The director of the First United Methodist Church Daycare has resigned, effective July 30, following a recent inspection by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that found several infractions.
Cindy Dougherty’s resignation was announced during service Sunday by First United Methodist Daycare Board Member Lindsey Adams, who says they are seeking applications for both that position and the assistant director position.
He says they intend to form a ‘daycare support committee,’ which will support the staff of the program in any way they can.
In a statement to local media, Dougherty says she has accepted a teaching position elsewhere that begins at the end of the month.
Her resignation comes after an inspection of the daycare by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services on June 24 that revealed instances of ‘failure to comply with minimum licensure standards.’ Violations include an infant sleeping in a crib with a loose blanket, using the Little Chapel space when it’s not approved for the day care, and four children not being properly supervised while an employee sat on a couch using a cell phone.
Allegations against Dougherty include ‘firmly grabbing two four-year old children by the arm’ due to inappropriate behavior, and tapping one child on the mouth with an envelope. Dougherty also documented that she took two children to an unapproved child-care space in the building known as Little Chapel. She reportedly instructed two four-year-old children to put their heads and hands on chairs as they kneeled in front of an adult-size chair in the Little Chapel as a form of discipline.
Dougherty “flicked” the left ear of a child when the child continued to act out while kneeling in front of the chair, according to the inspection report. She also allegedly placed her left foot on the back of both calves of a four-year-old’s legs because the child would not remain still while kneeling in front of the chair.
Dougherty notes in her statement that the daycare’s license was suspended following the inspection on June 28 and says ‘The suspension would have never happened, if the incident being investigated, had not been preceded by the allegations and subsequent charges stemming from January 2019.”
Former First United Methodist Church Day Care employee Allison Simpson is under grand jury indictment for criminal child abuse and wanton endangerment for alleged incidents in January.
Dougherty adds, ‘As you can probably imagine, and for good reason, FUMC Daycare has been, and continues to be, very closely monitored by DRCC (Division of Regulated Child Care) since January 2019.’
Dougherty didn’t take over leadership of the daycare until February of this year and says, ‘To say the least, it has been a challenging six months, but certainly worthwhile to see our staff work together to create a positive and fun learning environment.’ She adds, ‘Currently, the daycare is doing great and has wonderful teachers who love and care about each of the kids.’
She says she has offered to assist the daycare in any way needed to help make the transition a success.
Below is statement to local media from Dougherty regarding her resignation and the June 28 suspension of the daycare’s license:
The suspension would have never happened, if the incident being investigated, had not been preceded by the allegations and subsequent charges stemming from January 2019. As you can probably imagine, and for good reason, FUMC Daycare has been, and continues to be, very closely monitored by DRCC (Division of Regulated Child Care) since January 2019.
During the week following the suspension of our license on June 28, 2019, I made every effort to keep parents informed about the progress toward getting our license reinstated. I communicated with parents through the Remind app and our closed FaceBook page for parents, grandparents and teachers. After being closed for more than a week, parents were anxious to know why DRCC wasn’t approving our Plan of Correction. On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, it was decided to share the Plan of Correction on our FB page with them in an open and transparent manner. State regulations requires the Plan of Correction to be posted and visible to parents. Apparently, a member of the FB page, chose to share the Plan of Correction with various media groups.
I accepted the job as Director in February 2019 after the unfortunate incidents which occurred in January 2019. To say the least, it has been a challenging 6 months, but certainly worthwhile to see our staff work together to create a positive and fun learning environment. Currently, the daycare is doing great and has wonderful teachers who love and care about each of the kids.
After a lot of thought and prayers, I chose to accept a teaching position starting 7/31/19. I have offered to assist the Daycare in any way needed to help make this transition a success and to have minimal impact on the kids or their parents.
Sincerely,
Cindy