Growing Better Child Care LLC · Reading

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Cert rep noted Staff 3 received emergency plan training 1/11/2022 and 1/12/24. This is more than 12 months between emergency plan training. Staff 7 received emergency plan training on 4/2/24 which is more than 90 days after her date of hire. See code sheet for date of hire.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Destin was found in on the bottom shelf of the changing table in the diapering area of the toddler room. The Destin is labeled "keep out of reach of children. This shelf was accessible to children.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 cert rep observed sharp screws (with less than one inch length) exposed on the latis on the wall of the outdoor PlaySpace. This PlaySpace is used by children of all ages including those who may still be placing objects in their mouths.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Cert rep observed peeling paint on the wall above the colored bones and around the phone outlet of that same wall.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 cert rep observed the following concern regarding equipment and toys at the facility: 1) tear in the black chair in the toddler classroom 2) crack in the microwave door of the teal toy kitchen in the large room 3) tear in the gray high chair seat in the large room.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 plastic bags and gloves were found in on the bottom shelf of the changing table in the diapering area of the toddler room. The children in this room may still be placing objects in their mouths. This shelf was accessible to children.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Staff reported that infant bottles were being washed a reused at the facility. The facility does not have a commercial dishwasher to wash infant bottles.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 the facility did not have the emergency drill documentation from 2024 available for review.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 documentation that the emergency plan was sent to the local municipality was not available for cert rep review.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Cert rep noted Staff 2 completed fire safety training on 2/19/23 and 4/27/24. This is more than 12 months between fire safety trainings.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Staff person 8 has not completed the following required pre-service training within 90 days of their date of hire (see LIS code sheet): PA Health and Safety Requirement. Staff person 8 has completed Pennsylvania Health and Safety Update 2022 (1 hour) on 12/6/23, but there is no proof of completing a 6 or 10 hour health and safety course.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Cert rep noted Staff 1 had no staff evaluations available for review in her Staff file. Staff 1 has been employed for more than one year.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Cert rep noted that Staff 5, and 6 do not have verification of experience with children documented in their staff file. Staff 4 had 2251 hours of experience with children documented on file. This is less than two years (or 2500 hours). Staff 4, 5, and 6 all have high school diplomas on file and have been working as assistant group supervisors.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Child 3's and 4's fee agreements did not have the fee amount or date the fee was to be paid.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Child 2 and Child 4 did not have the services to be provided listed on the fee agreement. Child 2 did not have the Child's arrival time or departure time listed on fee agreement.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Child 1's emergency contact form did not have a home address for the child's mother, a work address and phone number for the child's father or home phone numbers for either parent. Child 3 and Child 4 did not have their mother's work phone number listed on the emergency contact.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 cert rep observed the infant classroom did not have emergency contact forms present for the children receiving care in the infant classroom.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 cert rep noted Child 2's fee agreement was most recently reviewed by the parent on 5/1/24. This is more than 6 months since the previous parental review of the Child's fee agreement.

During a renewal inspection on 12/19/24 Staff reported that when accident, illness and injuries occur the parent receives the original report, and a copy of the report is placed in the facility's accident file. Staff reported that a copy of this report is not placed in the child's file.

During the Renewal Inspection on 12/5/2023, staff person #1 was observed to be caring for children unsupervised. Staff person #1 has not completed the following pre-service training required prior to caring for children unsupervised: The required pre-service health and safety training.

During the Renewal Inspection on 12/5/2023, staff person #2 had a volunteer state police clearance on file. See LIS code sheet.

On 12/5/2023, the updated health report for Child #1 did not have did not have documentation of the following up-to-date immunization as recommended by the ACIP: The annual influenza immunization. The file for Child #1 did not include an exemption from immunization for religious belief or strong personal objection equated to a religious belief written, signed and dated statement by the child's parent.

Staff person #3 did not complete mandated reporter training within 60 months. This is evidenced by the updated mandated reporter training on file being dated 9/14/2023 and the previously documented mandated reporter training on file being dated 1/30/2018.

During the review of staff files on 12/8/2022, the following was observed: Staff #1 had an expired FBI clearance on file that was dated 10/18/2017. Staff #2 had an updated child abuse clearance on file dated 12/2/2022, but the previous child abuse clearance for Staff #2 was dated 10/16/2017. Staff #2 verified that she resided in New Jersey two years ago. Staff #2 did not have the required child abuse clearance from New Jersey on file on 12/8/2022. Staff #5 had proof of all clearance requests on file on 12/8/2022. However, Staff #5 did not have the completed DHS FBI clearance on file. See LIS code sheet.

Staff #3 was observed to be working alone with a group of children on 12/8/2022 and 12/13/2022. Staff #3 does not have any documented childcare experience on file as of 12/13/2022.

On 12/8/2022, peeling paint was seen on the changing table in the bathroom that is used for the infants.

On 12/8/2022, during the renewal inspection, the classrooms were observed to have half-doors separating the areas, which had slide locks installed. The slide locks were observed to be locked, obstructing the emergency means of egress for each of the classroom groups. Both the toddler classroom and the front classroom with the door facing Kutztown Road were observed to have a locked emergency exit, with both a large slide lock and a chain lock engaged on each door.

