More parents come forward with safety concerns, alleged abuse at North Olmsted daycare

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WOIO) - Surveillance video shows the terrifying moments a two-year-old girl with special needs runs out of the Bee My Baby Childcare parking lot in North Olmsted and into oncoming traffic on Lorain Road.

19 News spoke with that child’s mom on Friday.

“It’s been very stressful just thinking about what could’ve happened,” the mom said.

North Olmsted police are investigating and the incident was reported to the state. After seeing our report, Brittany Lewkowski and Kayla Jones contacted 19 News.

“I was sick to my stomach,” said Jones, a former Bee My Baby employee.

Lewkowski says her son went to the pre-k for around a year from 2022 to 2023. Jones worked there at the same time. The women say in June of 2023 an employee at Bee My Baby took this video showing what they say is another employee kneeling on Lewkowski’s 4-year-old son’s spine.

“I was informed that his teacher was kneeling on his back and pinning him to his cot enough to cause bruises,” Lewkowski said.

The Maple Heights mom said as soon as she found out what happened. She got her son out of there, took him to the hospital, and reported the incident to the police. She said she worries about the kids still in their care.

“Especially with hearing about your recent report because clearly, they’re not paying attention still,” Lewkowski said.

According to Lewkowski’s son’s medical records from uh, doctors said his bruising was consistent with the alleged child abuse. Police did investigate but the prosecutor never moved forward with the case.

Kayla Jones was one of the two employees who reported what happened to Lewkowski.

“I love kids, and if that was my child, I would want someone to say something,” Jones said. “So, I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

According to records from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services on June 14, 2023, they determined that a child care staff member had abused or endangered a child by using harsh or extreme disciplinary techniques. They ordered the daycare to fire the employee involved. Jones said they were not fired while she was there.

“Not that I know of, because I had left in August, and they were still there,” she said.

19 Investigates discovered several other state reports and complaints about this daycare that date back to 2021. The findings include employees being distracted and on their cell phones, the facility not being cleaned properly, staff not completing the required child abuse training more than once, staffing issues, and another report of an employee humiliating or threatening a child.

“I think that the place should be closed down,” Lewkowski said. “I think that it is a huge risk to children, especially those who are autistic or and or nonverbal, and they are taking advantage of the fact that those kids can’t advocate for themselves.”

19 News went to the day care to get some answers, the employee who answered the door quickly said, “No comment,” and slammed the door in our face. They refused to answer any questions.

19 News contacted the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to see if the employee had been fired.

Jodi L. Norton, Chief Communications Officer for the Ohio Department of Children and Youth sent us the following statement, “After consulting with our licensing team, our records indicate that this person is no longer an employee there. Based on this information, we are looking into the matter further.”