Update on Feb. 6, 2017:
State investigators found no evidence of child abuse by employees of BLS Education Center.
Cindy Alley, one of the owners of BLS Education Center, provided copies of the state's reports to 41 Action News. The reports say investigators "found the allegations [of abuse] to be unsubstantiated."
State inspectors visited the BLS location in Blue Springs on Dec. 27 and found it to be "in compliance with licensing rules."
Original story from Oct. 17, 2016:
State investigators are questioning owners of a metro daycare after a mother said her child was abused at the facility.
In a Facebook post written last Friday, Brooke Plumb said her 7-month-old daughter had to be checked for injuries she possibly sustained at the BLS Education Center in Blue Springs.
The status has since been shared around 500 times and gathered hundreds of comments.
Around half a dozen people claiming to be former employees of the facility brought up additional issues with the daycare, from other instances of abuse to inattentive staff.
41 Action News has not been able to verify any of the claims after reaching out to state officials.
On Monday, the owners of the daycare released a statement saying they denied the charges and blamed the allegations on "disgruntled ex-employees" at the Blue Springs location.
As news of the issues spread, 41 Action News reached out to parents of children who went to BLS Education Center.
Raynette Hannah, whose 4-year-old son Christian once attended the daycare, said she witnessed problems firsthand.
"Several evenings in a row, the children were unsupervised in the common area. There's just a padlocked or coded door between them and 7 Highway," she explained. "I found the assistant director talking on her phone and cleaning the kitchen trying to finish her evening stuff instead of watching the kiddos."
Hannah also described issues she had with the meals offered at the daycare.
"Christian takes medication. There were many times where he didn't eat," she said. "They were given 15 minutes to eat their lunch and then food was taken away."
Inspection reports from the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services showed that other issues had been found by state inspectors over the past year.
In documents obtained by 41 Action News, the BLS Education Center was found to have fallen short on CPR & First Aid requirements during inspections in June.
During the same month, state inspectors found that several staff members had not completed Safe Sleep training.
During another inspection months before, state inspectors found "hazardous materials", like diaper ointments, within reach of children.
The allegations had parents like Hannah questioning the daycare's services.
"It's hard enough as a working parent, as a single mom, it is impossible to leave your child without thoughts of something like this happening," she explained.
Since news of the issues broke, an owner of the BLS Education Center said employees have been threatened by others.
Owner Cindy Alley also said several parents stopped by the facility on Monday to take their children out of the program.
Alley said the BLS Education Center is cooperating with state investigators and expects to get an answer in the case in 45-60 days.
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Tom Dempsey can be reached at Tom.Dempsey@KSHB.com.
