the complaint, the Commission sets a date fortheheariIlgand notifies you
and DHSS/SCCR of the date. -- -
If you do not request a,hearing, this license revocation will be effective as of the expiration date
ofyourlicense.By not seeking an appeal, you will waive the variouS rig1J.tsand privileges afforded by
law, including, the right to a heating; the right to appear and be represented by legal counsel; the right to
haveal~alIegations proven upon the record by competent and "substantial evidence; the right to cross
examiIl~ any witnessesappeanng against you-at the hearing; the right to present evidence on YOurbehalf
at the hearing; the right to a decision upon the record of the hearing by a f~and impartial - -
administrative hearing commissioner concerning the allegations of rule and/or statute violations against
. you; the right to a ruling on qllestions of law by the AdmiIiistrative Hearing Cqmmission; the right to a
clmm for attorney fees and expenses; and the right to obtain judicial review of the decisions of the .
Administrative Hearing Commission and the DHSS. _. . .

Please note that Section 210211.1, RSMo (Supp. 2010), does not allow a facility to provide care
for more than four (4) unrelated children: without a license issued by DHSS/SCCR. Any care provided
for more than four (4) unrelated children is in conflict with this section and subjecHo penalties set forth
in Section 210.245, RSMo(Supp. 2010).
If you have any questions. regarding this letter, please contact this office at (573) 751-2450. If you have
any legal questi01?-S,you should contact your private attorney .
Cc: Sue Porting, Assistant Section Administrator
Nancy Scherer, Child Care .Supervisor
Nancy Smith, Child Care Facility Specialist
loi Cunningham, Legal Counsel
. Sincerely,
.. Xz;I1tj- tJfltd/4J:J
Kathy Quick, Administrator
Section for Child Care Regulation