OAK CREEK, Wis. — A former day care employee will spend four months at the Milwaukee Crisis Prevention Center, followed by a year of probation, after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine at an Oak Creek KinderCare.
The employee, Passion Watson, was arrested in May after a toddler allegedly ingested the drug.
"The baby I brought home that day is not the same baby that I dropped off," mother Kimberly Hopson said.
Hopson's son, Prince, was exposed to cocaine at the KinderCare, an incident she said has changed their lives forever.
"If I had never taken him to the emergency room that day, I would've never known about the cocaine," Hopson said.
On May 15, Hopson received an unexpected call from her son's day care.
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"They said I needed to pick him up because he was throwing up," Hopson said.
When she brought him home, she noticed something worse.
"I laid him down, and I lifted up his shirt. You could see scratches on his stomach, his side, his butt. There were bruises on his back," she said. "Mama bear kicked in. I went right back to the day care and confronted everybody there."
Watch: Mother whose son ingested cocaine at a KinderCare speaks out
Hopson said KinderCare employees didn’t provide answers.
She took Prince to the emergency room and filed a police report. Shortly after, her home was raided by child protective services and police.
"CPS and a group of officers came here. They said his toxicology report came back positive for cocaine," Hopson said.
Hopson said she knew neither she nor anyone in her family used cocaine and believed it came from the day care.
Since May, TMJ4’s Jenna Rae has been investigating the incident. The investigation revealed the Oak Creek KinderCare has been cited for more than two dozen violations by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Violations included staff being aggressive with infants, undocumented injuries to children, children having access to power tools and toxic chemicals, and cocaine in the infant room.
In October, DCF suspended and then revoked the day care’s license.
"That was the first time I smiled in a long time. I was happy. I'm still happy about that," Hopson said.
"And it's still closed today?" Rae asked.
"Oh, yes, it is," Hopson replied.
"Do you think it should remain closed?" Rae asked.
"Oh, yeah, permanently," she said.
Since Prince’s incident, the day care has been cited for seven more violations, all related to unreported child injuries and staff carelessness.
"It makes me feel sad because, at the time, he was 11 months old. He was so innocent. If you knew the baby before, he was just so happy. His daily routine has been messed up because of what happened at KinderCare," Hopson said.
Hopson said Prince now has developmental delays and may require special needs care.
"I wish I didn’t send him to KinderCare that day. I wish I didn’t. That day changed everything," she said.
A spokesperson for DCF told TMJ4 the Oak Creek KinderCare owners are appealing the decision to revoke its license.
TMJ4 has reached out to KinderCare and is waiting for a response.
To look up your child's day care or any other day care in the state, click here.
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