The Kid’s Nest Learning Center in Brunswick will remain temporarily closed after its owners lost an appeal Thursday to stay open after a child died from choking at the center. In October, the daycare had been put on notice to train staff for CPR after inspections over the past year found training inadequate.
The hearing, before an administrative law judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH), reaffirmed the state’s order for the center to be shut down for 21 days while an investigation continued.
Jamal Bryant, Jr., was dropped off by his parents at the center on May 21. He died later that day after choking on a two-inch square of watermelon. The staff attempted life-saving procedures but the child later died at the hospital, according to an inspection report.
According to the report from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), video surveillance showed three of the center’s staff members talking amongst themselves, separate from the toddlers, during the afternoon snack time. The children were given watermelon chunks and allowed to walk around eating them — violating state-mandated child care center rules that require students to sit while eating, the report said. The center served an average 89 children, and eight children were in the classroom at the time, said an official for DECAL.
According to the report, video showed the staff conversation was cut short by 16-month-old Bryant at 3:15 p.m., who approached two staffers while choking on the watermelon. Realizing that the child was in distress, one of the staff members picked the child up and attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Bryant, it said.
The inspection report also said that a staff member picked Bryant up and patted him on the back before eventually placing the child on her lap and trying to pat his back. The DECAL report said a staffer attempted a finger sweep of his mouth and the Heimlich Maneuver but noted that staff seemed “disorganized” considering the situation’s urgency, and the maneuvers were not appropriate to the American Red Cross CPR guidelines for a child or infant.
Staff members called 911 less than 4 minutes after the toddler indicated he was in distress. EMS treated Bryant on the scene. He was taken to Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick accompanied by a staff member from the center. Once at the hospital, Bryant went into cardiac arrest twice before passing away at 6 p.m. Initial reports said a piece of watermelon had entered his lung.
CPR training already under scrutiny
It’s not the first time The Kids Nest and its owners have been under scrutiny. After an annual state licensing visit in October, the center was ordered to secure trained staff for first and CPR requirements. On a second visit in April, the order for the training was deferred.
“The Plan of Improvement was that they would obtain First Aid and CPR certification for all staff by the specified dates according to the rules,” wrote Reg Griffin, Chief Communications Officer of DECAL. “Their next visit, a CI (Complaint Investigation) follow-up visit, was April 1, 2024, and the First Aid and CPR was deferred because, during follow-up visits, we do not evaluate all of the rules. This would be evaluated at the next unannounced regulatory visit.”
DECAL rules and regulations for childcare learning centers state that a staff member trained in CPR and first aid must always be on the center premises and on any field trip whenever a child is present. All staffers who provide direct care to children must obtain first aid and CPR certification within the first 90 days of employment.
Other incidents
In March 2022, the Glynn County Police were dispatched to the Kid’s Nest Learning Center about a child being assaulted. Upon arrival, officers were told by a mother that her child had been hit in the face by the director of the center, Manjeet Grant, who co-owns the center with husband Charles Grant.
In the 911 call provided to The Current by the Glynn County Police Department, the mother of the child who was hit told dispatchers that she had worked with Grant in previous years and said that she witnessed Grant slap children “hard.”
According to the police report, Grant denied hitting the child in the face, saying, “I made a mistake.” She told officers that the child kicked her shoes off, and she subsequently hit her on the foot.
The report said an officer interviewed a teacher at the center in front of Grant, who said that Grant slapped the child across the face, knocking the child to the floor. When the teacher was interviewed away from Grant, she said she was shocked by Grant’s behavior. The officer interviewed the child, who corroborated the claim, pointing to her face when asked where Grant hit her.
Grant was arrested for battery and later released on bond.
On April 1, 2022, a DECAL complaint investigation/monitoring visit revealed that The Kids Nest Learning Center did not meet standards. On April 11, 2022, a plan of improvement (POI) follow-up visit was conducted.
The report determined that rule violations continued and that the facility had not taken adequate measures to correct them. The center was fined $299 for multiple violations, including an observation that an infant was asleep in a crib with a pacifier and a small stuffed animal attached, which posed a potential hazard.
“We do two unannounced visits of child care programs each year. One is a licensing study which is an on-site rule-by-rule inspection of a child care program to ensure that it is in compliance with all current rules and regulations,” Griffin wrote in an email to The Current. “The other is a monitoring visit which is an on-site inspection to evaluate core rules and to determine if previous noncompliance has been corrected. In addition to these twice annual visits, we conduct complaint and incident investigations and technical assistance visits.”
A complaint investigation/licensing study was conducted at The Kids Nest Learning Center on July 11, 2022. It found that the center failed to correct the violations, and DECAL fined the center $598 for numerous infractions, including an examination where, according to the fine letter, a bag containing Gripe Water, Tylenol, bug spray and Desitin was stored in a classroom and accessible to the one-year-old children.
Another complaint investigation received by DECAL on October 28, 2022, led to another investigation at the center. According to the citation letter, the investigation found that on Oct 24, 2022, a two-year-old child sustained a severe eye injury when the child exited the interior of a cabinet and hit their eye on a broken child safety latch on the cabinet door. The child required professional medical attention, and the center was fined $499 for this incident.
What happens now?
The emergency closure order is used when there’s a suspected injury or life-threatening situations for a child or children under Georgia law.
Under the order, the center was mandated to immediately notify the parent or guardian of each child enrolled in the program of the closure.
A representative from DECAL who attended the hearing said that Charles Grant said he had no problem with the daycare being closed for 21 days. It is unclear whether the center will be allowed to reopen after the investigation.
“Don’t want to speculate at this point,” said Griffin in an email on Thursday. “First we have to continue our investigation into everything that happened with this incident.”
State business records show that the center was formed in August 2019 and provided daycare for infants (0-12 months) and toddlers (up to age four). It also offers after school care to school-aged children.
The center charges a weekly fee of $150 for all children over age one and a $10 surcharge for children age one or younger. However, low-income parents could offset the cost, as the center was enrolled in the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program.
The program covers a set reimbursement rate based on the type of care, location and age of the child minus the amount the family is responsible for, known as the family fee, which is maxed at a rate of 7% of a family’s annual income according to the website.
Families impacted by the closure can connect with childcare resources at www.qualityrated.org or by calling 1-877-ALL GA KIDS. CAPS families will be contacted directly to choose another childcare provider who accepts CAPS.
The Grants did not respond to The Current requests for comment.