On 12/8/2022, the top part of a plastic toy grill outside on the playground had a crack with sharp edges exposed.

During the child file review on 12/13/2022, the immunizations attached to the updated health reports for Child #1 and Child #2 did not include immunizations as recommended by the ACIP. Child #1, a young toddler was missing verification of the MMR, Varicella and Hepatitis A immunizations that are recommended by the ACIP between the ages of 12 and 15 months. Child #2, an older toddler did not have the up-to-date influenza immunization as recommended by the ACIP. The files for Child #1 and Child #2 did not include an exemption from immunization for religious belief or strong personal objection equated to a religious belief written, signed and dated by the child's parent. See LIS code sheet.

on 12/8/2022, it was observed that the diapering can used for the toddler classroom was not hands-free.

During the staff file review on 12/8/2022, the following was observed: Staff #1 did not have an initial health assessment or tuberculosis screening by the Mantoux method required at initial employment on file. Staff #2 had a current initial health assessment and tuberculosis screening on file on 12/8/2022, but not at the time of hire. Staff #3 did not have the initial assessment and tuberculosis screening on file at the time upon hire. Staff #4 did not have the tuberculosis screening conducted prior to employment. Staff #5 did not have an initial health assessment on file. The tuberculosis screening on file for Staff #5 was not conducted prior to employment. See LIS code sheet.

On 12/8/2022, the facility had not conducted an emergency drill during the previous 12 months of operation. The emergency plan also had not been reviewed and documented in writing during the previous 12 months.

The operator has not notified the local traffic safety authorities annually in writing of the location of the facility and the program's use of pedestrian and vehicular routes around the childcare facility.

Staff person #4 has not completed the following required pre-service training within 90 days of their date of hire (see LIS code sheet): The required pre-service health and safety training.

On 12/8/2022, during the renewal inspection, the childcare spaces did not have a written plan displayed identifying the means of transporting a child to emergency care and staffing provisions in the event of an emergency.

During the Renewal Inspection on 12/8/2022, the emergency contact forms in each of the 4 classrooms had not been updated in the previous 6 months as required.

During the file review on 12/8/2022, Staff #1 only had one written nonfamily reference on file. Facility person #6, a volunteer did not have any written references on file. See LIS code sheet.

During an unannounced inspection on 8/5/2022, a group of children were observed lined up at the sink in the classroom to wash their hands. Lysol disinfectant spray and OdoBan disinfectant was observed next to the sink accessible to children while they were washing their hands. Both items were labeled keep out of reach of children.

During the Renewal Inspection on 2/16/2022, Staff #1 did not have a completed National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) clearance on file. The staff data sheet indicated that Staff #1 started working with children at the facility on 12/13/2020. The NSOR clearance was not requested until 1/21/2022. Staff #1 had a completed state police clearance on file, but this clearance was not requested until 1/21/2022. Staff #2 and Staff #3 had each of the required clearances on file on 2/16/2022. However, the staff data sheet indicated that Staff #2 began working with children at the facility on 1/12/2022. The clearances for Staff #2 were requested as follows: NSOR on 1/18/2022 and the state police, child abuse, and proof of being fingerprinted for the DHS FBI clearance on 1/20/2022, Staff #3 began working on 1/10/2022, but was not fingerprinted for the DHS FBI clearance until 1/22/2022.

During the Renewal Inspection on 2/16/2022, a piece of wood with sharp edges exposed was seen on a fence post to the right near the gate entering the outdoor playground.

During the review of child files on 2/16/2022, the health report on file for Child #1 did not have a signature from physician, physician's assistant or a CRNP with the individual's professional title. Child #1 began attending on 12/8/2021.

On 2/16/2022, the health report for Child #1 did not show any documentation of an influenza vaccine for the child. There was not an exemption letter on file from the parent to explain that the child did not have the influenza vaccine due to a religious belief or strong personal objection equated to a religious belief.

During the Renewal Inspection on 2/16/2022, the facility did not have a written statement on file from the parent showing the formula and feeding schedule for the infants that are currently enrolled at the facility.

During the Renewal Inspection on 2/16/2022, Staff #3 did not have any written, nonfamily references on file.

During the opening inspection on 10/20/2021, the first-aid kit in the classrooms did not contain soap.

During the opening inspection on 10/20/2021, the wooden fence on the outdoor playground had a cracked fence post leaving sharp edges exposed and a risk of splinters. Nails were also protruding from the bottom of the fence and screws were protruding from the plastic lattice attached to the building.

During the opening inspection on 10/20/2021, the diaper changing pad in the infant room had a rip that left foam exposed: thus the diaper changing pad could not be properly sanitized.

During the opening inspection on 10/20/2021, the health assessment and tuberculosis screening for Staff #1 was dated 1/31/2020.

During the opening inspection on 10/20/2021, the emergency plan for the facility did not provide for accommodations for infants and toddlers.