VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

The Merit School of Doc Stone (#67)
95 Dunn Drive, Suite 101
Stafford, VA 22556
(540) 628-4999

Current Inspector: Beth Velke (804) 629-8302

Inspection Date: June 11, 2024

Complaint Related: No

Areas Reviewed:

8VAC20-780 Administration. 8VAC20-780 Physical Plant. 8VAC20-780 Staffing and Supervision. 8VAC20-780 Special Care Provisions and Emergencies.

Comments:

An unannounced monitoring inspection was initiated on 6/11/24 and completed on 7/31/24 in response to a self-report received by the licensing office on 6/10/24 relating to supervision. The inspector reviewed six children?s records and four staff records on-site on 6/11/24. This inspection included document review, tour of the facility, interviews, observations, and measurements. Information gathered during the inspection determined non-compliance with applicable standards or law, and violations are documented on the violation notice issued to the program. Please complete the plan of correction (POC) and date to be corrected sections for each violation cited on the violation notice. Specify how the deficient practice will be or has been corrected. Submit your POC within five (5) business days from today, which will be the close of business on 8/16/24. A POC submitted after this date will not appear on the public website.

Violations:

Standard #:	8VAC20-780-40-E
Description:	Based on interviews with staff, the center failed to ensure that the centers activities, services, and facilities were maintained in compliance with their own policies that are required the standards. Evidence: 1. The center did not follow written playground safety procedures that included provision for active supervision by staff to include positioning of staff in strategic locations, scanning play activities, and circulating among children. 2. On 6/10/24 between 10:00 a.m.? 10:50 a.m. there were 39 children and four staff on the big playground. At approximately 10:50am a child alerted staff that a group of children were eating seeds. All four staff were unaware that children were ingesting the toxic seeds. 3. Interviews revealed that two staff were sitting on a bench at the time of the incident and staff stated they did not have a direct line of sight of all children. 4. Children gathered pods that had fallen from a tree, opened the pods, and consumed seeds. One child reportedly consumed 19 seeds.
Plan of Correction:	Staff were located in strategic locations around the playground to ensure that all areas of the playground were visible by a staff member. Large climbing equipment would prohibit one staff member from having a line of sight of all children, but all children were in line of sight of multiple teachers. Interviews of the teachers clarified that there were brief moments when a teacher may have sat to interact briefly with a child, but no one was sitting long periods of time. Staff #2 who was stationed on the end of the playground closest to the basketball court and the swings reported observing the group of children talking and playing while sitting in a circle near the basketball court. Staff #1 reported telling the children to not pick leaves off the tree, as they were using it as pretend money. The trees were off the school property, but branches were hanging over. Trees have been completely cut down and removed to prevent future events.
Standard #:	8VAC20-780-270-A
Description:	Repeat Violation Based on interviews and observation; it was determined that not all areas inside and outside of the center were maintained in a safe condition. Evidence: On the big playground a branch of a black locust tree was extending over the playground fence within reach of the children. Staff observed the children jumping up to retrieve leaves from the tree. It was reported that the children had been using the leaves of the black locust tree as play money while outside and others were ingesting the seeds. The leaves and the seed pods are toxic.
Plan of Correction:	The trees were off the school property, but branches were hanging over. Trees have been completely cut down and removed to prevent future events.
Standard #:	8VAC20-780-340-A
Description:	Repeat Violation Based on interview and review of documentation, staff did not ensure the care, protection, and guidance of children. Evidence: 1. On 6/10/24 from approximately 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. a group of school age children were on the playground. At approximately 10:50 a.m. children reported to staff that they witnessed other children consuming seeds. Staff #1 used an app to identify the seeds consumed by the children, the app identified the seeds as black locust which are toxic when ingested by humans. 2. Staff were unaware of what time the children had ingested or had attempted to ingest the black locust seeds. 3. After returning to the School Age class, staff interviewed several children and determined approximately six children had either chewed, ingested, or attempted to ingest the black locust seeds while on the playground. 4. Between 11:00 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. Staff #1 contacted poison control who reportedly instructed the center to send the children to the emergency room to receive hospital grade liquid charcoal within one hour of ingestion. 5. Staff reported that Poison Control did not direct the center to administer liquid charcoal. At approximately 11:20am the center administered expired liquid charcoal they had on site to three of the six children. 6. The center failed to call 9-1-1.
Plan of Correction:	Based on statements from the children, the staff determined that three of the six children had ingested the pods. Instructions from Poison Control was that they needed liquid charcoal within one hour of ingestion. The decision was made to administer the liquid charcoal to those six children. The staff asked poison control if they should call 9-1-1 and were told that it was not necessary since we had administered the liquid charcoal, however, that the children?s parents should still take them to the ER where they would be given ?hospital grade? liquid charcoal and monitored for any side effects. ALL parents were notified that the seeds were toxic and that the children needed to be taken to the ER for follow-up care. In addition to notifying the parents of the six children involved, we also sent out a communication about the event to all parents enrolled at the school on the day of the event.