Preschool sanctioned after keiki stray
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
The state has sanctioned the Kama'aina Kids preschool in 'Ewa after an investigation showed the school violated state rules when three 2-year-olds wandered away from campus unattended in August.
The Department of Human Services, which regulates child-care centers, placed the school on a six-month provisional license and the school will be subject to unannounced visits. Any further violations, the DHS said in a letter to the school, could lead to a license revocation, suspension and fines.
The state found that Kama'aina Kids officials violated administrative rules that require constant supervision of the children. The school also failed to adequately report the incident to parents and the DHS.
A separate investigation by Child Welfare Services also found "physical neglect and lack of supervision" by Kama'aina Kids, said Loreen Okamura, licensing social worker, in the Dec. 8 letter to school officials.
Because of the "seriousness" of the violations, Okamura wrote, the state levied the sanctions, but said it would not refer the case to the attorney general's office for possible fines at this time. DHS officials could not be reached for further comment yesterday.
The Aug. 12 incident involved two boys and a girl, each 2 years old, who walked away from the 'Ewa school's playground, crossed a parking lot and wound up outside the offices of Child Welfare Services. School officials did not know that the children were missing until they were returned by an employee of the social service agency.
Kama'aina Kids also was cited for a similar incident that occurred in late 2003 that the 'Ewa school did not report. In that incident, a toddler was found wandering alone in a parking lot near the school.
The DHS investigation found that the school failed to provide supervision to the children "at all times." The school also did not file a report on the Aug. 12 incident and provided incomplete information to the parents of the three children, Okamura said.
Ray Sanborn, Kama'aina Kids president, said the school has taken care of the problems that led to the children leaving the campus. Staff members have been sent to training classes, he said, and other safety issues regarding a gate have been addressed.
Sanborn said the sanctions were fair, given the seriousness of the incident. He said he believed the 'Ewa school had held a two-year license.
"A six-month review, that's normal with any incident like this," he said. "They did find that the kids left the school, so we were wrong and we've been saying that all along. They actually could have levied fines on us and other things."
Sanborn said two of the children remain at the school, while the parents of the girl have taken their daughter out.
"We learned a lot from the incident and we definitely made the school a lot safer, not just at that school but all of our schools," he said.
Kama'aina Kids operates 10 schools on O'ahu and one on Maui.
Michellei Quidilla said she refuses to take her daughter, Taylor, back to the school. Taylor was one of the three children who wandered away Aug. 12. Quidilla said she believes the school "got off easy," especially since the welfare of three young children was in jeopardy.
"A kid has to get hurt and then they're going to take all of this seriously?" Quidilla said. "They have those two incidents and that one incident went from one boy to three kids so what else do you need? Does a kid need to get banged and now we're going to fine them and start doing something?"
Quidilla filed the complaint with DHS after she found out more than a month after the incident that her child had wandered from the school. She said she learned what happened from her sister-in-law, who works for Child Welfare Services in 'Ewa.
Okamura noted that the school did suspend for three days the three staff members involved in the Aug. 12 incident and placed them on a one-year probation. The director of the center was reprimanded.
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
