Detroit Day Care Center Shut Down After Serving Kids Spoiled Milk, Raw Chicken: Officials

DETROIT — A Detroit day care center was forced to shut down Wednesday due to several health concerns, according to a suspension order from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP).

Officials suspended the child care license for the Martin Luther King Jr. Daycare after inspectors found rotten food, no cleaning supplies, no hot water, rooms that were either too hot or too cold, yellow water and an "obnoxious smell" from the basement kitchen of the building, according to the suspension order.

The day care center, which is located at Antioch Church of God in Christ at 16827 Appoline, offers child care from ages 2 weeks to four years.

The inspections happened on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, roughly one week after officials received several health complaints about the building, according to the suspension order.

Inspectors found significantly different temperatures in different rooms of the building, including 80 degrees in the infant/toddler room and 69 degrees in a different classroom, according to the suspension order.

In the toddler room, the inspector felt a cool draft that was creating cold spots, leading one worker to say that the children were cold to the touch, no matter how high they turned up the heat, according to the suspension order.

In another classroom, inspectors found spoiled milk in a refrigerator, no cups for water and that the water coming out of the standalone dispenser was yellow, according to the suspension order.

Another refrigerator in a different classroom also had spoiled milk, along with rotten fruit and an "unknown liquified substance in a zip lock bag" that was inside the fridge, causing a spoiled smell throughout the room, according to the suspension order.

Staff members often complained about the conditions, with one telling inspectors they had to buy their own cleaning supplies, while others said they were no longer willing to buy cleaning supplies on their own dime, according to the suspension order.

Another worker told inspectors that her classroom is next to the heat plant room, making the room temperature too hot and causing the milk to curdle before the children drink it, according to the suspension order.

"Children have gotten sick from the room being too warm and the milk turning sour on their stomach," according to the complaint of one staff member.

Additionally, the children were served spoiled milk and raw chicken for lunch at times, according to the suspension order.

Inspectors found similar issues in the rest of the classrooms at the facility, including spoiled milk, crates in freezer with "unidentifiable" items in plastic bags and possible black mold under a sink, with live and dead bugs on the floor underneath it, according to the suspension order.

"Due to the serious nature of the above violations and the potential risk it represents to vulnerable children in Licensee’s care, emergency action must be taken to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the children in care at this licensed child care home," officials wrote in the suspension order.

While suspended, officials said the day care is responsible for notifying parents and guardians that they can no longer provide care for their children.

The day care center has seven days to submit an appeal or notify if they plan to attend a court hearing that's scheduled before an administrative law judge.