A DeKalb County day care is under investigation after a parent reported that staff were inappropriately disciplining children, officials said.
The alleged abuse happened at the Appletree Learning Center and Academy located along East Ponce de Leon Avenue, DeKalb police said. According to Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning spokesman Reg Griffin, the parent of an enrolled child reported to police “allegations of inappropriate discipline with toddlers.”
DeKalb police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said that since the investigation is ongoing, few details can be released. Police did not say when the abuse occurred, but Griffin said DECAL was alerted Tuesday.
Authorities are asking for parents who feel their child has been a victim to contact the DeKalb Special Victims Unit at 770-724-7710. No other incidents of child abuse at the day care have been confirmed.
According to DECAL, a monitoring visit at the day care in April 2021 brought up no concerns.
In 2019 during a monitoring visit, the facility had issues with capacity and food services, with DECAL noting that the day care “will limit the number of children in this space to the licensed capacity” and “will train staff and monitor food served to children to ensure that the food does not present a choking hazard,” a report states. The day care also had issues with securing toys and other equipment, supplying activities to support child development, damage to a fence in the playground area, and checking outlets and replacing protective caps, the report also revealed.
In 2018, DECAL followed up with a complaint investigation in relation to missing or incomplete training for some staff and a missing criminal records check for two staff members, another report states. DECAL wrote that the facility would “schedule the required 10 hours of annual training each year” and ensure it was completed and “obtain the Required Satisfactory Records Check Determination before an individual is present at the Center.”
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