Bel Aire day care’s license to look after infants revoked after complaints of neglect

The state is taking away a Bel Aire day care’s license to look after infants following multiple complaints and violations.

It means the Melissa Prock Day Care Home in Bel Aire is no longer legally licensed to care for children under 18 months of age. It can only care for children above that age now.

The order came Friday from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which issues licenses to day care facilities around the state.

A complaint investigation started in June found that the day care left infants in a closed room for “long periods of time” without interacting with them, according to the emergency order modifying the day care’s license.

The order also says Melissa Prock, the owner of the day care, is “not qualified by emotional maturity, sound judgment and an understanding of children when she left infants to cry for hours without responding or any interaction,” the order says.

Infants were also left in playpens or strapped in bouncy seats to restrict their movement, according to the order.

Prock said Friday she was aware of the KDHE order but declined to comment on the alleged violations.

KDHE says the emergency order was necessary to prevent the abandonment and physical or mental abuse of the infants under Prock’s care.

The day care is now required by state law to write to parents and guardians of children it cares for about the license change.

The Melissa Prock Day Care Home can ask the state to reconsider its decision within the next 15 days.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Bel Aire day care’s license to look after infants revoked after complaints of neglect."