Personal Injury Law

Day Care Worker Charged After Inadequate Supervision Of Student

By M. Brandon Smith

When you place your child's care and wellbeing in the hands of a professional day care facility you expect them to take the necessary steps and precautions to ensure your child's safety. After all they are being paid large sums of money for this service and usually hold themselves out to be highly trained caring people that want the best for their children and their families.

Although these ideals are often portrayed and sought, bad things can happen if the day care does not hire the right employees and take the necessary steps to adequately supervise their pupils. A perfect example of this recently took place at Happy Days Preschool on Cherokee Street in Kennesaw, Georgia. According to the Cobb County Police Department, a 7-year-old boy who was left unattended and unsupervised left the day care center and was subsequently found walking alone several miles from the preschool. After confirming the boy was supposed to be in the care and custody of Happy Day Preschool with his parents, the police launched an investigation into the incident.

The boy's parents confirmed that he was supposed to be at the preschool, which is about four miles away and on the other side of heavily-traveled Cobb Parkway from where the boy was found.

"Luther said that when Kennesaw police went to Happy Days, they "observed several juveniles of various ages on the playground without adult supervision."

Only two adults were at the school, one working in the "infant room," and the other doing administrative work in an office, Luther said. Neither knew the boy was missing."

Given their investigation and alarming facts of this situation, 65-year-old Barbara Ellen Alba, the adult in charge of the preschool, was subsequently arrested and charged with felony cruelty to children in the second degree according to authorities.  Thankfully the child was found uninjured and safely returned to his parents.

Full post as published by Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer on May 29, 2008 (boomark / email).