State closes church day care center

The Tennessee Department of Human Services said the Village Learning and Daycare Center at Eastdale Village Community United Methodist Church posed “a severe danger to children in its care.”

Officials with the day care and the church could not be reached for comment, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

According to Human Services department records, the center’s director did not report alleged abuse to state officials because she felt sorry for the child’s family.

The child reportedly had a welt on his face from being hit with a belt and earlier reported being kicked in the chest by a family member, according to Human Services records.

The center is licensed to care for 58 children, records show.

Records also show the center’s transportation logs were “completely noncompliant.” A Human Services report stated the center logged school pickups on Saturdays, signatures were forged, and records conflicted.

State officials have 30 days to decide whether to revoke the Village Learning and Daycare Centers license, a move that would keep the owners from operating for at least a year.

In the meantime, the closure could mean problems for neighborhood families with children at the center, said Phil Acord, executive director of Children’s Home/Chambliss Shelter and past president of the Southern Early Childhood Association.

“All of a sudden, you have 30-some parents with 50-some kids that don’t have any place for a child to go,” he said. “But no parent would want a child in a climate or environment that’s possibly harmful to them.”