Violation total: 796 at 4 day- care sites

Dead cockroaches floating in a sink full of dirty water, children riding in a van without seat belts, and a helper who failed his fingerprint clearance were among the violations cited at the centers.

The centers involved are Kids 4 Life, 1001 N. Wilmot Road; Kids World Preschool East, 4761 E. Fifth St.; Marina's Day Care, 5118 E. Second St.; and Treasure Chest Early Learning Center, 150 S. Westmoreland Ave. Their combined capacity was about 210 children.

Treasure Chest almost lost its license two years ago, but it's fighting the Arizona Department of Health Services to keep the center open. The center lost its first appeal in May and has filed a second appeal, said owner Ruth Champion and health department officials.

Marina's Day Care did not fight the state's May 30 decision to deny its license renewal and has closed, owner Marina Garcia said last week.

The owners of Kids 4 Life and Kids World Preschool East also faced losing their licenses. But they have entered into agreements with the state that will allow them to keep their licenses and continue caring for children until they sell their centers over the next several weeks.

"We have tried for months and months to bring these centers into compliance, and they're just not meeting the requirements," said Lisa Wynn, deputy assistant director of the Department of Health Services.

Shutting down a center or bringing about a change in management can take a year or longer, Wynn said. The delay is often due to owners' rights to due process, she said.

But if the state thinks children are at risk of imminent danger, Wynn said, "that's not anything we're going to wait and wait on."

Rick Peller, the boyfriend of the mother of a child who went to Marina's Day Care, said it's good that the facility has closed.

Peller described an afternoon in January when the couple went to Marina's to pick up his girlfriend's son, Joshua, then about 1 year old.

"Joshua was lying on the bare tile floor, nothing on but a diaper, curled up in fetal position sleeping and shivering," Peller said. "Marina said: 'Your baby threw up all over himself. He's lucky to have a diaper on.'

"Without a doubt, it's a good thing that place is closed," Peller said. "And I don't think it should be reopened."

Garcia, who spoke through an interpreter, described her in-home day-care center as a beautiful and comfortable place for children. She said she has never endangered a child in 13 years as a Tucson child-care provider.

"I have never had a child hurt on these premises," Garcia said. "No one has ever choked. I have a barbecue in the back yard, and no one has ever gotten burned. I've never had a bad accident."

Two centers' owners would not talk to the Star. Kids 4 Life owner Elva Stubblefield did not return phone calls or respond to a written request delivered to her center.

Kids World owners Larry and Photina Wright — who have a second Kids World at 321 E. Yavapai Road, in good standing with the state — would not discuss their case. They asked the Star to hold this story until the sale of their Fifth Street center was finalized, which they expected would happen next month.

But Treasure Chest owner Champion and her daughter Theresa Champion, who took over as Treasure Chest's director last year after the health department banned her mother from the center, were willing to tell their side.

"I'm not saying we don't break rules," said Champion, a veteran neighborhood activist whose center sits at the base of "A" Mountain.

"But I do know that everybody who runs a day-care center is going to have some kind of violation," she said. "The parents bring too many kids. They don't bring their diapers. They bring them with infections. You are in violation every time you open your door."

Tucson has more than 400 licensed child-care centers. They are inspected at least once a year and whenever someone files a complaint against them. And the "vast majority" of inspections turn up at least one violation, Wynn said.

"But it is a very small number that have either the number of deficiencies or the repeat deficiencies or the seriousness of deficiencies that warrant enforcement action by the department," she said. "What raises it to the enforcement level is when the center cannot or will not correct the deficiencies."

Champion dismissed most of the health department's findings against Treasure Chest.

"See that? That's a big violation," she said, pointing to a hole in the center's floor. "They went after us for cockroaches," she added. "But everyone has cockroaches on this side of town."

Here is a summary of other violations cited in health department reports:

● Kids 4 Life was cited for 271 violations during 19 inspections — three routine, 16 in response to complaints — from Jan. 17, 2003, to March 2 of this year. In August 2003, school-age children were leaving the center and walking to a nearby store to buy candy. It appeared that a staff member was with them.

In March 2004, preschoolers were found watching a "Spider-Man" movie that was rated PG-13.

In September 2004, the 2-year-olds' classroom had a broken window, accessible to the children. In January and February 2005, center owner Stubblefield failed to show up at two meetings with health department officials in Phoenix. Last September, she drove a child from Kids 4 Life to an elementary school, dropping the child off 20 minutes before anyone was there to supervise the child. In November, a state investigator observed school-age children sitting at a table for nearly an hour with nothing to do.

