Second Child Rights Violation at Preschool Investigated by State

Updated 8:03 p.m. with comment from the California Department of Social Services:

A substitute teacher at the Centerpointe Christian Preschool in Pleasanton reportedly pinched and squeezed a child's arm, preschool leaders said. 

The preschool confirmed the incident, which they say occurred in February, in an email they sent to Patch and to parents of students attending the preschool. Centerpointe leaders say they reported the incident to the state agency that oversees care facilities once they became aware of it.

Community Care Licensing officials say the investigation of the pinching incident, which was reported to them in a complaint received on March 12, was completed on April 2, and resulted in a "Type A citation and a civil penalty of $150.00" being issued to the facility.
  
According to a statement issued by Centerpointe, the incident happened before the recent school shut-down for a five-day retraining of the current staff. The shut-down took place after the school announced that a teacher had been reported to the police and Community Care Licensing for taping the hands and feet of a 2-year-old child who had refused to take a nap.

The taping incident earned Centerpointe a citation from the state. The teacher, identified by the state complaint as Angela Calcagno of Livermore, is also no longer employed by Centerpointe.

[Related story: UPDATED: Preschool Cited After 2-Year-Old Tied Up for Refusing to Nap]

Centerpointe leaders says that Community Care Licensing department substantiated the pinching allegation in a report dated April 2, after their visit to the facility on March 18.

We have a strong commitment to take all reports regarding our program seriously, investigate them, and communicate the outcomes in a timely manner. Adhering to this standard, we reported an alleged incident to Community Care Licensing and have now received their report dated April 2. The person involved was a substitute teacher and the report states in part:

“The allegation is that a staff member (who is no longer employed at the center) pinched and squeezed the arm of a child. It is unknown exactly when the incident occurred. It was alleged to have happened in the month of February 2013. The staff member was no longer employed as of late February 2013. On the day of the 10-day complaint notification visit (March 18, 2013), Pastor Mike Barris received information from the child’s parent about the allegation. Pastor Mike correctly reported the incident as an unusual incident. According to Pastor Mike, there were no other staff members who witnessed the incident.”

Community Care Licensing has substantiated the allegation involving the substitute teacher. Since the beginning of this preschool, there has been zero tolerance for any action that violates a child’s rights. It is important to note that the report from licensing also states, 

“The facility has already been through extensive training on personal rights violations. The incident happened before this training commenced. There will be no further plan of correction. The deficiency is cleared and corrected.”

We have a strong working relationship with Community Care Licensing and we are thankful for their support of the new procedures and programs we established during our five-day intensive training and operations review. We have cooperated fully with the department and are pleased with how our teaching staff is implementing the enhanced program and improved procedures that will best serve the children in our care.

According to the Department of Social Services report, Personal Rights, Section 101223 (a)(3) as defined by the California Department of Social Services  applicable to Child Care Centers reads:

"Each child shall be free from corporal or unusual punishment, humiliation, intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threat, mental abuse or other actions of a punitive nature."

The tape incident involving Calcagno is currently being reviewed for possible criminal prosecution by the Alameda District Attorney's Office.

Pleasanton Police officials said on Friday that they have not received any criminal reports of the pinching incident.

Read the full coverage of the 'tied-up' toddler incident:

• Centerpointe Community Church Responds: 'We Are Appalled and Shocked'

• District Attorney to Review Tied-Up Toddler Case

• Update: Ex-Preschool Director Says 'My Heart Goes Out to the Family'

• Reader Reactions: Report of Preschooler Tied Up Disturbing

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.