What if a Child is Abused or Assaulted at a Day Care Center?

By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network

In Pennsylvania and other States, parents rely on day care centers to provide a safe educational environment for their children. Day care centers should be licensed when required by law and otherwise abide by all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, a day care center and its employees should follow the center’s own policies and procedures. Furthermore, all day care center staff members should keep in mind that it is the best interest of the children that should be the focus every day – every minute that the children are being supervised at or by the day care center. Unfortunately, some children are the victims of abuse, neglect, negligence, and even assaults at day care centers. Through better supervision and monitoring by the day care center staff, many such incidents can be avoided or prevented. It is important for day care centers to provide proper trainig and certification of staff members. In addition, the day care center itself should be clean and properly maintained so that it is a safe environment for children. Whatever the pay or the position at a day care center, each job is nonetheless vital because the safety and well being of the children are at risk otherwise.

It was recently reported that Cumberland County Day Care Center – Children’s Arc – was recently shut down by officials with the State of Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. It was reported that there were issues with documentation and testing of employees. You can read more about this story at Cumberland County (Pennsylvania) Day Care Center Closed After Reported Child Choking.

What if a child abused or assaulted at a day care center? What should a parent do? These are excellent questions but there is no one simple answer to either question. If a child is abused or assaulted at a day care center, the parents may consider the following:

Report the incident to the day care center administration and ownership;

Report the incident to the licensing authority for the day care center;

Report the incident to the local police;

Contact a Child Injury Lawyer for advice and guidance on the matter;

Have the child examined / evaluated by a qualified medical provider or facility;

Take photograps of any visible injuries; and / or

Write down any information the parent obtains regarding the incident as to times, dates, witnesses, statements, and other details.

The book – The ABCs of Chid lnjury – Legal Rights of the Injured Child – What Every Parent Should Know – has chapters on Day Care Center Injuries, School Injuries, Automobile Accidents, Playground Injuries, and other topics. You can get this book for free at The ABCs of Child Injury.