Brandy Klapik, of East Hartford, says her concerns go back four years ago and she wonders if her complaints were taken seriously.
Nicole Mayo, an employee at the Stork Club daycare in Glastonbury, was arrested on Friday and is accused of hitting, restraining, force-feeding and roughly handling several two year-olds. The director, Meegan Beach, was arrested Monday and is accused of not reporting the abuse to the Department of Children and Families or other authorities.
Klapik says, “My heart sank a little bit. I was frustrated and mad.” She’s very familiar with the daycare and Beach. “It was a great daycare when I worked there, which is why when I had kids, I didn't think twice,” said Klapik.
She also didn't think twice about abruptly pulling her kids out in August 2012. She said there were no issues with her son, but many with her daughter.
“They weren't following basic instructions on the feeding schedule, nobody was communicating with each other. There were times they flat out didn't feed her because she wasn't crying,” said Klapik.
Other issues include a scratch mark on her cheek below her left eye, and teachers not preparing food properly when she was put on a hypoallergenic formula.
Klapik said, “That's your child. You're trusting these people to watch your kids during the day. It makes me wonder what else was going on that I didn't see? Were there other parents that spoke up and nothing was done? I don't know.”
Klapik says she filed a complaint with the state and never heard back. FOX 61 made some phone calls. It turns out, investigators didn't find any violations at that time.
There are six Stork Club locations across Connecticut. Five of them have been cited by the state for things like neglect, child protection and staff ratios.
Several calls were placed to the Stork Club, but FOX 61 still has not received a call back.