Santa Maria -- Investigators are looking into allegations of inappropriate conduct at a Santa Maria child care facility, according to a state agency report. Central Coast News received a copy of the report from the Department Of Social Services detailing the claims.
Social Services conducted an unannounced visit to Marian Children's Center. The report says the staff at the Children's Center had complained that a male employee had inappropriate contact with babies in the infant center.
The allegations include: applying Desitin to a baby's private area without the use of gloves, taking a sleeping baby and lying with it on the floor near his waist and allegations that the male employee was seen with an erection after bouncing a baby on his lap.
After the unannounced visit, the center was hit with several Type A citations. According to the department, a Type A citation is a "violation that, if not corrected, will create an immediate risk to the health, safety, and personal rights of children in care."
Also in the report, it states that staff at the children's center complained to the director about the employee. When interviewed by social services, the director - Paula VanGalio - said she was unaware of any claims of inappropriate behavior and described the male employee as a "stellar employee."
According to the report that male employee was transferred to the preschool, and then placed on administrative leave.
Dignity Health, which operates the Children's Center at Marian Regional Medical Center, released a detailed statement to central coast news:
Statement from Marian Hospital
Any and all allegations, particularly in this regard, are taken very seriously. The health and safety of the children at the Children's Center is our first and highest priority. It is important that our community understand this alleged incident does not involve sexual abuse. The State licensing agency will confirm that this is a compliant facility and this was an isolated issue.
We were notified March 12, 2012 of an unusual incident involving a teacher at the Children's Center. The incident was immediately reported to Community Care Licensing and the police. The employee involved in the alleged incident was immediately placed on administrative leave, pending the completion of the investigation and is no longer with the organization.
We recently received the final report from Community Care licensing. Deficiencies in the report included inappropriate conduct. Appropriate action has been taken to address the issue and other operational issues sited in the report.
It is our mission to provide a safe and secure place for families to entrust their children to our care. To ensure we continue to safeguard this trust, all staff at the Children's Center are being re-trained about unprofessional conduct. We are also reaching out directly to the families who have relied on us for their child care needs to answer their questions and address any concerns they may have. This is the first reported alleged incident of this nature at the Children's Center in its 25 year history.
