A Duluth daycare was cleared of allegations it neglected to report an accident that injured a 5-year-old, the Department of Early Care and Learning said Tuesday.
It was initially believed Kids ‘R’ Kids Pleasant Hill Academy daycare waited days after the accident happened to report it to DECAL. The organization’s policy is to let the agency know of injuries to a child 24 hours after an incident happens.
An investigation found the daycare notified the organization in the required time.
“We take these matters seriously, which is why we worked closely with the three separate investigating agencies,” Pleasant Hill Academy daycare owner Julie Holiday said in a statement. “All three found that Kids ‘R’ Kids of Pleasant Hill Learning Academy did follow procedures. Sometimes accidents happen when children play together. We’re truly sorry that anyone’s child was hurt.”
Camden Simmons was bruised under his upper right eye and right cheek and had a cut under his nose and lip in a Sept. 6 accident on the daycare’s playground.
Camden, who has cerebral palsy, was a “prisoner” in a game he was playing on the playground at the time of the accident. His mother, Tammy Simmons, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that Camden’s injuries were not consistent with just being pushed.
The daycare said it was not notified of any restrictions the boy had prior to the accident.
A Duluth police officer was called to the daycare but decided not to investigate further, according to a police report.
The daycare was also cleared of allegations the game was unsupervised.
DECAL spokesman Reg Griffin said the findings are also being reviewed by the agency’s Child Care Services division.
The AJC contacted Tammy Simmons via email for comment but did not get a response.
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