Channel 2 Action News investigates the safety of child daycare centers in Georgia following complaints from parents, including a severe incident at Parker Chase Preschool in north Fulton County.
In 2022, Lynsey and Ryan Atkinson’s 2-year-old son, Justice, was allegedly abused by caretakers at Parker Chase Preschool, leading to the arrest of three teachers for cruelty to children.
“Four felonies that they have been charged with, and all four involved our son,” Ryan Atkinson said.
Despite the revocation of the center’s license, the Department of Early Care and Learning, or DECAL, reinstated it under a consent agreement, with the preschool fined $10,000.
“Consent agreements allow us to address serious, but correctable, violations that will ensure children’s safety while the program remains open and available to serve families,” DECAL said.
“This was harm that was so severe and so deep with our son, this is going to be years,” Lynsey Atkinson told Channel 2 investigative reporter Sophia Choi.
“She’s a grown woman sitting on him to hold him from getting away,” Lynsey Atkinson said.
“We saw teachers hitting Justice and kicking him, dragging him across the floor,” Ryan Atkinson said. “Mind you, he was 2 at the time, non-verbal.”
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The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) conducts inspections of child care facilities in Georgia twice a year, with 66 inspectors overseeing 4,283 centers. These inspections include a comprehensive checklist of over 400 items to ensure safety and compliance.
Choi went along for a mock inspection of one of the 4,263 child care facilities in Georgia. The centers are inspected by 66 inspectors twice a year for safety violations.
“One is a monitoring visit and one is a licensing study,” Candice Gilbert of DECAL said.
Their checklist includes more than 400 items.
And records show consultants do find a lot of violations during those unannounced visits.
Channel 2 Action News Investigates learned through open records so far this fiscal year, the state revoked the license of 48 centers and fined 438 of them.
But in many cases, records show the state “counsels” a center instead of punishing them.
“A lot of times, childcare programs are going to have the opportunity to fix their infractions, as long as they are not too serious. Now, obviously, we take things such as safe sleep, inappropriate discipline, lack of supervision, very seriously,” Gilbert said.
Parker Chase Preschool claims to have undergone significant changes, including new ownership and staff, and recently passed a state inspection with a perfect score.
However, the Atkinsons, who settled a civil suit with the preschool, continue to express concerns about the long-term effects on their son.
Other facilities, such as Creme de la Creme on Roswell Road, have remained in good standing despite multiple complaints.
For instance, on Oct. 1, 2024, the state determined a staff member at Creme de la Creme struck a child’s back for 12 minutes, “resulting in a large bruise.”
The facility was only downgraded to “need for improvement” on June 11 after the state found a staff member “remained focused on their personal phone device” after a child was injured and crying.
Creme de la Creme had no comment.
“We don’t take our job as to shut down child care programs. We’re taking our jobs to improve and make sure that the child care program that we do have in the state of Georgia are risk-averse, safe, and healthy environments for children,” Gilbert said.
Parents are encouraged to review the inspection history of their child’s daycare on DECAL’s website to ensure their safety.
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