How Can Unannounced Daycare Visits Ensure Your Child’s Safety?

Why Is It Important to Observe a Caregiver’s Behavior at a Daycare Center?

Our experienced daycare and child injury lawyers have seen firsthand how caregivers and their negligent actions cause a vast majority of little ones’ daycare injuries. Visiting a daycare center unannounced can let you see the day-to-day dynamics between caregivers and the children under their watch. (When you show up without notice, the daycare director and its caregivers may not have time to adjust their behavior, which helps you observe how the facility truly operates.)

An unexpected visit also allows you to spot any red flags of negligent daycare centers, such as a lack of supervision of the children or the director over the caregivers. You also get a peek at any instances of caregivers being inattentive or ignoring children’s needs. For example, you might notice if children are left crying for long periods without being comforted, or if older toddlers are left to fend for themselves. These are signs that the center might not provide the level of care for your child that was promised upon enrollment.

Here are some things to watch for during an unannounced visit to your child’s daycare center:

• Are the caregivers as attentive as they seemed during your scheduled tour?
• Are caregivers engaging with the children, offering emotional support, and ensuring their physical needs are met?
• Are caregivers patient when children are upset, or do they seem overwhelmed and frustrated?

What Are Other Ways to Monitor a Daycare Center? 

We recognize that not all working parents can leave their workplace to visit their child’s daycare center spontaneously. Luckily, parents can leverage technology to accomplish this. The most common method is by checking a daycare center’s surveillance camera and live feed throughout the day. This method can almost be more telling for a parent because the caregivers are not notified when you are observing your child’s classroom.

Recently, two Austin families with toddlers in the same classroom at a daycare center logged into the center’s livestream on separate occasions and discovered caregivers abusing their children. In the first case, the mother of an 18-month-old girl observed a caregiver push a toddler to the ground and then walk away as the child cried. Moments later, the mother saw the caregiver aggressively yank her daughter, dangle and swing the toddler by her little arms, and drop her onto a nap mat. In the second case against the same center, a father logged into the center’s livestream and witnessed his 2-year-old son being smothered and slapped by a caregiver.

In another case, we helped a mother in Irving, Texas, get justice after she logged into a daycare center’s surveillance camera and witnessed a caregiver repeatedly abusing her young son and using improper punishment tactics such as withholding food and water from him.

Learn more about how technology can provide insight into your child’s experience and caregiver treatment at a daycare center in this article.

What Should You Do If You Discover Abuse or Unsafe Practices During an Unexpected Visit or Virtual Check-in at Your Child’s Daycare Center?

If you discover any abusive or unsafe practices at the daycare center during an unexpected visit or through surveillance footage, follow these five steps:

1. Have your child undergo a medical evaluation at a local pediatrician or urgent care center. A proper evaluation can help you identify the cause of any bruises or other unexplained injuries your child may have suffered at the center. This step is especially helpful in cases involving little ones who may not be able to talk or explain what hurts and/or what happened to them at the daycare center. It also provides documented evidence in the event you opt to take legal action against the daycare center at a later time.
2. Report the incident to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) by calling the Texas Abuse Hotline at 800-252-5400 or by filing a report at txabusehotlline.org so that the incident can be investigated by state agencies. Tracking deficiencies and safety violations at the daycare or childcare center can help your child’s legal case and warn other parents about the incidents and injuries that occurred on the center’s watch. For example, the two Austin daycare abuse cases revealed a long-standing pattern and culture of abusive caregivers at that center.
3. Request an incident report from the daycare. Daycare and childcare centers in Texas are required by law to notify parents about incidents and injuries that happen at the center. Parents also have the legal right to get a detailed incident report from the center that outlines what happened to their child, what injuries they experienced, and if the center sought medical attention. An incident report can also reveal any cover-up attempts or discrepancies between initial conversations with caregivers and what happened at the daycare center.
4. Inform yourself and investigate. Talk to the daycare director to report what you witnessed. At this time, if you were unable to record the incident with a smartphone or other device as it was happening, you can also request to review any recorded surveillance footage of your child’s classroom that may have captured the incident. Also, interview the parents of other children in your child’s class to see if there are other incidents of the same abusive treatment at the center.
5. Contact our experienced Texas daycare and child injury lawyers by calling 214-699-4409 or emailing [email protected] for a free case evaluation. Your family may be eligible for compensation to cover the medical expenses and costs for therapy and other current and long-term resources that help your child heal from a traumatic experience at a daycare center. We are ready to listen and advise your family on the best approach to hold a daycare center accountable and get justice for your child. There is a two-year time limit to file a daycare lawsuit or claim, so we advise reaching out to our team as soon as possible.

How Can I Hold a Negligent Daycare Center and Its Caregivers Accountable? Contact The Button Law Firm.

If your child was physically or emotionally harmed or injured because of negligent practices at a daycare or childcare center anywhere in Texas, our team of experienced and compassionate daycare and child injury lawyers at The Button Law Firm can help. We’re dedicated to advocating for you and your family. We are ready to listen and fight for your family to get justice and move forward. Our lawyers at The Button Law Firm are recognized on the prestigious Texas Super Lawyers list, and we can help guide you after a traumatizing incident involving your child. We work on contingency, meaning we don’t charge you or collect any upfront fees to get started on your case. Get a free case evaluation by calling us at 214-699-4409, emailing us at [email protected], or filling out a contact form.