ORLANDO, Fla. – When longtime religious radio host Steve Currie learned the day care center located in the same building as his Kirkman Road radio studio was closing, he jumped at the opportunity to get into the child care business.
But in the three years since Currie opened Trinity Learning Academy, the facility has struggled to comply with state child care regulations, records show.
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In the past two years, Florida's Department of Children and Families has issued 53 violations to Trinity Learning Academy, the most of any Central Florida child care facility. Only a few other day care providers elsewhere in the state have received more noncompliance notices.
"The kids are definitely safe," said Currie, who pointed out that many of those violations involved issues that do not directly impact the children's welfare. "It's just when DCF came around we didn't meet their requirements."
Currie spoke at length with News 6 about past problems at his facility which he believes have now been successfully addressed with the guidance of DCF counselors.
"(DCF) is really helping us to stay on our toes," said Currie. "If they didn't come by, who knows what these kids would be getting into and what these centers would be doing."
DCF Child Care Facility Inspections
At least three times a year, DCF counselors make unannounced visits to licensed child care facilities to conduct on-site inspections.
Using a checklist of 63 health and safety standards, the agency evaluates facilities on a wide variety of requirements such as ensuring the buildings have proper lighting and ventilation, bottles and sippy cups are labeled with the children's full names, fire drills have been conducted, and staff members have received proper training.
DCF ranks offenses by severity, with Class 3 violations being the least serious ones that pose a low potential of harm to children. Class 2 violations address non-imminent threats to a child's well-being, while Class 1 offenses involve incidents that could or do result in serious harm or death.
Depending on the class of violation and the frequency in which it occurs, DCF may issue fines to a child care facility, followed by a suspension or revocation of the provider's license.
Over a two-year period, DCF revoked the licenses of 28 child care facilities statewide.
Records detailing the incidents that prompted those license revocations were not immediately available.
However, for most first-time offenses that do not pose a direct danger to children, the agency provides technical assistance to providers to help them achieve compliance.
"DCF’s primary mission is to protect the vulnerable, especially Florida’s children," DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said in a prepared statement. "A tremendous amount of parental trust and responsibility is placed in child care providers across Florida. When a parent drops their child off, they trust that their child will be safe, well cared for, and sent home on time."
"DCF takes the quality of child care very seriously and holds all licensed child care facilities accountable for ensuring the health and safety of children," said Carroll. "When a child care facility does not meet the state’s child care licensing standards, DCF takes the appropriate and immediate enforcement actions for each violation."
News 6 investigates common violations
A News 6 review of thousands of child care facility inspection records revealed the most common problem involves record keeping, a low-level Class 3 violation.
Over a two-year period, DCF issued nearly 600 violations statewide to facilities that failed to keep signed forms on file verifying employees had been briefed on their requirements for reporting child abuse and neglect.
More than 500 violations were issued because facilities were missing children's immunization records.
The most common Class 2 violations involve employee background screening, records show.
Last week DCF ordered Bright Horizons Child Care in Orlando to pay a $700 fine for failing to conduct a proper background check on an employee who has been accused of molesting at least three children there.
Over a two-year period, DCF issued the most severe Class 1 violations to 100 different facilities statewide.
Nearly 40 of those providers were cited for leaving unscreened individuals alone to supervise children, records indicate.
Other facilities were issued Class 1 violations for offenses such as committing or failing to report child abuse and neglect, improper supervision of children, or unknowingly leaving a child behind in a vehicle.
Day care van death
DCF shut down Little Miracles Academy in Orlando and is in the process of permanently revoking the facility's license after a child died in a hot day care van there Aug. 7.
Three-year-old Myles Hill had been left behind in the Honda Odyssey for more than 11 hours, according to police, as the temperature inside reached an estimated 144 degrees.
The van's driver, Deborah St. Charles, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection with Hill's death.
Records reviewed by News 6 confirm that the circumstances that may have led to Myles's death occur relatively infrequently.
Since September 2016, three day care providers that remain in operation have been cited for unknowingly leaving a child behind in a vehicle, facility, or field trip.
Nearly a year ago, two employees of Shining Stars Learning Center in Titusville were arrested after leaving a sleeping 4-year-old boy on the day care van.
The child told investigators he later unbuckled himself, got out of the van, and walked back to the day care.
Child care providers in Fort Myers and Palmetto also remain open after receiving similar violations, records show.
In addition, DCF issued 25 violations over two years to providers that had failed to check vehicles to ensure no child had been left inside.
"DCF is helping us"
Steve Currie's day care has never received any of the most serious Class 1 violations.
However, DCF has fined Trinity Learning Academy $855 and placed the facility on probationary status due, in part, to several repeat violations involving child supervision.
In May 2017, a teacher failed to acknowledge a 4-year-old who had been hurt on the playground, DCF records show.
During that same inspection, which was prompted by a complaint, a DCF counselor noted that one of the classrooms had an inadequate number of staff present to supervise the number of children present.
DCF has cited Currie's day care five times for failing to have the proper child-to-staff ratio prescribed by state law, records indicate.
"I applaud DCF myself, because they have made us learn," said Currie.
To address the violations, Currie said he hired additional staff members and created a more reliable system to cover for unexpected employee absences.
Currie also designated one room for only infants, which requires a lower child-to-staff ratio than classrooms with older children.
"We had the staff. But we had our infants and our 1-year-olds together in one room," said Currie. "If we had (re-arranged the rooms) a long time ago, we wouldn't have gotten this many violations."
Currie has addressed other violations by properly labeling cleaning supplies, checking the expiration dates on food, and ensuring the playground equipment is regularly inspected for safety, the daycare owner told News 6.
Trinity Learning Academy has also hired an employee whose sole job is to ensure the day care remains in compliance with DCF regulations, the provider said.
"I look at it as a learning experience for us," said Currie. "Because the next step for us was taking our license."