Spring mother claims daycare employees broke her 3-month-old's arm
SPRING, Texas - A Spring mother claims employees at Children Lighthouse Daycare in Spring Harmony broke her 3-month-old baby’s arm while in their care.
That 3-month old baby girl is now on medication and has a cast on her arm for up to six weeks.
Children's Lighthouse Daycare is located on the 2800 block of Waterbend Cove in Spring.
Any mother can relate to the anxiety Alecia Jenkins felt when she dropped off her 3-month old daughter at Children’s Lighthouse Daycare in Spring Harmony for the first time on April 12. Jenkins was just returning to her job as a 2nd grade teacher after maternity leave.
Between her classes, Jenkins said she would tune in to the daycare cameras to keep tabs on her baby.
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But at one point, something looked very wrong.
"One of the teachers in the classroom picked her up from the crib and I notice there was a panic. That maybe she had did something wrong. And so I noticed that she went to the classroom telephone and called in some of her coworkers and they crowded around my daughter and they were looking at her arm and touching it. And that’s when I noticed it was just completely limp," said Jenkins.
"It was just really hard to see your daughter helpless around complete strangers and I just think about the pain that she was in," Jenkins continued.
Jenkins left school and rushed over to pick up her daughter and was told by employees, she’d be fine.
"They said she’ll be ok. She may have slept on her arm wrong. It may just have to be popped back into place, it’ll be alright," Jenkins said.
But her maternal instincts kicked in. She took her baby to the ER where doctors conducted X-rays and found her baby's arm had been broken.
"The humerus bone, there was a fracture in that bone. They said it’s typically related to child abuse situations," Jenkins said.
Jenkins immediately filed a police report and hired a lawyer. She’s now suing the daycare for more than a million dollars, alleging employees "assaulted, battered, and/or negligently taken care during her time at the daycare facility".
CPS confirms to FOX 26 they launched an investigation the following day on April 13, 2021.
"DFPS will investigate whether or not abuse or neglect occurred in this case, and we will also investigate the daycare operation for any deficiencies in state standards. Findings from our investigation will be turned over to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the state agency that licenses and regulates daycare in Texas."
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As for Jenkins' daughter, she's slowly recovering.
"She’s healing. It’s been rough but as the days go on, I think she’s getting stronger," Jenkins said.
"For this to happen on the first day of daycare, has ruined me and my perspective on daycares and just being able to trust people with my baby," Jenkins continued.
FOX 26 reached out to Children's Lighthouse Daycare. The director said she could not comment on the matter but instead the facility sent out a statement that said, "The safety and health of all Childrens Lighthouse students are our top priorities. Childrens Lighthouse of Spring-Harmony is independently owned and operated and has established a reputation for being a warm, welcoming and safe environment for young children and their families. We know there are news reports being shared and take this matter extremely seriously. As soon as we became aware, we immediately contacted the child’s parents and sought medical attention for the child. At this time, we cannot comment further."
FOX 26 is not releasing the identities of the accused daycare employees at this time, because no charges have been filed.
Jenkins said her mother-in-law has quit her job at a local hospital to take full-time care of her daughter, so they don’t have to send her back to daycare.
Jenkins is being represented by attorneys George Oginni and John Leo through Leo & Oginni Trial Lawyers PLLC.