Daycare Employees Under Investigation for Possible Abuse
Friday September 14, 2007 11:45pm Posted By: Robin Skiles
Sherwood - The Department of Human Services says this is the first allegation of abuse for the Sherwood Child Care Center.
On Friday morning, the Arkansas Department of Human Services received a call regarding two employees at the Sherwood Child Care Center.
(Julie Munsell/AR Dept. of Human Services) "We received an allegation today there was a misuse of discipline involving water being sprayed on a child's face or children's faces."
According to authorities, two employees sprayed five to seven toddlers in the face with a water hose, possibly as punishment. At the time of the incident police say the children were only wearing diapers.
(Munsell) "Absolutely this kind of punishment, if it occurred would be construed as cruel and unusual."
However, DHS spokesperson Julie Munsell also says the agency believes this was an isolated incident and the children are not in grave danger. As a result the Sherwood Child Care Center remains open and operational.
(Munsell) "At this point, they're being very cooperative, they have a good history in terms of compliance with the facility."
The owner of the Sherwood Child Care Center says the two employees under investigation have been fired. In the meantime, the center has suspended all water activities until the investigation is complete.
