False Accusations By Termed DCM And State Comes To My Door

[Bella9]

hello everyone! I am new to the forum and have really loved reading the posts. Has anyone here had a termed dcf that made formal complaints against you to the state licensing office? I termed a family last week after they started showing up late nearly daily, paying late, etc and dcm made up a laundry list of fictitious complaints about my daycare home and turned me in on it.

State showed up today to investigate her lies. Nothing was founded, my investigator was disgusted by this dcm, but I am wondering is there any way to protect against this and have any of you had this happen?

[snbauser]

Unfortunately there usually isn't a lot you can do to prevent a vindictive parent from calling other than to make sure you follow all the rules and regulations. The other thing is when you have a parent like that you should call and give your licensor a heads up that they may get a call. Although they typically have to come out anytime there is a complaint made, when they hear from you first, they know what is going on ahead of time.

[blandino]

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55734

This happened to us last summer. Once I talked to my licensor, she explained why it was "substantiated". Because I am positive the little girls injuries did not occur with us, I kep throwing out possibilities. Like maybe she was crawling and hit her face on a toy, or maybe when the ball hit her it pushed the exersaucer toys into her face. Because I said all those possibilities, they said it was a violation of the supervision rules, since I wasn't sure what actually happened. So I should have kept my mouth shut and not offered any probable solutions, and said that due to the timeframe - that the child's injuries did not occur at the daycare.

[Unregistered]

I had a similar situation a couple of years ago and learned from it.

First, any time you think a family is upset about something give your licensor a head's up and tell your side of the story right away.

Second, document any conversations about the child's development, behavior issues, injuries, etc. I have the parents sign all Injury Reports and keep a copy in the child's file so they can never say I didn't tell them.

[Play Care]

I had a similar situation a couple of years ago and learned from it.

First, any time you think a family is upset about something give your licensor a head's up and tell your side of the story right away.

Second, document any conversations about the child's development, behavior issues, injuries, etc. I have the parents sign all Injury Reports and keep a copy in the child's file so they can never say I didn't tell them.

Call your licesnor and give the condensed version - I had to term a family for x,y,z, after I termed accusations were made, so you may get a call.

So I should have kept my mouth shut and not offered any probable solutions, and said that due to the timeframe - that the child's injuries did not occur at the daycare.

And this! Never, ever "offer" info. I think many people think if they just explain their side then everything will be okay or people will understand when the truth is the more you say, the more rope you give to hang yourself.

[Springdaze]

happened to me, too. yes, it can end up being unsubstantiated, but its still in your record, which stinks. I had a lady try to say that I was taking her kids for a walk when I didnt have permission and she found out because one of her kids bus drivers, he was special needs, saw me walking with kids. None were hers, it would have been impossible for me to walk with them. She also said I had no hot water and let her kid fall asleep in a pnp without a sheet. which he did, but whoopy! and it had happened months before and she didnt care until we decided it wasnt a good fit! She also came back a week after she left and said her 1 yo had ringworm the size of a softball on his leg and he must have got it from my house. um, takes a while for it to get that big and YOUR his mother, you didnt see it? no one else had it, so i dont know what to tell ya!

[Texasjeepgirl]

2002..
I had a client leave with NO NOTICE.. had a PAST DUE BALANCE...
Payment is usually required on Friday.. in ADVANCE...
she had 2 children..missed a Friday.. didn't pay for the following week..
Missed Monday.. but called..
I mentioned payment..
yes.. tomorrow..
Came in Tuesday.. can I pay you on FRIDAY?
I was a softie back then... said sure..
didn't charge any late fee...
kids came all week till Thursday.. then guess what.. absent on Friday again..
surprise surprise...
Called on Sunday and said.. not returning...
I mentioned payment.. yes..
I'll come by and pay..
Back then I did not charge 2 week deposit..
I said.. AND.. you owe the 2 week notice payment.. so balance is blah blah...
Never saw or heard from her again..
(This was the FINAL STRAW that started me charging a 2 week deposit)
I sent REGISTERED letter for balance..
stated that I would collect..
About a week goes by...
STATE shows up at my door.. says they are there to investigate children
'having accidents' while in my care..
I said.. Accidents? what sort of 'accidents'..
Well the complaint was vague... just that children have allot of 'accidents' while here in your care..
I said.. hmm.... interesting..
I can show you all my enrollment records.. have had all of these children for awhile now... have only lost 1 client.. 2 children.. left owing large unpaid balance.. showed records...
showed copy of certified letter...
she (the investigator) smiled... asked me a few more basic questions..
and.. said.. well. you know we do have to investigate all alegations..
I said.. I do understand..

[Blackcat31]

Here any time anyone calls and makes a complaint it warrants a visit from licensing. Even if it was just someone being mean and wanting to start something.

