South YMCA day care facing allegations of toddler abuse

Two state agencies assigned to protect children are investigating whether toddlers have been physically abused by a teacher in a program run by the Wichita area’s biggest day care provider.

The investigation into the South YMCA Early Learning Center is only beginning. But for one Wichita mother – Daria Scriven Nelsen – the allegation that stunned her the most is this: “She shook the hell out of (the child).”

A state worker used that wording in describing some of the allegations, Nelsen said Monday. The alleged shaking involved a child who is not Nelsen’s. But her son is one of three alleged victims, she said. A worker with the Kansas Department for Children and Families called her on Wednesday to tell her that her 2-year-old son and two other small children were allegedly abused by a staff member at the South YMCA, she said.

Matt Keith, communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, confirmed Monday that the department, which licenses child care facilities, is investigating the South YMCA day care program. Keith said he cannot say more because the investigation is ongoing. DCF spokeswoman Theresa Freed said, “We cannot confirm our involvement in an investigation.”

Wichita police know of the investigation, “and we will become involved if necessary,” Officer Charley Davidson, a police department spokesman, said Monday afternoon.

Shelly Conrady, vice president of marketing and communications for Greater Wichita YMCA, said: “We are cooperating fully with that investigation because we take that very seriously, and we ourselves are investigating fully.” Immediately after the YMCA heard of the complaint, the staff member was removed from the program and can’t work with children until the investigation is over, Conrady said.

Both state agencies are sending staff to look into the complaint, and it could be a month before the YMCA knows the findings, she said.

‘We are confident’

Day care staff members are among the state’s so-called mandatory reporters, meaning they are required to report any suspected child abuse.

An administrator of the day care program told Nelsen that the allegations came from an internal source and were reported directly to the DCF, Nelsen said. The same official told her that the teacher had been put on administrative leave while the investigation continues but that the teacher could return depending on the outcome, Nelsen said.

Conrady, the YMCA spokeswoman, said she hasn’t seen the complaint or its details.

Still, Conrady said, “We are confident that the findings will be ... not an issue, because the Y has a lot of safety protocols in place.”

The classes involve team teaching, so no child is left alone with an adult, and the facilities are “very intentionally” designed so that people can see from one class to another, she said.

The YMCA has contacted parents and told them that a complaint was filed, that the teacher has been removed and that they are encouraged to be candid and cooperative with the investigation, Conrady said.

The South YMCA day care program is licensed for about 100 children but is not at capacity, Conrady said.

With almost 60 licensed child care sites in the Wichita metro area, the YMCA is the largest day care provider, she said.

‘In complete shock’

Nelsen said a woman who identified herself as a DCF child protection services specialist called last week to inform her that there had been an internal report of multiple instances of alleged physical abuse of three children by a day care teacher.

The DCF specialist spoke of two instances, one in which Nelsen’s son was in a group activity and wasn’t listening when the female teacher allegedly jerked his arm and forced him to stay in place, Nelsen recalled.

The second incident involving her son occurred when it was meal time or at an activity table and the teacher allegedly pushed her son down by the shoulders to force him into a chair, and she allegedly scolded the boy, Nelsen said the DCF worker told her.

The person making the report saw the actions over time, Nelson said a YMCA official told her.

The DCF worker described the allegations in detail and sounded as though she were reading from a script, Nelsen said.

The DCF staff member said one of the allegations involved a child younger than Nelsen’s son – who just turned 2 – who was falling asleep during a group activity.

The teacher then went over to that child, scolded the child, and “she shook the hell out of” the child. Those were the words the DCF worker used as she cited the account of the person reporting the alleged abuse, Nelsen said. The teacher again forced the child upright and scolded the child, the DCF worker told Nelsen.

After the state worker mentioned that, Nelsen said, she forgot what the worker said about the third alleged victim.

At that point, she said, “I was in complete shock.

“That’s why I went and pulled him (her son) out of day care that day” and put him in the care of a relative temporarily.

Nelsen said her son had been with the YMCA day care program for two and a half weeks at that point. She chose the program because she wanted a licensed and accredited day care facility for her son and she felt that the YMCA had a good reputation. She also liked the idea that it provided education and developmental activities and was not just a baby-sitting service.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 7:47 PM with the headline "South YMCA day care facing allegations of toddler abuse."