BLAINE, Minn. — The arrests of two day-care workers in a child abuse investigation at Small World Learning Center in Blaine came as a shock to many families, and the incident has prompted questions from Twin Cities parents about how their kids are kept safe in facilities across the state.
On Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Nolan West (R-Blaine) will appear with victims' families to outline "legislative solutions to ensure the abuse that occurred at a Blaine daycare center never happens again." West said his own daughter previously attended Small World Learning Center and came home with bruises herself.
"The fact that this was clearly going on, on a daily basis, is insane," West told KARE 11 earlier this week. "My first child ... never in a million years would you think this would happen."
West said one of his legislative proposals could include rules around the use and storage of surveillance video at daycare facilities.
In the Blaine case, surveillance video played a critical role in the arrests of the two Small World Learning Center teachers, but West said he wants facilities to store this video for longer periods of time.
"Especially since my baby was out months ago," West said. "And we have no way of seeing the video of when she was bruised."
According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the state doesn't currently require childcare facilities to use surveillance video or store that video for any length of time although many providers choose to create their own rules.
However, DHS Deputy Inspector General Alyssa Dotson said there are strict requirements for licensing and hiring for childcare facilities. On the hiring side, background studies for all employees include fingerprint checks for BCA and FBI criminal history, searches of the sex offender registry and a review of social service databases.
When there are allegations of abuse or neglect, DHS personally investigates.
"We get reports from all over the place. We get reports from family members, from community members, from law enforcement, medical staff," Dotson said. "We have databases that we store that information in. We do some general checks to see if there is a history with this provider of similar instances with a staff person, with a child."
DHS confirmed there is an open maltreatment investigation at Small World Learning Center in Blaine but, citing privacy reasons, the agency can't say whether it's related to this latest case. The facility's license remains active and daycare management told KARE 11 they're cooperating with DHS to improve policies.
According to the state's website, a licensing review of the facility last year found some training violations, which have since been corrected.
Cindy Lehnhoff, the director of the National Child Care Association, said cases like the Blaine abuse investigation are relatively rare. Still, she encouraged parents to seek references on childcare facilities and to always review state websites for more information about previous violations and discipline.
"Also, visit the center at different times of the day," Lehnhoff said. "Make drop-in visits to make sure what you think is going on, is going on."