300611704-8-11-2025-06-CC-THOO-DKVR5Q-20250825124329

Community Care Licensing

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT

Facility Number: 300611704
Report Date: 08/11/2025
Date Signed: 08/11/2025 03:13:15 PM

Unsubstantiated

STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION
ORANGE CO CHILD CARE, 750 THE CITY DRIVE, SUITE 250
ORANGE, CA 92868

This is an official report of an unannounced visit/investigation of a complaint received in our office on
06/16/2025 and conducted by Evaluator Mahnaz Malek

PUBLIC

COMPLAINT CONTROL NUMBER: 06-CC-20250616124700

FACILITY NAME:	CHILDTIME CHILDREN'S CENTER INC.		FACILITY NUMBER:	300611704
ADMINISTRATOR:	EPPS, THANICE		FACILITY TYPE:	850
ADDRESS:	24590 LA PLATA DR.		TELEPHONE:	(949) 495-4727
CITY:	LAGUNA NIGUEL	STATE: CA	ZIP CODE:	92677
CAPACITY:	72	CENSUS: 33	DATE:	08/11/2025
		UNANNOUNCED	TIME BEGAN:	01:00 PM
MET WITH:	Director, Ivette Ceballos		TIME COMPLETED:	02:30 PM

ALLEGATION(S):

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Day care children sustained injuries due to staff neglect
Staff are not meeting day care children's diapering needs
Staff yell at day care children
Staff are forcing day care children to nap
Staff are not notifying day care children's parents of incidents
Staff are not meeting day care children's needs
There are not enough toys in the classrooms.
classrooms are dirty

INVESTIGATION FINDINGS:

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Licensing Program Analyst (LPA) Mahnaz (Nancy) Malek conducted a follow up investigation regarding the above allegations. This is a follow-up for the visit conducted on 6/19/2025. LPA met with director, Ivette Ceballo. Census was taken. There were a total of 33 napping children with 3 staff in 3 rooms. Teacher child ratio was; Preschool Room 1:12 napping children, Transitional Kindergarten 1:11 napping , and 2 year old room 1:10 napping children.
A review of staff records on this date indicated that all facility staff or other individuals who required caregiver background checks have received criminal record and child abuse index clearances or exemptions.
On 06/16/2025, the Orange County Child Care Office received a complaint alleging, 1) Day care children sustained injuries due to staff neglect, 2) Staff are not meeting day care children's diapering needs, 3) Staff yell at day care children, 4) Staff are forcing day care children to nap, 5) Staff are not notifying day care children's parents of incidents, 6) Staff are not meeting day care children's needs, 7)There are not
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Unsubstantiated

Estimated Days of Completion:

SUPERVISORS NAME: Thuy Ho
LICENSING EVALUATOR NAME: Mahnaz Malek
LICENSING EVALUATOR SIGNATURE:	DATE: 08/11/2025

I acknowledge receipt of this form and understand my licensing appeal rights as explained and received.

FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE:

DATE: 08/11/2025

This report must be available at Child Care and Group Home facilities for public review for 3 years.

LIC9099 (FAS) - (06/04)

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Control Number 06-CC-20250616124700

STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT (Cont)

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION
ORANGE CO CHILD CARE, 750 THE CITY DRIVE, SUITE 250
ORANGE, CA 92868

FACILITY NAME: CHILDTIME CHILDREN'S CENTER INC.	FACILITY NUMBER: 300611704
	VISIT DATE: 08/11/2025

NARRATIVE

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enough toys in the classrooms, and 8) Classrooms are dirty.

Reporting Party (RP) reported no diapers, no wipes, and no way to communicate with anyone. There is no proper supervision in the 2-year-old room with injuring incidents. Many injuries to kids by other kids and no procedure in place to stop it and no communication with the parents about their child hurting others. Many staff members were witnessed yelling at children, and forcing them to nap at nap time. There were not enough toys for the 2-year-olds and classrooms were dirty.

During the course of investigation, LPA interviewed fourteen (14) staff who work in the preschool program and infant/toddler program. LPA also interviewed 8 children and contacted 10 random parents. LPA gathered additional documentation regarding the above allegations.

