From militarytimes.com
The Honolulu Police Department is investigating the Feb. 24 death of a 7-month-old military child found dead in the home of a daycare provider at a military installation in Hawaii, officials said.
A neighbor who lives near the home where the child died said the death came four days after she filed a complaint alleging the provider, a Navy wife, was operating an unlicensed daycare after being shut down at least three times by base officials who allegedly found violations. The daycare is in privatized housing at Aliamanu Military Reservation, part of U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii.
The neighbor, Katie Camario, told Military Times that she had reported her concerns for more than a year about numerous young children crying and left unattended outside the home, citing various incidents such as the children playing with a lighter, and one child’s head being stuck in playground equipment. Other neighbors also said they reported similar concerns.
The Honolulu Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division classified the child’s death as an unattended death and have launched an investigation, said Michelle Yu, a police department spokeswoman. She said police have made no arrests and they are not releasing the police report at this time.
The local medical examiner’s office is conducting an autopsy but has not released any official cause of death.
The baby’s name is Abigail. The mother of the baby, reportedly the wife of an Army National Guard member, has requested that her name not be used. Friends have set up a GoFundMe page for the family.
“We don’t know what happened,” Camario, an Air Force wife, said in an interview. She added that she and others are not placing blame on anyone.
Attempts by Military Times to reach the daycare provider for comment were unsuccessful.
Camario said she had filed a report with the military’s Interactive Customer Evaluation website on Feb. 20. She had also reported her concerns to Army Family Child Care officials, as well as to military police, as early as December 2017, she said. Family Child Care officials told her the provider was not licensed to provide child care, she said.
On military installations, in order to provide child care in a home, providers must undergo stringent reviews and training before being certified and allowed to operate the business. They must undergo fire and safety inspections, and provide a learning curriculum tailored for the child’s age.
There are also limitations on the number of children that are allowed at any given time in the provider’s home.
Camario said she noticed in late 2017 that there were 10 to 15 children under the age of 5 who were left outside alone and unattended at certain times of the day at the daycare where Abigail died.
“Those were the ones I could see in the back yard. That doesn’t count the babies and others inside,” she said.
She said she reported what she saw, and by January 2018, nothing had changed. Officials told her they were short on staff, she said.
Then on Jan. 8, 2018, she said, “I heard a little voice saying, ‘Fire, fire!’ I knew these children were outside alone, and I looked out and saw about five little kids playing with a long lighter,” she said, describing the type used to light grills.
“I saw a flame come out of that lighter. I called [Family Child Care] and they said to call the police.
“While [the police] were coming, a child, about 1 year old, put the lighter in his mouth,” she said, adding that she gave a video of the incident to the police.
In March 2018, base officials visited the home and shut down the daycare operations, Camario said. However, the provider gradually began providing care for children again. Officials shut down the provider again, twice, Camario said.
Officials at U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii declined to comment on whether the provider was shut down or who made the decision; or whether the military’s family advocacy program or state Child Protective Services officials investigated the allegations; or why the provider was able to continue living in the privatized housing unit if she was still providing care after being shut down.
“In light of the ongoing investigation by Honolulu Police Department and U.S. Army Hawaii’s support to that investigation, we cannot comment on the specific facts of this case,” said a spokesman, retired Army Col. Dennis C. Drake.
Information was not available about whether Army headquarters officials are investigating the matter.
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