Following the incident of a 3-year-old child, Emma Moore, who was hit by a truck March 6 in Omega at Susie Q’s on Alabama Avenue after an employee at Omega Daycare on Flat Ford Road drove her and another child to the restaurant, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) has issued an order for intended emergency closure of the daycare center.

According to a statement from Reg Griffin, chief communications officer for DECAL, “Our investigation has shown that this center was responsible for improperly transporting two children to a restaurant without their parents’ permission. The director of the center later hit one of the children with her truck and then drove over the child. The child was treated at a local hospital and later airlifted to a hospital in Macon. Our thoughts are with the child and her family. We encourage parents affected by the closing of Omega Daycare Center to connect with child care resources at www.allgakids.org or by calling the toll-free number 1-877-ALL GA KIDS. Parents will be assisted in locating quality child care options. DECAL provides this free service to parents. At DECAL, our top priority is the health and safety of our state’s young learners, ages birth to five years old.”

Griffin said the order for intended emergency closure was issued Friday. He said, “The (Omega Daycare) center reported the incident [which occurred March 6] to the consultant the day after the incident.”

He said early Monday afternoon that the provider was appealing the order of intended emergency closure. A hearing was set to be held today at the Omega Police Department, he said. However, later that afternoon, Griffin said in an e-mail that the owner withdrew her appeal, which means no hearing will be held. He was unsure why the owner withdrew her appeal.

Griffin said the center will remain closed for 21 days from Friday while they determine the next steps which could include license revocation. He noted in cases of emergency closure, the owner has 48 business hours to appeal. The appeal must be heard by the Office of State Administrative Hearings within the next 48 business hours and then a decision must be given within another 48 business hours. Griffin said DECAL received the authority to do emergency closures from the legislature in July 2011.

He said the Office of State Administrative Hearings are conducted like court cases. The judge will either uphold the decision of the agency or will rule in favor of the provider.

“It’s an interesting process,” he said.

He noted they are very cautious about damaging the integrity of an investigation. They perform a thorough investigation. He reiterated that their top priority is the health and safety of Georgia’s young learners.

As of Monday afternoon, Omega Police Chief Eric Windmoller said he and officer John Tyson had a meeting with representatives from the Department of Family and Children Services in both Colquitt and Tift counties.

He said in an e-mail, “We compared and shared information and witness statements and came to the conclusion that we would both be best served by bringing the case to the District Attorney’s office and let a grand jury hear all of the information.”

He said he hoped to collect all of the information from DFCS by Monday to present to the DA’s office today.

Griffin explained that Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers federal nutrition programs and manages voluntary quality enhancement programs.

The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education.

He said there are about 6,000 child care centers in Georgia, which they inspect twice a year, unannounced. Also, they have some situations where they may receive a call from someone who has a concern about a child care center in his or her community. He said they get approximately 100 of these calls a month. He said  most cases end up being unsubstantiated. He said they deal with a lot of cases of kids being left on school buses and vans.

Griffin said the 12 different core rules they look for during an inspection are disciplining, diapering, hygiene, infant sleep safety, medication, physical plant, playground, staff/child ratios, supervision, transportation (which is a huge issue), field trips and in some cases, swimming.

Griffin noted about 375,000 children rely on child care in Georgia. There are three types of child care: family daycare homes — three to six children; group daycare homes — seven to 18 children; and child learning centers — 19 or more children.

Griffin said when investigating a chid care center, the outcome may include requiring the center to have technical assistance, a fine, give a provisional license or revoke their license, or as in the case of Omega Daycare, issue an order for intended emergency closure.

For more information on DECAL, visit www.decal.ga.gov.