“Regarding the allegation of “Day care children sustained injuries due to staff neglect”, out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told that they supervise children closely, observe the child's behavior, and they proceed if the child needs additional help. They always watch children inside the classrooms and outside. They supervise children closely to prevent any incidents. However, children might get hurt during play time and that does not mean they do not supervise them. Sometimes children might have conflicts with each other over a toy but that does not mean they get injured. Staff did not confirm that children got injured because staff are not supervising them. Staff are engaged with children and supervise them. Children have been observed to push each other on the playground when they run around on occasions. Staff talk to them to play gently. In the 2-year-old room, incidents happen but that does not mean children are not supervised. Sometimes they run and they bump into objects or fall. They are watched closely and supervised at all times. Staff try their best to keep children safe. If a biting occurs, staff take care of it by washing it and applying ice and supervising the biter closely. LPA also interviewed eight (8) children, 7 qualified children told LPA that they don't fight with each other and did not report any injuries. Children stated staff watch them in the classroom and in the playground by walking around. If they run, staff tell them to run gently so they don't get hurt. They stated sometimes they fight with their friends because they win a game, and they don't. Sometimes they want to play with something, and they don’t give it to them. Teacher says, “you guys take turns”. They said nobody fights. If you fight and run fast, you get an Owie and you cry. Teachers tell them no fighting.
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SUPERVISORS NAME: Thuy Ho
LICENSING EVALUATOR NAME: Mahnaz Malek
LICENSING EVALUATOR SIGNATURE:	DATE: 08/11/2025

I acknowledge receipt of this form and understand my licensing appeal rights as explained and received.

FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE:

DATE: 08/11/2025

LIC9099 (FAS) - (06/04)

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Control Number 06-CC-20250616124700

STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT (Cont)

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION
ORANGE CO CHILD CARE, 750 THE CITY DRIVE, SUITE 250
ORANGE, CA 92868

FACILITY NAME: CHILDTIME CHILDREN'S CENTER INC.	FACILITY NUMBER: 300611704
	VISIT DATE: 08/11/2025

NARRATIVE

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“Regarding Staff are not meeting day care children's diapering needs”, out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told the facility provides diapers and items related to diapering for children. They have storage for diapers, and materials regarding diapering outside in a shed located on the playground. Staff are free to get as much as they need. It is the teacher's responsibility to stack them in their classrooms before going into their classrooms. However, if they are out, they can call on walkie talkie and management would provide any diapering items to them. They never run out of diapers. However, one staff member stated there might have been times they were out of the right size of diaper. They let the management know and they ordered. Instead staff would use a larger size for that child temporarily. Children were not questioned regarding this allegation due to the nature of the allegation.
“Regarding Staff yell at day care children’, out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told that they have not witnessed any yelling from staff at children. If observed, they would report them. They said when kids are loud, they might yell to get children's attention. That does not mean they yell at them. They might talk in a loud voice to get their attention. Few staff stated they have seen some staff yell at children and speak firmly when children are in danger to stop them. Some stated, staff don't yell, they use their normal voice. They have heard some staff might use their loud voice to attract children's attention but not yell at them. Staff stated they love children; they always talk to children to guide them and never yell at them. LPA also interviewed 8 children, out of 7 qualified children, LPA was told staff don’t yell at them. Children did not disclose staff yelling at them. Some children stated they like their teachers, and they don’t yell at children. One said, “They don't yell, they talk slowly.
“Regarding Staff are forcing day care children to nap” out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told that they don’t force children to nap. They stay by their cot and tell them to stay on their cot busy with a quiet activity if they don’t want to nap. They are resting. They have the option not to nap. Everybody has the opportunity to rest for the first 30 minuses. If they don't want to nap, they can do a quiet activity while on their cots. They play soft music for children during nap time. They start with resting. Some sleep fast. Some don't. A few staff said they sit besides children's cot, rubbing their back. Some of them don't nap and they just rest. In some classrooms, there are a few children resisting napping. They give them quiet activities to rest on their cots. One staff member said children listen to them and they take a nap while calm music is in the background. During the interviews with 8 children. 7 children told LPA that they can play quietly on their cots if they did not want to nap. Some stated they like to nap and some stated they don’t. Children did not disclose to LPA that they were forced to nap.
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SUPERVISORS NAME: Thuy Ho
LICENSING EVALUATOR NAME: Mahnaz Malek
LICENSING EVALUATOR SIGNATURE:	DATE: 08/11/2025

I acknowledge receipt of this form and understand my licensing appeal rights as explained and received.

FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE:

DATE: 08/11/2025

LIC9099 (FAS) - (06/04)

Page: 3 of 5

Control Number 06-CC-20250616124700

STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT (Cont)

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION
ORANGE CO CHILD CARE, 750 THE CITY DRIVE, SUITE 250
ORANGE, CA 92868

