Two teachers at an Orange County day care facility have been terminated after they left a sleeping 4-year-old boy alone for more than three hours on Friday night.
Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed early Saturday morning that they are investigating a case where the young boy was left unattended inside Kids R Kids day care center in Waterford Lakes.
According to deputies, the center had been hosting a new Parents’ Night Out event in which parents could enjoy a night out while their kids were watched by staff members through the evening.
Authorities said one of the mothers decided to go home and take a quick nap after the event, but accidentally overslept past the 10 p.m. designated pick-up time.
After frantically rushing to the day care center to pick up her son, the mother was forced to call the police around 10:30 p.m. because the doors were already locked.
In the end, Orange County Fire Rescue had to be called, and were able to gain access into the building and locate the 4-year-old around 1:30 a.m.
Jose and Rosa Diaz, owners of Kids R Kids Waterford, said in the following statement Saturday morning that the teachers who were at fault have been terminated:
“This was a miscommunication between two staff members during the clearing and closing process of the center. Thankfully the child was found safe and asleep, and was reunited with his mother. In light of this mishap, the teachers at fault have seen been terminated.
Here at Kids R Kids we strive to make safety our top priority and we have a zero tolerance policy for occurrences such as this one. Please know that we are taking every precaution to make sure that this never happens again. Our entire staff will be undergoing additional safety re-training in regards to proper procedures for clearing and closing our center as early as Monday evening. Parent’s Night Out will be suspended until this training is completed.”
However, deputies said the investigation will go on until they find out how the child could have possibly been left alone after the building was locked up.
So far, no charges have been filed against the day care center or any of its employees. Reports said the latest routine inspection of the day care was in February and it showed the facility met all requirements.
What do you think should be done about the day care center? Tell us in the comments!
