March 6, 2024
North Carolina Daycare Facility Closes After Parent Alleges Child Negligence
An image shows the mother's 3-year-old daughter, who attended Midwood, "laid across the laps of other children" in a moving car.
North Carolina’s Midwood Learning Academy has been shut down after footage, shared by a concern parent, showed toddlers from the daycare allegedly unsupervised at a public park.
A Feb. 28 update from WBTV on X, formerly known as Twitter, revealed that one of the daycare’s two licenses was suspended following a state order for the academy to close.
“You must inform all your parents of enrolled children that the facility will close at the end of business today,” a Feb. 26 notice to the daycare from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) stated, according to WBTV. “Additionally, subsidized child care payments will end today.”
The scandal started after an anonymous woman, whose daughter attended Midwood, said a friend saw a large group of toddlers allegedly playing unattended at a public park near the Charlotte area while some adults sat alone in a nearby car.
As the women’s friend approached, the adults reportedly piled the children into the car and drove away, with video showing the kids improperly restrained without seatbelts or car seats. Horrifyingly, the mother’s 3-year-old daughter was among those “laid across the laps of other children” as the car rolled away.
“It just makes you question everything, and it makes me seriously question the environment she’s been in,” she told WBTV. “It is my opinion that they should not be allowed to care for other children.”
State records from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reveal Midwood has accumulated numerous violations in recent years, including failure to adequately supervise children and provide a safe indoor and outdoor environment.
The August 2022 incident noted “a one-year-old child who was able to leave the outdoor play area of the facility and gain access to the parking area. The child was unsupervised for an unknown period.” The unannounced visit also found “there was a substantiation of child maltreatment.”
The violations were reportedly corrected months later, and none were cited following an unannounced walkthrough in January 2023.
According to the mother, NCDHHS is investigating the academy.
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