FACILITY NAME: CHILDTIME CHILDREN'S CENTER INC.	FACILITY NUMBER: 300611704
	VISIT DATE: 08/11/2025

NARRATIVE

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“Regarding Staff are not notifying day care children's parents of incidents”, out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told that any incident such as head injury, biting, parent are being notified either verbally or in writing incident reports right away. If it is a minor scratch or scrape, we let the parents know by a written incident report at pick up time. For serious ones, we definitely call them. Both parents of children are being notified if two children are involved in an incident. For biting incidents, we call the parents to pick up the child if it happens two times a day. In the 2-year-old room, children fall because of the way they walk, and they are not strong enough yet. They clean minor injuries and let the parents know of any incidents. If the staff leave early, they pass the report on to the next staff person to give to the parents at pick up time. Staff stated they had couple of 2-year-old children of bite habit. They kept a closer eye on the biter. They notify both parents of children involved in the same incident. One staff stated in the 2 year old room, biting might happen among children but once they realize who the biter is then they are more careful. They said they distract the biter and keep them busy and have them by the staff for better supervision. Staff stated they let the management know of any serious incidents happen in their classrooms right away.
Children were not interviewed due to the nature of the allegation.
LPA reviewed the incident reports for the month of June; LPA found a few incident reports that were reported to both parents of children involved in the incident.
“Regarding Staff are not meeting day care children's needs”, out of fourteen interviewed staff, LPA was told that staff do their best to accommodate every child's needs. They are available all day to accommodate children. They supervise children closely and they pay attention to their needs. They provide what their needs are. They comfort them. They said they do pay attention to the needs of children by providing their daily needs. They feed them, change diaper, helping them with toileting, and they give them love and care to meet their needs. They hug them if they cry. Children were not interviewed due to the nature of the allegation “Regarding there are not enough toys in the classrooms”, out of fourteen (14) interviewed staff, LPA was told that they have seen enough toys in each classroom. Teachers can order children's items if they need to. They said there are enough toys and games in the classrooms. Staff did not complaint regarding not having enough toys in their rooms.
During the interviews with 8 children. 7 children told LPA that they have toys in their classrooms to play with such as Lego, puzzle, coloring, and activity items. LPA observed adequate toys in each classroom.
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SUPERVISORS NAME: Thuy Ho
LICENSING EVALUATOR NAME: Mahnaz Malek
LICENSING EVALUATOR SIGNATURE:	DATE: 08/11/2025

I acknowledge receipt of this form and understand my licensing appeal rights as explained and received.

FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE:

DATE: 08/11/2025

LIC9099 (FAS) - (06/04)

Page: 4 of 5

Control Number 06-CC-20250616124700

STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY

COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION REPORT (Cont)

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
COMMUNITY CARE LICENSING DIVISION
ORANGE CO CHILD CARE, 750 THE CITY DRIVE, SUITE 250
ORANGE, CA 92868

FACILITY NAME: CHILDTIME CHILDREN'S CENTER INC.	FACILITY NUMBER: 300611704
	VISIT DATE: 08/11/2025

NARRATIVE

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“Regarding classrooms are dirty”, out of fourteen (14) interviewed staff, LPA was told that janitors who come after hours clean 3 times a week. Staff do the daily chores as far as taking the trash out and sanitizing the room. Staff sanitize, wash toys, taking trash out during the day. The Janitors come on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after hours. Staff do bleach and water, sweeping the floor after lunch and snack, sanitizing the toys at the end of the day. They said they do the soap, water bleach cleansing during the day, taking trash out. However, the janitors do more deep cleaning. Children were not interviewed due to the nature of this allegation. LPA did not observe the classrooms to be dirty.

Based on the interviews with fourteen (14) staff, 8 children (7 qualified), contacting ten random parents of whom two responded with no concerns regarding the allegations, and reviewing relevant documents, there is not enough evidence and witness to support the above allegations. This agency has investigated the complaint , 1) Day care children sustained injuries due to staff neglect, 2) Staff are not meeting day care children's diapering needs, 3) Staff yell at day care children, 4) Staff are forcing day care children to nap, 5) Staff are not notifying day care children's parents of incidents, 6) Staff are not meeting day care children's needs, 7)There are not enough toys in the classrooms, and 8) Classrooms are dirty, “although the allegations may have happened or are valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove, the alleged violations did or did not occur, therefore the allegations are UNSUBSTANTIATED.

The director, Ivette Ceballos, was provided with a copy of their appeal rights (LIC 9058) and their signature on this form acknowledges receipt of these rights. All appeals must be in writing and received by the Regional Office within 15 business days. The exit interview was conducted with the director, Ivette Ceballos.

Notice of Site Visit was posted. The notice of the site visit must be posted for 30 consecutive days. Failure to post will result in civil penalties of $100.

End of report.

SUPERVISORS NAME: Thuy Ho
LICENSING EVALUATOR NAME: Mahnaz Malek
LICENSING EVALUATOR SIGNATURE:	DATE: 08/11/2025

I acknowledge receipt of this form and understand my licensing appeal rights as explained and received.

FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE:

DATE: 08/11/2025

LIC9099 (FAS) - (06/04)

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