Daycare center abuse allegations spark mom’s call to community

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Another daycare in our area is being investigated by the state after a mother claims her child was hurt in their care.

A police report she filed with the Richmond County Sheriff’s office says he had three knots on his head and a black eye.

The mother told News 12 that the center couldn’t explain how they got there.

She doesn’t want you to see her face, instead she wants you to hear her son’s story.

“It’s hard. I’m a single mom and I work full-time. But it’s especially hard when your children are in the care of a stranger that you have to trust,” said the mother.

According to a police report, the mom reported to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office about “several injuries to her son” after she picked him up from the Children 4 Learning Academy.

“I started to brush my hand across his head, and I felt lumps. There were three lumps. Two on his forehead, and then a big lump on the back of his neck, under his right ear. I was just furious,” she said.

She says she took those concerns right back to the center.

“I said, ‘Hey, did he fall or something happened?’ I’m a very fair and understanding mother. But she said, ‘No, ma’am. Nothing, absolutely nothing happened.’ It just infuriated me, because I’m sitting here looking at my son who has three contusions on his head, severe swelling on his forehead, and the daycare is telling me that nothing happened,” she said.

She filed a complaint with the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

News 12 found documents from a 2023 incident that show an employee grabbed a 2-year-old by the neck and dug their nails into the child’s skin. The worker was arrested for simple battery.

“I want justice for my son. I also want parents to know that there is a resource where you can check any complaint that DECAL has made on the childcare site. I didn’t know that was available. If I had known that and had that resource, I would have never sent my children to this daycare,” she said.

We did reach out to Children 4 Learning Academy but have not heard back. Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning says the investigation is still open at this time.

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning says they want you to do your homework on daycares. On their website, you can type in your child’s daycare site and read about them.

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