(WNY News Now) – Following an alleged incident where a teacher dragged a child through the hallway at Holy Family Child Care Center, Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. released a statement affirming their dedication to the safety and well-being of the children in their care, as a review of New York State inspections reveals multiple other complaints regarding their use of corporal punishment at the daycare.
Jamestown, N.Y. – Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. provided the following statement after WNY News Now reported allegations of child abuse at Holy Family Child Care Center in Jamestown:
“Holy Family Child Care Center is addressing recent media reports regarding an incident involving a child and a staff member at the center. The incident was witnessed by another staff member who immediately notified management and made a mandated report of suspected abuse/maltreatment as required by law.
Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. (COI) wants to emphasize that Holy Family Child Care Center does not condone abuse or maltreatment of children under any circumstances. The safety and well-being of the children in the agency’s care is a top priority. As part of COI’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment, the agency conducts thorough background checks on all employees and has cameras in classrooms and hallways to monitor activities.
In response to this incident, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the care of children. In accordance with COI’s policies, any employee being investigated for abuse/maltreatment cannot have contact with children.
COI is fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation of the matter and will continue to do so until the investigation is resolved. The program remains dedicated to upholding the highest standards for all children entrusted to our care.
Diane Hewitt-Johnson, CEO, stated, “COI has provided Head Start and Early Head Start services since they were first implemented, in 1965 and 1993 respectively. We pride ourselves on providing high quality services and would never tolerate the ill treatment of anyone. Staff followed the procedures in place once the allegation was made and an investigation started immediately. We will cooperate fully with the entities conducting the investigation. I am committed to ensuring that the health and safety of the children in our care is upheld.”
However, this incident is ostensibly not the first case of alleged child abuse at the day care. A review of inspections performed by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) revealed that this is the third time in the last year that the daycare had been cited for use of corporal punishment, which is prohibited by the state.
The daycare had been cited for the use of corporal punishment on May 29th, 2024 resulting from a substantiated complaint. The state defines corporal punishment as means of punishment inflicted directly on the body including, but not limited to, physical restraint, spanking, biting, shaking, slapping, twisting or squeezing; demanding excessive physical exercise, prolonged lack of movement or motion, or strenuous or bizarre postures; and compelling a child to eat or have in the child’s mouth soap, foods, hot spices or irritants or the like. The citation for this incident lists the center as having corrected this infraction.
However, on October 31st, 2024, the daycare center was again cited for the use of corporal punishment following a complaint that has a pending investigation. The citation for this incident has not been corrected.
The February 11th, 2025 inspection, resulting from a substantiated complaint, again cited the daycare for the use of corporal punishment, in addition to citing the center for regulation 418-1.15(b)(4), which requires that staff and volunteers must be in good health and be of good character and habits. Neither of these citations have been corrected as of the time of publication.
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