Caregivers did mock ‘surgeries’ and hit kids at Anchorage child care center, investigation finds

Two caregivers at one of the Anchorage's biggest child care centers hit preschool-aged children and performed mock "surgeries" as a form of punishment, a recent investigation by city child care licensing authorities found.

The owner of Crystal Child Development Center said she fired the two employees at the center's Lake Otis Parkway location on the spot in August when she learned the results of the city's investigation. She said she hopes it won't overshadow the work of the rest of her staff.

"This is really heartbreaking," said Suyeon Yi, the owner and administrator of Crystal Child Development Center.

Anchorage's Child Care Licensing Program, part of the city health department, first learned of the allegations on July 27, when a parent called to report "fake surgeries" happening in a preschool classroom, according to an investigation report.

The Lake Otis Parkway center is one of Crystal Child Development Center's three locations in Anchorage. The facility is licensed to care for up to 155 children from 8 weeks old to 6 years old.

In Anchorage, the municipality licenses and monitors child care centers that care for infants to school-aged children. Inspectors visit centers at least twice annually for announced and unannounced inspections.

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They also investigate serious reports involving inappropriate discipline, harmful treatment or physical abuse in child care centers, said Shannon Kuhn, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Health and Human Services.

In this case, the allegations were serious enough that a licensing inspector went to the child care center immediately, said Kathy Lynch, the child care licensing program supervisor for city.

Two city inspectors, including one trained in forensic interviewing of children, visited the facility three times in the next three weeks, according to a final investigation report. The inspectors interviewed children, parents and staff members, according to the report and Yi.

The final report, dated Aug. 24 and obtained by the Anchorage Daily News, found:

• In a pre-kindergarten classroom, a teacher and a teaching assistant conducted "fake surgeries on the children to turn boys into girls or girls into boys," according to the report. "The surgery includes having the child lay down on (the caregiver's desk) placing tape over the child's mouth, using a stapler like a pretend cutting tool to change the child into the opposite sex."

• Caregivers in the same classroom also used scissors to "pretend to cut the child's hair."

• "Boys were required to carry around, eat and sleep with baby dolls," as a form of punishment in the classroom, the report found.

The investigator also found that the same two caregivers hit children.

"It was disclosed that children are being 'hit,' 'slapped,' and 'whacked' in the head for misbehaving," the report said. "One individual stated (the former employee) 'beat a kid up' and then described it as them slapping them very hard (repeated twice) on the cheek."

Of the seven  investigations into complaints of misconduct at child care centers the city has conducted this year, only the allegations at Crystal Child Development Center have been found substantiated, according to the city.  Four of the other investigations found complaints were not justified. Two are still under investigation.

Yi said she fired the two women when she was presented with the results of the investigation.

One of the employees had been working for the center for more than two years. The other had only been there for about six months, Yi said. Both were in their 20s or early 30s and were hired with previous experience in child care. Both women passed background checks, Yi said.

The investigation categorized the incidents as "harmful treatment," which is "less serious than abuse or neglect" as defined by state law but can include banned forms of discipline, Kuhn said.

"The conduct in this particular allegation, despite the disturbing nature, ultimately did not rise to criminal violations, however they did warrant a warning notice be given to the facility," Kuhn said.

Though the fired employees won't face criminal charges related to the incident, the two workers will be marked in a statewide background check system as ineligible to work in Alaska child care facilities, Lynch said.

Unless they ask, parents wouldn't be able to find the investigation report online, though it is a public record.

The city database where inspection results are posted was "not set up to accommodate (the documents created) in the investigation process," said Lynch.

For now, the detailed investigation reports into serious complaints must be requested from the state's child care licensing authority. The state is working to put those reports online, but the project won't be completed for a few months, Lynch said.

Parents can also request a plain-language summary of the problems found at previous inspections from Anchorage child care licensing authorities.

Yi said she was shocked by the findings.

Despite video monitoring in the classrooms, the on-site manager "had no idea what was going on" and had not witnessed any of the abuse, Yi said.

Yi said she is heartbroken for the children and worried about how the actions of two employees will reflect on the other caregivers she employs. Her centers have operated with relatively few complaints, especially considering the large number of children they care for, Yi said.

"I want to make sure this one person's mistake doesn't define all the hard work we do here," Yi said. "We have almost 60 staff members. They are hard working, day in and day out. I don't want this to damage their reputation."

After the investigation, Yi was required to submit a "plan of correction" to fix problems. She plans new training sessions to teach positive discipline techniques. She also plans to make it easier for employees to report misconduct anonymously to top administrators.

"This was this person's stupid decision making. And it doesn't represent anything we do in the center," she said.