The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning revoked the license Wednesday of the owner of an Alpharetta in-home daycare center where a 3-year-old hanged himself earlier this month.
“A recent investigation by DECAL determined that rule violations contributed to the death of a child that was not medically anticipated,” Reg Griffin, agency spokesman, said in an emailed statement.
Janna Thompson, who owns Ms. Janna's Daycare, told police she had gone inside her licensed center on July 8 and returned outside to find the boy, Thomas "Max" Maxwell Stephens, unresponsive on the slide, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The boy had a piece of twine around his neck, according to police.
Thompson called 911 and administered CPR on the child, who died the following night after being transported from North Fulton Hospital to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, according to officials.
DECAL began an investigation the day of the incident and ordered the center temporarily closed due to rule violations.
The morning of the incident, Thompson allegedly had seven children in her care, though she was allowed by state law to care for only six, according to DECAL. She also allegedly left two infants and a toddler inside her home while she took three toddlers and a preschool-age child outside, the court order states.
After an “undetermined amount of time later,” Thompson returned outside, where she found the injured boy laying flat on the slide, according to DECAL.
“The Provider thought the child was playing until she noticed that the child was not moving,” the order states.
Investigators found a piece of twine, similar to that used on pine straw bales, around the play area. That twine was around the neck of the boy, causing a lack of oxygen to the brain and a neck injury, according to DECAL.
The Roswell boy’s death at the daycare came less than six months after the home’s playground was deemed unsafe during an inspection, state records showed. Thompson now has 10 days to appeal the license revocation, Griffin said.
Max is survived by his parents, a brother and sister, and numerous other relatives, according to his online obituary.
“He was a happy boy who lived his entire life around good people that loved him very much and he will be truly missed,” the obituary states.
Alpharetta police are still investigating the incident.
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