VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Christ First Church
116 Romans Road
Suffolk, VA 23434
(757) 539-7788

VDSS Contact: Melinda Popkin (757) 802-5281

Inspection Date: July 18, 2023

Complaint Related: No

Areas Reviewed:

22.1 Religious Exempt; Background Checks Code; Carbon Monoxide 32.1 Report by person other than physician 54.1 Must be MAT Certified. 63.2 Child abuse and neglect 8VAC20-770 Background Checks

Comments:

A monitoring inspection was initiated and concluded on 7/18/2023. There were 63 children , ages infant to 9 years old, present with 13 staff supervising. The inspector reviewed compliance in the areas of administration, physical plant, staffing and supervision, programming, medication, special care and emergencies and nutrition. A total of 5 staff records were reviewed. The inspection started at 2:24 pm and concluded at 4:45 pm. Information gathered during the inspection determined non-compliance with applicable standards or law and violations were documented on the violation notice issued to the program.

Violations:

Standard #:	22.1-289.031-A-4
Description:	Based on record review and interview, the Religious Exempt Provider was unable to demonstrate that each staff in a supervisory position has been certified by a practicing physician or physician assistant to be free from any disability which would prevent them from caring for children under their supervision. Evidence: Five staff records were reviewed. The record for staff #1,whose date of employment is 7/5/2023, did not contain documentation by a practicing physician or physician assistant to that staff #1 is free from any disability which would prevent her from caring for children under her supervision. The program director confirmed that this documentation was not available for review.
Plan of Correction:	The administrator stated that this documentation may have been faxed but she was unable to locate it during the inspection. Staff will be asked to provide the required documentation from her physician by the end of the week. A copy will be placed in staff #1's record. This documentation was received from staff #1 on 7/20/2023.
Standard #:	22.1-289.031-B-5
Description:	Based on observation and interview, the Religious Exempt Provider did not ensure that all areas of the premises accessible to children are free of obvious injury hazards, including providing and maintaining sand or other cushioning material under playground equipment. Evidence: The inspector observed the following outdoor pieces of play equipment which were located on the outdoor play space with no observable cushioning material present: - A set of two swings on a metal mount. There was grass and no visible cushioning material under it. - A large fixed composite playset with three slides and a rope net climbing component was located over grass. No cushioning material was visible. - A smaller fixed composite playset with three slides was located over grass. No cushioning material was visible. - A four-seater merry go round was located over grass with No cushioning material visible. The administrator confirmed that child are using the outdoor equipment on days when it is not too hot to go outdoors.
Plan of Correction:	The administrator stated that they intend to spread mulch under the play equipment and have begun taking steps to obtain it. As a new budget is approved, mulch will be purchased and applied to the surfaces under the equipment by fall when school is back in session. At this time, the administrator stated that the outdoor equipment is not often utilized due to the current high temperatures outside.