Plymouth, MI – Childtime Child Care Inc. in Plymouth was forced to shut its doors Monday as the State revoked its license pending an investigation. The suspension comes in the wake of the death of foster child Allison Newman, a 2-year-old who was attending the daycare.
The foster mother, Carol Poole, has been charged in her death. She died at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor after life support was removed. Her death is due to a traumatic head injury, though her maternal grandfather alleges that she had other bruising on her at the time.
Maureen Sorbet, spokesperson for Michigan DHS, stated that they are seeking to revoke the center’s license for failure to report in the Newman case. A judge will make a recommendation about the center’s license within 30 days, at which point the state will make its final decision.
Last week, a former employee of Childtime, Cher Majeske, stated that she had seen bruises and other marks on Allison Newman months before her death. Allison allegedly stated that her mother had caused the marks. She reported the marks to her supervisor, who stated that the agency did an internal investigation but never reported the marks to authorities. Daycare providers are mandated reporters by law.
Childtime Child Care Inc. opened its doors in 1997. It was licensed to care for 148 children. According to the Detroit News, it had been cited twice in the past year for violations. In January, a worker picked up a 3-year-old girl by an arm and injuring her. In April, the facility was cited because the workers weren’t washing their hands after changing diapers. According to the Free Press, they were cited in November of last year as well, for not having enough employees to supervise children playing in a room.
Amy Popp, spokesperson for the center, stated that Allison had been attending Childtime for about 9 months.
Carol Poole will be back in court on November 13th for a preliminary hearing in her case, where she is facing charges of felony murder, first-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter. She is reportedly in custody at this time.
