Parents Angry After DHS Forces Guthrie Daycare to Close

A Guthrie daycare was forced to close its doors, and now dozens of parents are left wondering where their children will go.

Monday, July 20th 2009, 5:48 pm

By: News 9


By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

GUTHRIE, Oklahoma -- A Guthrie daycare was forced to close its doors, and now dozens of parents are left wondering where their children will go.

The daycare has been operating in a new building for about a year. During that time, DHS has been out numerous times on inspections.

The owner recently received a letter from DHS denying her a license to operate.

Jonathan Williams has children and grandchildren at the daycare. He's worried where they will go when the center closes on August 8.

"I don't know what we're going to do at this point," Williams said. "I have a handicapped son and ...no other daycare in Guthrie can take care of his needs."

One of the many allegations against Sabrina's Tiny Tots is allowing special needs children to roam unsupervised.

"I work anywhere from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or whatever I need to work to make sure it is ran right," said daycare owner Sabrina Weir.

Weir serves nearly 100 children. Her daycare is one of the largest in Guthrie.

DHS has kept close tabs on the 1-year-old facility. During the licensing process, DHS workers found numerous problems including classes over staff/child ratio, food served rotten and staff threatening a child and using profanity.

These allegations were enough to deny a license.

Now, many of the parents are angry at DHS. Laura Dollar, a mother of two, uses Tiny Tots and said most of the daycares in Guthrie are full.

"Very angry, I have never had a problem with this daycare, ever," Dollar said. "If they are going to rip my care out from underneath of me for no reason then I guess they are going to have to help me find someone where I can get care for my children."

The owner does plan to file an appeal. DHS said the daycare can remain open during that process.

Weir is also selling the daycare. If her appeal is denied, the new owner could possibly have the center open as early as September 1 or as late as October 1. The new operator will have to undergo the DHS licensing process.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

July 20th, 2009

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024