Suffolk police investigating abuse claims at Northport day care

Detectives with the Suffolk County Police Department's Special Victims Unit are investigating allegations that an employee of a Northport day care facility abused a minor, officials told Newsday.

The investigation centers on the Learning Experience, a day care center on Fort Salonga Road for children age 6 weeks through kindergarten, and follows both a March 26 and April 1 inspection of the facility by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

"Special Victims Unit detectives are investigating reports made to SCPD on April 10 regarding abuse by a Northport day care employee," a police spokeswoman said Wednesday, declining to identify the subject of the investigation.

State investigators said they substantiated a complaint filed against the facility, and issued violations for failing to report allegations of child abuse or maltreatment, including corporal punishment and harsh discipline during toilet training, records show.

Among the violations found by state officials during the April 1 inspection were:

• Prohibited forms of corporal punishment against children at the day care. Details of the alleged abuse and the identity of the perpetrator were not provided by investigators.
• Unapproved methods of discipline during toilet training that could frighten, demean or humiliate a child.
• Failure by the child care center staff to immediately report any suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreatment.

• Staff were found not to be of "good character and possess suitable personal qualifications" or to "have the energy and emotional stability necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of their positions."

"Once we became aware of allegations against The Learning Experience in Northport we took immediate action to ensure the well-being of children while we actively investigate the complaints," Daniel Marans, spokesman for the Office of Children and Family Services, told Newsday in a statement. "OCFS is currently completing its investigation of this program and working to address compliance issues, potentially through tough enforcement measures."

The Learning Experience is open and licensed to continue operating, officials said.

Officials with the Learning Experience and their parent company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Child care providers in New York cited for serious regulatory violations, including child abuse, could face denial, revocation or suspension of their license to continue operating or fines of up to $500 per day, according to agency guidelines.

State records show this is not the first time the Northport-based Learning Experience has been cited by state investigators.

The facility, OCFS records show, has uncorrected violations from a March 26 inspection where it was also cited for allegations of corporal punishment, failure to establish and follow a written plan for behavior management and for failing to immediately report suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreatment.

It was not immediately clear if the March 26 and April 1 inspections were related to single or multiple complaints.

Previous facility citations, which records show have since been corrected, include failing to prepare a health care plan that protects and promotes the health of children; exceeding capacity in certain child care age groups; failing to conduct two shelter-in-place drills annually; hand-washing violations; and not properly securing window and door blind cords, ropes, wires or other strangulation hazards.

The facility, records show, has not faced any enforcement actions from the state since at least April 2021.

The violations were the subject of intense discussion in recent days on a Facebook group for Northport parents, where some expressed deep concern about the allegations and others said the event appears to be isolated and that the employee involved had been terminated.

Newsday reached out to several parents with children at the day care but each declined to comment.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.