When Day Care Providers Take Advantage Of Children

Horowitz Law has handled many cases involving a parent’s worst nightmare – the sexual assault of a young child while at day care. These are sensitive cases which should be handled by an attorney with experience working with child sex abuse victims. Working parents often rely on child day care instructors for the safety, development, and growth of their child. The day care employees provide a critical role and take on the role of substitute parents during the work week. It is not unusual for day care instructors to spend more time with a child than a child’s actual parents during the work week. It is an unfortunate reality that young children fall victim to sexual abuse in the very place where their parents have trusted them to be safe.

Day care centers have a responsibility to protect your children while in their care. Day care facilities should conduct background checks on all employees. They should ensure that children are not alone with any employee, adult, visitors, delivery persons or unauthorized person who you have not authorized to be with your child. Day care facilities also have a responsibility to investigate and report all claims of abuse.  In many states, day care is under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families or similar licensing authority.

Sexual Abuse In Day Cares And Schools: What To Know

Sexual assaults of children occur in daycares and pre-schools at alarming rates. Our sexual abuse attorneys are experienced in handling child sexual abuse cases in the daycare setting. Cases of sexual abuse in day care typically involve multiple victims and multiple perpetrators, and often involve the use of extreme threats to prevent disclosure. There are documented cases involving sexual abuse by daycare owners, visitors, employees and even child-on-child sexual assault in daycares. Due to the large amounts of time children spend in daycare and the enormous trust placed by parents in the daycare makes, this setting presents itself an ideal location for opportunistic perpetrators. Tragically, perpetrators in the daycare may seize upon the trust they are given and the tender age of the children to commit sexual abuse and threaten children into silence.

Toddlers and infants are in the most vulnerable stage of life. Parents have an expectation that a day care will be operated in a safe manner with only licensed instructors and supervisors having access to children. State law regulates the supervisor-child ratios and the amount of training required of all personnel who interact with your children. Day cares should have a written policies and procedure manual which govern every aspect of the daycare operations, from the bathroom use policy, naptime to taking attendance. Tragically, daycares often make the same mistakes as other businesses, including failing to implement or follow proper safety rules. For instance, we have seen cases where daycares do not adhere to proper supervisor-child ratios or they hire staff without ensuring they have been properly certified or maintained continuing education requirements. Even worse, the day care may hire an employee without conducting the requisite background check or reviewing employment references. In other situations, day cares allowed untrained visitors or untrained personnel to volunteer and interact with the children. Any one of these violations of safety protocols can lead to dangerous results for your children.

Get Trustworthy Legal Help Today

Our lawyers have successfully handled numerous claims involving preschools, daycares and other facilities. If someone you know has been a victim of childhood sexual abuse at a daycare or preschool, contact our law firm at 954-641-2100 or email our managing partner, Adam Horowitz. We offer free, no-risk, confidential consultations.