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Day Care Workers Accused of Drugging Kids With Sleep Aids
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
Police confirmed they are investigating allegations that workers at the Covenant Apostolic Church daycare gave children a dietary supplement to help them sleep. Credit: Glenn Hartong, The Enquirer / AP
Some parents in Ohio are accusing workers at a church day care center of spiking candy with over-the-counter sleep aids to tranquilize kids.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that investigators from the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office and Springfield Township Police Department are investigating the day care center at the Covenant Apostolic Church.
Police Chief David Heimpold sent letters Monday to parents of the 37 children who attend the center in Springfield Township, which is about 10 miles north of Cincinnati.
According to the Enquirer, workers allegedly gave children medication containing the common sleep aid melatonin to quiet them down during naptime. Although the drug is often found in over-the-counter sleep aids, it is generally not recommended for children younger than 12.
In his letter, Heimpold tells parents that police do not definitively know which staff members were involved. "However, we are providing this information to you at this time so that you can take whatever actions you deem necessary to protect your child or children in the event that they were given melatonin on one or more occasions," the letter goes on.
The paper also reports that Heimpold urges parents to contact their family physicians or the Poison Control Center to learn basic information about the drug. The chief tells the newspaper that church officials have been cooperating with the investigation.
Parents Joseph and Andrea Coleman filed a class-action lawsuit against the church Tuesday. According to Hamilton County court records available online, the couple is represented by Cincinnati lawyers Colleen Hegge, Alan Statman and Kelly Lundrigan.
Meanwhile, the day care center will remain open, the Rev. Shelly Hendricks tells the Enquirer. He says he learned about the situation Sunday, and the two staff members believed to be responsible were fired Monday. He adds he's not sure sure how long the employees worked there. He also tells the paper that changes were made to the center's procedures but wouldn't go into detail.
"To my knowledge this is a sleep-aid supplement that can be purchased at any local stores, but this should not have occurred," he tells the Enquirer. "We have fully cooperated with police. Our program remains open and operational and the police are satisfied that our daycare has been run safely."
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ReaderComments (Page 4 of 4)
12-17-2009 @ 1:08AM
himee said...Good for them. It is tough babysitting these little demons. Brownies and blackies, get the ropes.
Reply
12-17-2009 @ 9:48AM
Heather said...Melatonin is not a drug it is a natural hormone. You get it from the sun. You can not OD on it. All it does is it allows you to sleep it doesn't PUT you to sleep. All it will do is calm the kids down enough that thier bodies will sleep. Melatonin alone is harmless if it was part of another sleep medication then that is a different story. I know because my Dr. recomended it to me and I use it. She said "if you want to go the natural non drug route use melatonin, it is safe because you never have to worry about taking to much and you won't be drowsy in the morning"
Reply
12-17-2009 @ 2:31PM
Red73 said...This is bad. I don't care how mild this was (trust me I know as I give melatonin to one of my sons), the daycare had no right to give this to kids without their parents permission. You never know what kind of reaction a child may have, or if the parent decides to give them something else without even realizing what they have already taken already. Very dangerous, this daycare should have been closed until a complete inverstigation was done. I recently posted on truuconfessions.com about how I am glad I didn't have to put my young children in daycare, stories like this just make me even more glad.
Reply
12-29-2009 @ 11:45PM
S.Savich said...Well, that's one way to make the kids take a darned nap! :)
It was a stupid move. It's so easy to overdose on something when the label doesn't tell you how much to give the person. If they're under the required age, how would the day-care people know how to give a safe amount to the kids? They don't. It's lucky that they were caught, otherwise a kid could have died.
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