Stubblefield paid a $1,630 penalty to the health department in 2003 and was assessed a $3,100 fine in April 2005. As of May 18 this year, the fine had not been paid.

● Kids World Preschool East was cited for 114 violations during 11 inspections — eight stemming from complaints — from June 2004 through July 2005. A staffer brought her sick child to work with her in September 2004; the child had highly contagious pinkeye. In January 2005, investigators found that the center's van had only nine working seat belts, although the van was used to transport 14 children that afternoon.

Kids World Preschool East was fined $300 in March 2005. In March of this year, the state agreed to let the Wrights continue operating the center until they sold it. The state will have to approve the new owner's license application.

● Marina's Day Care was inspected 11 times and cited for 224 violations from January 2005 to March 1 of this year. Two inspections were done within 48 hours due to the severity of complaints.

Twice in January 2005, Garcia left her boyfriend in charge of the children in her program while she did errands, but the boyfriend had no qualification as a child-care worker. Also that month, an unattended baby was found standing in a crib with the railing down, and Garcia changed two babies' diapers without washing her hands in between. Health investigators noted dirty floors littered with food and "very dirty" toys.

In April 2005, preschoolers had little to do but watch two hours of soap operas and "Judge Judy" on TV. In May 2005, children were found climbing a bookcase and standing on a windowsill. Also that month, investigators saw a 1-year-old pick a cold french fry, a large seed and cheese crackers off the floor and put them in her mouth. The investigators took the food from her mouth.

Health department officials met with Garcia in January and February 2005, but "the visits following those meetings progressively worsened." In April 2005, Garcia was fined $300.

● Treasure Chest Early Learning Center was placed on a "provisional license" in January 2005 after Ruth Champion contested the department's move to deny her license renewal in October 2004. Champion's daughter, Theresa, took over as director of the center and made it through the six-month probationary period. But violations continued. During 10 inspections from January 2005 through December, inspectors noted 187 violations.

In January 2005, the staff had no written plan for caring for a special-needs child at the center. Playground fencing was tied to a metal pole with a rope. In December 2005, a male friend of Theresa Champion's was working at the center after being denied a fingerprint clearance.

In May 2005, six toddler chairs were found to be cracked and missing safety straps. A bathroom counter was covered with dirt. In June 2005, dead cockroaches were found floating in cold, dirty water in two kitchen sinks. In November, a toilet was soiled with dried feces.

In May this year, a state administrative law judge upheld the health department's decision to deny Treasure Chest's license renewal. At that point, the department ordered the center to cease caring for children.

But at least twice in the last week, Champion was at the center where Theresa Champion and others were busy with several children.

Michelle Majuta, a full-time Pima Community College student studying to become a dental hygienist, takes her two sons — Daniel, almost 1, and Angelo, 1 month — to Treasure Chest.

"There aren't too many kids here," Majuta said. "My children get good supervision because they don't have a lot of kids to care for."

In addition to these violations, centers were cited more than once for not having complete personnel records and "blue cards" that list emergency-contact and medical information on the children enrolled in their care.

Kids World, Kids 4 Life and Treasure Chest were cited for not having enough staff members to safely care for their enrolled children.

Lourdes Ochoa, chief of the health department's Child Care Licensing Office, acknowledged the difficulty that centers have in finding qualified workers. But she said that's no excuse for running a substandard center.

"Other facilities have voiced that concern," Ochoa said, "but they remain in substantial compliance and do a really good job."

● The Arizona Department of Health Services is a key source of information.

l Child-care centers' files are open to the public at the department's Office of Child-Care Licensing, 400 W. Congress St., Suite 100.

l You can call the office for information or to register a complaint about a center at 628-6540. Complaints can be anonymous.

l You can go to the Office of Child-Care Licensing Web site at www.azdhs.gov/als/childcare/index.htm — the site allows you to look up recent enforcement actions against centers. It also offers a checklist for parents to use when choosing a center and a list of questions often asked about child care in Arizona.

● Child and Family Resources offers Child Care Resource and Referral in Southern Arizona.

l The service is available at no cost to parents choosing a child-care center. You can get help online at www.azchildcare.org or by calling Child Care Resource and Referral at 325-5778.

l The service does not make recommendations but can provide a list of centers that may be suitable based on the age of your child, where you live, how much you can afford to spend and which days you need child care.