Suit seeks accountability after 3-year-old allegedly dislocates elbow at Fort Worth day care

When Fort Worth mother Jaynisha Jackson arrived to pick up her 3-year-old daughter from day care in June 2021, she found her in pain and holding an injured arm. The child’s elbow had been dislocated as a result of inappropriate discipline, according to a lawsuit filed this month, and no one from the center had called to let her know. Law enforcement was then called to the scene, according to the suit.

The incident, which was Jackson’s “worst nightmare,” was captured on surveillance footage, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Tarrant County district court.

The child was “yanked by her arm from under a table with enough force to cause (her) to spin around and fall to the floor,” according to the suit. The employee then yanked the child’s arm a second time to lift her from the floor and took her to sit against a wall “with force,” the suit alleges.

This incident was just the latest in a series of mishaps for Compass Children’s Academy, which has been investigated and cited for violations of regulations ranging from improper storage of cleaning supplies, to mistakenly releasing a child to the wrong parent and losing track of how many children were in its care, according to investigative reports shared with the Star-Telegram.

In June 2022, the day care was taken over by new owners, Northstar Preschools, which has child care centers in Utah and Texas.

Clark Peterson, the CEO of the preschool chain, said that the conduct of the employee discussed in the suit was unacceptable and that the employee is no longer working for the organization.

“The conduct of the teacher involved in the discussed incident was absolutely unacceptable and she has been terminated,” Peterson said through a spokesperson. “That incident took place under prior ownership and since that time, we’ve installed new leadership here at the school, establishing new hiring processes that institute the safety and training program to ensure something like this never happens again.”

“There is nothing more important than creating a safe learning environment for the children in our care,” he added.

The spokesperson added that there are “stringent rules and expectations and policies and procedures that have to be followed” under the new company.

West Fort Worth Day Care LLC, which was the owner of the day care at the time of the incident, could not be reached for comment.

‘No excuse’ for child care workers’ actions

The surveillance video described in the lawsuit shows the child “crying and coveting her arm in pain.”

The provider, under the previous owner, did not contact Jackson, emergency services or the state to report the injuries and incident, according to the suit.

The lawsuit cites a subsequent investigation into the incident by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Child-Care Licensing Division, which concluded that the “reckless acts of Compass Children’s Academy caused physical injury resulting in substantial threat of harm to (the daughter).”

Despite the incident, which occurred on a Friday, the provider still had the employee back to work overseeing children the next week, without additional training, according to the suit.

“It is infuriating that my daughter was seriously hurt at daycare,” Jackson said in a news release. “They are supposed to keep her safe while I am at work. There is simply no excuse for this to happen to my family or any other family.”

A history of violations

Compass Children’s Academy, which is named as a defendant in the suit along with its former parent company West Fort Worth Day Care LLC, has been cited by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission numerous times since 2016, according to the lawsuit, for violations ranging from improper supervision of children to failure to report injuries and child abuse. Thirteen of the most egregious violations are cited in the suit.

Two citations in 2018 were connected to “the use of prohibited punishments relating to the use of harsh and cruel punishment methods and corporal punishment.”

In September 2020, the facility was cited for failing to report child abuse and caregivers failing to demonstrate good judgment, competency and self-control.

After another incident in 2019, an employee was fired, according to records from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services shared by Jackson’s lawyer. Following the termination, employees at the time were “given additional training on self control.”

The continued citations and deficiencies from the state show “the same conduct and failure to act that led to the incident and the injuries” to Jackson’s daughter in June 2021, according to the suit.

Jackson and her attorneys are requesting relief over $1 million, plus exemplary damages, according to the suit, although the actual amount would be decided by a jury if a trial goes ahead.

Four counts related to negligence are mentioned in the suit, citing damages including physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses and loss of wages among other damages.

Previous leadership at the day care also refused repeated orders by the health department to shut down after a child tested positive for COVID-19, according to investigative documents.

Center is no longer Texas Rising Star certified

Texas has a Quality Rating and Improvement System called Texas Rising Star, which incentives child care organizations to provide quality care beyond what is required under the law.

Under the previous owners, Compass Children’s Academy was part of the system, which requires inspections and quarterly reviews of child care standards. Despite advertising on its website that Compass Children’s Academy is still a certified center, the Texas Workforce Commission said the new entity has never been part of the rating system.

“We are currently following up with this provider to ensure they immediately modify their website and remove language indicating that they are Texas Rising Star certified,” a Texas Workforce Commission spokesperson said in a statement.

The list of violations and deficiencies named in the lawsuit could have jeopardized the center’s certification as well.

In order to be certified under the program, “child care providers must demonstrate a high compliance rate with (Child Care Regulation’s) minimum standards,” a spokesperson said. Certain deficiencies or more than 15 high or medium-high deficiencies could result in consequences, the spokesperson said, which could include loss of star level, probation, or suspension of their certification status.

Most injuries can be prevented, attorney says

The Button Law Firm, which is representing Jackson in the lawsuit, focuses primarily on cases regarding injuries that occur in child care settings across Texas and other states.

“It’s shocking,” attorney Russell Button said of the number of calls he gets. “We get calls daily from families.”

Button said that while 872 child injuries were reported last year, the actual number of injuries is likely much higher.

“Part of it is that a lot of families don’t know how to report it themselves,” Button told the Star-Telegram. “They assume that the day cares are going to do it. And the day cares just don’t, for a variety of reasons, so that number is definitely an under-reported number.”

Most of the cases can be prevented, Button said, with persistent problems leading to children being hurt including inadequate training, lack of supervision and hiring unqualified candidates.

“Most of the serious catastrophic injuries and deaths we see are caused by inadequate supervision, which also stems from … unqualified workers,” he said. “Either they just don’t have a passion for kids, which is probably the most important … and the day care just not taking their time to vet them properly.”

Lack of training is another common issue, Button said.

Advocates, law firm seek to raise awareness, spark change

Advocates have also pointed to lax regulations in the state of Texas, including ratio requirements that allow one caregiver to supervise as many as 11 2-year-olds at a time.

The standards, which are nearly double the ratio recommended by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and other national standards, have been linked to serious incidents and injuries and subpar academic development in young children.

Button said that while regulations should be updated, providers still have a responsibility to keep children safe in the meantime.

“Part of our formula for trying to make day care safer and child care safer is to get regulations to be upgraded,” Button said, noting the gap in regulations between home-based child care providers and center based providers.

But while efforts are made to update regulations, more needs to be done to bring awareness and promote safe practices by child care providers under the existing regulations, he said.

“Day cares can always do more, and the ones that we see that don’t have problems do,” Button said. “They commit to absolute safety, and doing whatever it takes to keep these kids safe, because that’s what the parents are paying for.”