Parents demand answers after 15-month-old girl leaves daycare covered in bite marks
MARICOPA, Ariz. (KTVK) — The parents of a 15-month-old girl said their child got hurt when bitten several times at an Arizona daycare.
Rylee Umstead said the staff at Sunrise Preschools in Maricopa told him that a child bit his daughter, Mila, when he picked her up on Thursday, April 25. Umstead said the daycare claimed it happened 20 minutes before he got there.
“I lifted up her shirt just a little bit, and it freaked me out,” said Umstead. “I froze up, just shocked.”
Rocio Enriquez, Mila’s mom, says her little girl has changed since the incident.
“[She is] not the same Mila we knew when we dropped her off that day,” said Enriquez. “She’s gotten to the point where she doesn’t want anyone to lift her shirt up. She freaks out.”
Days later, you can still see the bite marks and bruising.
“My child has eight bite marks on her back.” said Enriquez. “How did the teacher not notice it after the first bite mark? Like, you can justify one bite mark. But eight? That’s some negligence.”
Mila’s parents said they want to see surveillance footage so they can understand exactly what happened.
Dana Vela, the president of Sunrise Preschools, released this statement about the incident:
We are truly sorry for an incident that occurred at our new center in Maricopa.
Sunrise Preschools considers safety of the children in our care job one. It is our first priority. It is why we have been privileged to provide child care for more than three decades.
On Thursday April 25th a toddler was bitten multiple times by another toddler during a very short timeframe.
This should not have happened. Only four children were under the supervision of the caregiver watching the children. That caregiver has been suspended without pay pending further investigation.
This incident was heartbreaking and unacceptable and we are working diligently to ensure it does not happen again. We are reviewing all policies and procedures and will take whatever steps are needed to prevent this rare but serious matter from repeating itself.
A video of the incident confirms the child was injured by another child very quickly and while the caregiver was changing a diaper. This is not meant to excuse the incident but to explain what happened. We can and will do better and this unfortunate matter has provided some hard learned lessons.
After the child was injured first aid was administered, and the parents of the injured child were informed. The child who bit the classmate was expelled. While there is established protocol to address occasional biting behavior common to many toddlers, the severity of the incident demanded a more appropriate response.
Sunrise is following internal policies and procedures as well as licensing regulations and employment law requirements throughout the investigative process.
But we are also determined to do more. We are reviewing our procedures. We are studying what happened. Additional steps are being evaluated to do everything possible to keep this from happening again.
We apologize again and profusely when we fail because the trust you place in us is understood and appreciated which is why Sunrise has the outstanding reputation it has for decades in Arizona.
We are welcoming both questions and input from the community.
If you have questions, concerns, or input please email me at [email protected].
Our mission is to educate as well as care for children. In this instance Sunrise will use this unfortunate incident as a way to further educate ourselves with input from our parents and the community.
Thank you,
Dana Vela
President
Sunrise Preschools