Our House Child Care in Indianola will close Friday amid allegations of abuse by former employees and what the state deemed unsafe practices.

The center’s attorney, Cami Eslick, cited declining enrollment as the reason for closing the licensed childcare facility at 309 South D St.

“I want to be clear - the day care is not closing because of the state. It’s closing because of low enrollment,” said Eslick, whose two children attend Our House.

A mid-July licensing investigation by the Iowa Department of Human Services flagged safety violations at the child care center. Two former employees were placed on the state’s child abuse registry following an Iowa DHS child abuse investigation.

Our House officials are helping parents find new care centers for their children before a farewell barbecue Friday, Oct. 2, which is to mark the end of the center’s six-year lifespan.

Enrollment dropped from 86 children in June to 36 children as of Monday, Sept. 28, fueled by a “panic” created by a combination of safety concerns and gossip, Eslick said.

“Unfortunately there were a lot of false rumors going on, and I think a lot of rumors were perpetuated by people who were looking to profit off this instance,” Eslick said.

Other local child care providers circulated copies of the state’s publicly available licensing report and spread exaggerated stories about allegedly unsafe practices at Our House, according to Eslick.

One of the state’s abuse findings resulted from an incident in which a former employee allowed a 6-month-old child to fall from a changing table. That same employee, identified in the state licensing report as Mary Franks, allegedly used a blanket to forcibly hold a child down on a cot during naptime.

The other abuse finding came against Kathy Higgins’ daughter, Amber Higgins, for allegedly holding another child down on a cot with a blanket.

Kathy Higgins and Eslick confirmed that Amber Higgins and Franks were accused of abuse. Both employees are appealing the state’s findings, Eslick said.

Kathy Higgins and Eslick acknowledged in a Sept. 28 interview that Franks allowed a child to fall off the changing table. However, they denied that Franks or Amber Higgins had improperly used blankets.

Eslick faulted the state’s investigation techniques for what she called inaccurate findings.

JoEllen Spriggs, child care consultant for the Iowa DHS, used presumptive, intimidating questions during employee interviews and did not give Kathy Higgins or assistant director Gabi Kirkpatrick enough time to produce video evidence and attendance records that allegedly disprove the allegations, Eslick said.

Kathy Higgins and Kirkpatrick were not interviewed during the investigation, and weren’t aware of the specific allegations – especially against Amber Higgins – until they received the state’s written report, Eslick said.

“I think things were just not handled properly by a lot of people involved,” Eslick said. “We have proof of some of this stuff that we could have shown at the time, but nobody was fully aware of the allegations… until it was too late.”

Despite the abuse and safety allegations, and the center being placed on a provisional operating license until 2010, the Iowa DHS notified Our House on Sept. 24 that they would receive a $1,200 bonus for participating in the state’s voluntary Quality Rating System.

The child care center received a two-star out of five rating – an achievement given exclusively to fully licensed child care centers, according to Iowa DHS guidelines.

The payment of $1,200 had not been made as of Sept. 28, because Our House officials had not yet submitted required paperwork that came with the quality rating packet.

Now, the Iowa DHS spokesman doubts that Our House will be paid.

“This raises the issue of whether or not it was appropriate to grant the level 2” quality rating, said Iowa DHS spokesman Roger Munns. “(Our House) won’t get their money without returning the paperwork, that’s for sure, and now this question has come up we’ll have to make a determination that they should have got the (level 2) rating before they get their money.”

Our House employees submitted their rating system application two weeks before their licensing status was placed on provisional status, but state officials should have double-checked the status when they reviewed the application, said Emily Brott, regional QRS specialist for Warren County.

The $1,200 state award could be spent in any way, including on employee bonuses, Brott said.

“There are programs that I’ve heard have used their benefits for employees, but it’s also possible to use it for items for the programs,” Brott said.

Jodi Caswell, the state QRS program administrator, could not be reached for comment Sept. 28. Her voice mail said she was out of the office until Oct. 5.

Among the unsafe practices at Our House flagged by the state’s licensing investigator were a widespread misuse of blankets during naptime, a child’s finger being broken in a restroom door, two improperly supervised children falling down stairs, an unsupervised child running into the street and the presence of railroad ties in the playground that had metal rods rising from an eighth of an inch to two inches from the ground.

“These incidents all reflect a critical deficiency in judgment,” Spriggs wrote in her licensing report. “Walking away from a child on a changing table, letting go of a door after observing their hand in the hinge area, and allowing young children to play near a street are examples of careless supervision that place children at risk of injury.”

Spriggs could not be reached for comment Sept. 28.

Local parent Christine Catron said she was upset to learn last week that Our House was closing.

“To be honest, I called a couple of friends and I cried about it,” said Catron, 23. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. My kids got attached to some of the employees there.”

Many other parents will be looking for a new child care center to send their kids to next week.

Indianola has 37 registered in-home child care centers that have vacancies for children from infants to school-age. There is also one licensed center that would accommodate children ages 18 months and up, said Val Cameron, Child Care Resource and Referral Provider Services coordinator for Warren County.

The free child care resource program offers free referrals for parents. More information, including a free listing of child care providers, is available at www.centraliowachildcare.org, Cameron said.

Leaving Our House will be tough for Catron’s 5-year-old and 3-year-old sons, and 2-year-old daughter, who have attended Our House for nearly two years.