SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Court documents say a second person is being charged in connection with allegations of child abuse going unreported that closed a Lackawanna County daycare center.
Authorities say Erin Pallo, owner and director of Learn & Grow Early Childhood Day Care Center in Scranton, is being charged with failure to report child abuse. Officials add co-owner Amy Ware faces the same charge.
According to the criminal complaint, an employee told the owners that she witnessed another employee slapping a child, hitting the child with a bottle, and pulling their hair.
Officials say Pallo and Ware told the employee they would take care of it, but the employee responsible for the abuse continued to work there, and the state did not become involved.
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Other employees also reported to authorities that the mandated staff-to-child ratio was frequently not followed, exceeding the capacity of children allowed in each room, officials say.
Other reports in the criminal complaint alleged that an employee was told to come to work despite having contagious strep throat.
The Learn & Grow Early Childhood Day Care Center is now closed, as officials say the daycare’s owners failed to comply with the department’s regulations for operation of a child care facility.
Parents who are impacted can contact the Early Learning Resource Center of Lackawanna.
