SAN ANTONIO, TX — An unlicensed day care in San Antonio is under investigation after a 4-month-old baby suffered more than 27 bite wounds while in their care.
John and Jeanette Betancourt rushed their 4-month-old child to the hospital last Monday after picking him up from daycare. They say they were mortified by the injuries their child had suffered.
The daycare center in question (a home located on Bentwood View) has allegedly been operating for more than 8 years without a license. Strangely, this event is eerily similar to another incident out of Llano, where an 18-month old child suffered bites and scratches all over his body at a day care just last month.
Caregiver Waited 4 Hours Before Reporting the Incident
In the San Antonio daycare biting incident, the owner allegedly waited a full 4 hours without reporting it to the parents or seeking medical attention on the child’s behalf, putting the baby in even more danger. The child’s parents, John and Jeanette Betancourt picked up their child last Friday and were shocked at the bite marks on their child’s body.
According to the parents, they had interviewed the day care’s owner, asking her about her licensing, the number of years she had been in operation and if she had certification in CPR and First Aid. The owner, who is unnamed at this point due to the fact that she hasn’t been officially charged, was said to have produced the needed documentation. However, the explanation she gave when the parents asked her about the bite marks didn’t stand up to their scrutiny; she said that she was making lunch for the other kids when she heard the child cry and that when she went to check on the baby, he was fine.
Child Care Protective Services immediately commenced an investigation into the incident and were able to show up at the center for an unannounced inspection. Mary Walker of Child Care Licensing, a subsidiary of CPS, issued a statement that read:
“It appears the unlicensed day care had been in operation for the past 8 years and there were a total of 8 children in their care on Monday. A safety plan was put into place stating the provider will not care for unrelated children during the investigation and pending approval from CCL. If the provider would like to apply for a permit to legally operate, CCL would assist with that process.”
The child’s mother believes that the daycare center shouldn’t be in business and said that the charges being pursued by the San Antonio Police Department probably won’t ever allow her to be in business going forward.
Always Ensure that Your Daycare Center of Choice is Licensed
Putting your child in the care of a daycare center with no license is like playing with fire. Licensing usually requires a daycare center to meet certain requirements such as hiring individuals with no criminal history, ensuring that they’ve passed various inspections and that employees have the needed skills to take care of children, that there is an acceptable child to caretaker ratio, and more. If you’d like to know what these minimum care guidelines are, and are curious to see if your daycare center is licensed in Texas, you can do so by clicking here.
If your child was injured at a daycare center, you have every right to seek a civil claim against them on your child’s behalf in order to recover money damages as well as stop the cycle of child abuse in these centers. If you would like to speak with a daycare abuse lawyer about your case, call us today for a free consultation at 1-877-403-9378.