What I do to protect myself is document. Document EVERYTHING...even the things you don't view as an issue or things about a parent that you consider "golden" as even the golden ones will tarnish if they feel they have been wronged.

I keep written logs of ALL interaction between myself and a parent. All correspondence to a parent is required to be acknowledged by the parent so I KNOW they received the info and/or understand it and have no questions.

When I e-mail parents anything, they are required to respond to confirm the above. I then save each e-mail reply in a folder for each family.

If I am ever needing to term someone, I call my licensor FIRST before terming to give her a head's up.

I am lucky to live in an area where my licensor is easily accessible and always in support of the providers in my community.

[crazydaycarelady]

Yes, this happened to me (in the worst possible way!)

I had a disagreement with a family over my taking Fridays off one summer (the dcd did not even work Fridays!) They called the state and reported that my 10yo son asked their just turned 2yo daughter to "**** his pee-pee handle!" I had never even heard that phrase before!

Of course the state came and of course it was unfounded. I LOVED the fact that when the state came I had 2 of dcgs cousins in care, one also a 2yo girl. Even their own family didn't buy their complaints!

Never-the-less this was a VERY stressful episode. We got a lawyer and sent a letter to the state stating that if they needed any further information to contact the lawyer. I DID NOT want them talking to my son about this drivel!

I did learn a HUGE lesson though. On the 2nd day of care for this family I knew I didn't want to do business for them anymore, yet I continued for 2 years (because I had their relatives who had recommended me!) Never again! I go with my gut from now on!

[Meeko]

I just termed a parent for being snotty due to me telling her she couldn't bring her kids because they were over 30 days past due on their shots.

I termed her in my driveway the second she got snarky. I walked in the house and called my licensor.

That way, he'll already have a heads up if she decides to cause any trouble. She may not, but it never hurts to be proactive.

[Angelsj]

I had a child tell me, "I am going to tell my mom you squeezed my neck!" because I walked him to time out (gently btw, he didn't really even fight the walk, he was just yelling at me the whole time.)

I termed them that day. There were MANY other issues with this family. He did tell his mom, and she reported it.
I had already spoken to my licensor about the whole thing. She visited, nothing was found, life moved on.

[jenn]

I had a family leave last year that I knew left angry. They were only here about a month.

Their son fell of an outdoor scooter and scratched his ear. It was a small scratch, no first aid needed. Dad picked him up, it was mentioned and off they went. Mom called later to say that the boy said he fell down the stairs (we don't have any in the child care area) and I told him to go to time out when he got hurt. She said his whole ear was swollen and bruised. By a miracle, it was healed the next morning, scratch and all.

They were also mad because I locked my door during the day and they couldn't just walk in. This is my house! One day at pick up (about 2 hours earlier than their normal pick up time), they had to wait a couple of minutes before I answered the door. I was changing a diaper.

At drop off time the first week they told me that DCB had separation anxiety so dad would just plan on staying for the first hour or so everyday. um...no.

I documented everything. Every interaction where they questioned me or complained was written down. I just had a sense that they would be ones to cause problems.

When they left, I called and let my inspector know to expect a call. Never heard a word.

[Bella9]

Yesterday, Child Protective Services showed up at my door to investigate an 'íncident' at my daycare home!! I think it was more nonsense from this disgruntled parent. All was proven unfounded, but it was still stressful. I am so sick of the invasion of my privacy and now feel that my family is vulnerable to any lies that a parent wants to create. I had to answer questions for 45 mins about something that happened, we discovered, when these children were not even in my care, but were still on my property. I was in the house, door shut and they were outside leaving already. I am getting out of the daycare business at the end of this summer and cannot wait for that day! It is so frustrating to provide what I consider to be excellent, go above and beyond, care to my dc kids only to be treated with suspicion, lies, and innuendo. Fortunately, my other families are excellent, excellent parents who love their children and treat me with great respect and courtesy. I can't help but feel that this bad parent has run me out of the daycare business, but at the same time I am not willing to put my own family in a vulnerable position. Do any of you feel that your family is unprotected against such stuff?? and how do you handle this??

[Bella9]

My licensor is accessible, but not supportive at all. She looks hard for anything she can find to cite me for non-compliance. If she cannot find something, she spends time 'warning' me to make sure I do ________ fill in with anything! So far, I have only been cited because my daughter turned 18, and the sheriff's office has been so slow sending her fingerprints in that my paperwork is not up to date. I had them done in time and have no control over how long they take to reach the child care office, but she didn't care and cited me anyway. It would be so nice to have a supportive licensing agent. How much time do you spend documenting? Is it a daily thing, weekly??? Do you document electronically or hand write things? Do you have the parents initial all your documentation?

[dave4him]

Least you know where it came from. I had something like that happen to me last December and it shut my daycare down for a month. Came out completely unfounded so im open again. But i still dont know who rose the stink.