Print edition: 
The state announced Friday that it has suspended a Wichita day care's license — citing the playpen-related death of a 17-month-old in the provider's care and saying her supervision and judgment were lacking.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also is investigating the death, spokeswoman Patty Davis said, declining to elaborate.
Police Lt. Ken Landwehr provided a new explanation as to how the boy's death might have occurred: The initial investigation indicated that the boy apparently got "caught up" at the top of the playpen while trying to climb out and that it might have led to asphyxiation.
A more conclusive determination will hinge on autopsy results and an examination of the playpen, said Landwehr, head of the police homicide unit. The autopsy was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Police have said that based on the initial investigation, the death appeared to be accidental. Next week, police plan to present their investigation to prosecutors, who would decide whether to bring criminal charges.
According to documents, the day care provider found the boy unresponsive at her day care home Wednesday afternoon. Emergency crews pronounced him dead shortly after they arrived.
The emergency order by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment identified the day care provider as "Amys Lil Angels, a licensed day care home operated by Amy Shannon Waner, at 3812 E. Orme," between Hillside and Oliver and south of Kellogg. A neighbor said Waner moved to the duplex last summer.
Neither Waner, 26, nor the boy's parents could be reached for comment.
Suspension outlined
The suspension, issued Thursday and announced Friday, said the state investigation resulted in the provider being "cited for lack of sound judgment and an understanding of children as well as a lack of supervision and using a level of the day care home that was denied for use by the fire inspector."
KDHE wouldn't say what level of the house the order was referring to.
The KDHE action is "necessary to protect the health and safety of the children in care due to the (provider's) lack of supervision of the children in her care and her severe lack of sound judgment," the order said.
KDHE had issued Waner a second temporary permit, effective Jan. 17 and expiring April 17, to operate a day care home. She did not pass an initial inspection, so she received a second temporary permit in her attempt to get a longer-term license, KDHE spokesman Jonathan Larance said. Larance didn't know why she failed the initial inspection but said it's not uncommon for providers to fail the first time.
State law allows KDHE to issue an emergency order when it is "necessary to protect children in the home from any potential threat to health or safety."
Taking precautions
Child care expert Cathy Gray said anyone who cares for a child needs to remember that with playpens and other child equipment, "you have to know your product." What are the weight and age limits? Have there been any product recalls?
How children will use equipment is tough to gauge because every child develops differently, said Gray, with Child Care Aware of Kansas, a nonprofit group that provides training, information and referrals for child care providers and parents.
The most important, effective way to protect small children, she said, is direct supervision by an adult.
