NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — Every week Action News Jax investigates local child care centers to show you how they measure up to state guidelines. In this week’s Kid Care Report, Letisha Bereola visited a day care that had five class 2 violations on its recent inspection. Most of them involved the day care’s van used to drive kids around.
Bereola paid a visit to Step by Step Learning Center in Fernandina Beach and spoke to its owner Janet Courter. Between her two locations, up to 175 children are cared for daily.
The center’s after school/summer camp received four class 2 violations during its recent Department of Children and Families inspection. A class 2 is the second most serious violation, according to DCF guidelines, and could pose a threat to the health and safety of a child.
The class 2 violations were for:
- No transportation log for its van.
- The van's insurance coverage amount couldn't be verified.
- The van didn't have proof of an annual inspection and wouldn't start up.
- A child's dosage information for medication didn't match the parental consent form
At its other location, inspectors say it also didn’t have an annual inspection for its van on record.
Courter told Bereola she's not happy about the latest report but pointed to her most recent inspection as an example of her track record. The last inspection had no violations.
“We just got busy. Weren’t paying attention. Lack of paperwork,” Courter said.
Courter said the center is back in compliance.
The next day care in this week’s Kid Care Report is Tutor Time Child Care Learning Center in Oceanway.
It received two class 2 violations. Five electrical outlets were uncovered and a background check was missing for an employee. Both violations were corrected on the spot.
UPDATE: Tutor Time Communications team responded with this comment:
"We take our responsibility as a caregiver very seriously and are committed to meeting or exceeding state guidelines of care. These concerns have been addressed and resolved. We’ll continue to work cooperatively with the Department of Children and Families to ensure we remain in compliance with all regulations."
Here are the latest clean inspections:
Hogan Lane Day Care Inc.
Ortega Hiss Preschool
Little Fountains of Light Learning Center
JSM Early Learning Enrichment Center #2
The Learning Tree Preschool Center