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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

State Report Lists Abuses At Day Care ‘We Closed This Center Before A Child Was Seriously Hurt’

Kiddee College Child Care Center was a dangerous, chaotic place where kids had been dropped, spanked and bitten, a state investigation concludes.

The administrator of the north Spokane center also failed to protect children and staff from her son who sexually harassed employees and exposed himself to a neighbor, the state asserts.

A two-month investigation of the center ended last week with a decision to revoke the owners’ license to provide care for up to 72 children at 919 N. Nora.

“I don’t know that we could ensure the health and safety of children in that facility,” said Tim Nelson, director of the state office of child care policy.

“We closed this center before a child was seriously hurt,” Nelson said. “And we’ve been fair.”

Center owners Darrell C. and Helen A. Nelson dispute claims of poor child care. They blame the center’s problems on incompetent employees and the concoctions of disgruntled workers.

“All of the allegations that have been reported to us are false,” said Darrell Nelson. “None of them are proven. They could not have been proven.”

The center was closed and its license suspended Feb. 15 after a flurry of allegations and a staff mutiny.

The Nelsons felt so wronged by the state action they sent letters to President Clinton, state legislators and members of the state congressional delegation.

Darrell Nelson said Thursday he didn’t know the state decided to pull the day-care license. “I don’t think it’s possible that they could do that because we’ve requested a hearing.”

Nelson said he was not involved in the center, other than owning the building. His wife, he said, wasn’t active in the center’s daily operations, serving only as administrator.

But the state’s detailed revocation letter is addressed to Helen Nelson, who was licensed to operate the center. The letter also mentions her husband and adult son.

The license revocation marks the first time in at least five years that the state has taken such action against a large Spokane day-care facility.

The Spokesman-Review obtained a copy of the state’s April 12 letter through a public records request. The allegations include recent complaints of poor supervision, bad child-teacher ratios and more.

The state received a Feb. 14 complaint that Helen Nelson grabbed a child by the wrist and ankle, lifted him 6 inches into the air and dropped him on his head and spine. State Child Protective Services investigated and confirmed the child was mistreated, the state reports.

Other complaints about Helen Nelson claimed she was “rough with the wilder children,” sometimes grabbing and shaking them. Child Protective Services substantiated that she spanked a child and slapped a child’s hand.

A parent reported Jan. 16 that a child was bitten by other children 13 times in two weeks. A week later another parent reported a child was bitten three times in 10 days. Child Protective Services investigated and detected poor supervision of a kid who bit others.

The state also accuses Helen Nelson of failing to protect children and staff from her son. “You allowed your son, Doug Nelson, to be on the center premises and have access to the children” without notifying the state, the letter states.

“Doug exposed himself while masturbating in front of a window in an apartment located above the childcare center,” the state asserts. It also claims Doug Nelson was allowed access to children “even after employees reported to you that he was sexually harassing (center staff members).”

Efforts to contact Helen Nelson and Doug Nelson for comment were unsuccessful. The family’s attorney also declined to comment.

The state Department of Social and Health Services inspector who oversaw the child-care license visited the center on Feb. 15.

“When the licensor arrived at the center it was in a state of chaos, children were crying and unattended,” the letter states, adding that “Darrell Nelson was called to come help supervise the children.”

A center employee told the state that Helen Nelson instructed her to “hide children in the back room when parents came to drop off their kids so they would not be aware of the inappropriate staff ratios.”

On March 14, Darrell Nelson admitted to the state, according to the revocation letter, that he encouraged younger children at the center to pick up rusty nails and debris from a fallen shed in the outdoor play area.

Helen Nelson has about one month to appeal the revocation before it becomes final.

The Nelsons’ building has reopened with a new center called Kiddee Care Child Care Center as its tenant.

The new center is run under different management with no input from the Nelsons, according to state officials.

, DataTimes