Clearfield daycare under investigation after mother claims 2-year-old repeatedly came home with injuries
CLEARFIELD, Utah (ABC4) — Clearfield Police are investigating a local daycare after a mother claimed her 2-year-old child came home with injuries on multiple occasions.
Tynille Hart said her son has come home from Haltli’s Haven Childcare with troubling injuries on multiple occasions.
“Almost as soon as we started there, he started coming home with different kinds of injuries — bite marks, bruises, bumps on his head, things like that,” Hart told ABC4.
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Hart said Haltli’s Haven has an obligation to notify parents when anything like this happens, claiming it’s in their contract. However, she said that out of eight instances, she was only made aware of three.
Hart even went as far as to ask for surveillance footage of the daycare, but said that they never got back to her. She claimed it was only on her third request that they allowed her to see what was happening.
“It didn’t really seem like they were checking too thoroughly,” Hart said. “And then again, just no notification whatsoever.”
When Hart wanted to take her child out of Haltli’s, she said she felt “gaslit” by them. She claimed that daycare employees described what was happening as normal child behavior.
Hart finally pulled her child out of Haltli’s care when she said the daycare notified parents they would be closing for over a week in January, and would still be charging for those days.
“So, I decided just to move him so that my payment would go to a full month of care somewhere else,” Hart said. “And when I decided to do that, they told me they were going to keep my entire January payment and not refund any of it.”
Hart took to social media to let others know about her experience. She said there was an overwhelming response from other families, and even former employees, with similar experiences.
It was at this point that Hart decided to contact authorities, notifying Clearfield Police and the Utah Dept. of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
In a statement to ABC4, Clearfield Police said, “We are aware of the situation and a detective will be assigned out by next week. We will be conducting an investigation.”
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DCFS officials said they will not be sharing any specific information on the case, saying they have a commitment to the privacy of children and families in Utah.
According to the Utah Dept. of Health and Human Services, Haltli’s Haven has been cited in the past for not conducting monthly fire drills and not ensuring that caregivers provided active supervision of each child. The department said those issues have since been fixed.
Haltli’s Haven’s legal counsel has issued the following statement in response to Hart’s allegations:
Thank you for reaching out to obtain Haltli’s Haven’s side of this issue. We would like to
be as clear as words allow. The claims leveled against Haltli’s Haven and its staff are malicious. They are without merit and can be disproven with little effort. It is unfortunate for us to report
that a calculating and disgruntled individual has made the decision to make defamatory claims
against Haltli’s Haven. The motive for such malice is especially troubling. The individual in
question made demands that Haltli’s Haven provide her with funds that cannot be released
pursuant to state and federal law. When management at the company denied the inappropriate
request, the individual in question retaliated.She began a campaign of character assassination against Haltli’s Haven and the many
staff members that provide for children in the local community. To give some examples of the
misconduct, the disgruntled individual began publishing on multiple social media platforms that
the owner of the provider was addicted to drugs. There’s one problem… the owner is currently
pregnant and based on several health complications must receive regular testing to ensure she is able to deliver a healthy child. The owner is in possession of multiple tests associated with high-risk pregnancies that show no drug use whatsoever. As a result, there is irrefutable physical
evidence that shows the disgruntled individual has falsified accusations against Haltli’s Haven.The attack against a local business owned by a pregnant female with health issues is disturbing enough. Yet, this same troubled individual’s mission to harass the business has no limit. After her malicious attempts to destroy the character of the business failed, she made the decision to weaponize media and gossip to create as much stress on the business as possible. Luckily, the good charter of Haltli’s Haven and it’s hundreds of customers have outshined the narrative of this isolated individual. The company continues to serve hundreds of members of the community and provide the necessary access to childcare so many individuals require.
Haltli’s Haven has an exception history of providing services to people from all walks of life. This includes individuals of low income, harsh hours, challenging circumstances and even those who just need a break. It is for this reason the defamatory statements of one individual will never outshine the hundreds of satisfied customers and supporters who rely on the provider every week.
A false statement can make it across the world before the falsely accused have a chance to answer. It’s the nature of the world we all live in. Often good people and businesses suffer
consequences for actions they did not commit. It is too common that these tragedies go unanswered. This will not be the case for Haltli’s Haven. We would like to let all members of the community know that the truth always favors the innocent. In addition to continuing to serve the public, we will be seeking legal action against the disgruntled individual who submitted these outrageous falsehoods to the public. We will not only be standing up for ourselves but for the
beautiful culture that Haltli’s Haven has formed for all people in need. This female run business will not allow this cause of deceit to go unanswered. We are thankful for all the loving support of our customers and community as we pursue legal action to bring the truth to light. The voice of
one individual who seeks to commit herself to deceit will be eclipsed by the much louder voice
of reason.
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