ONLY ON KOLD: Daycare Dangers around Tucson

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TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Many parents rely on daycare centers to watch their kids while they go to work. Parents want to believe their children are in the safest of hands.

A KOLD News 13 Investigation found a lot of startling details in some daycares around Tucson. The investigation found everything from improper background checks, to a lack of testing for diseases even kids wondering off from daycare centers alone.

A Day Come True is one of more than 1,500 daycares in Tucson licensed by the state. It's a daycare many families in the area have come to trust. But some parents didn't know about its history with state inspectors.

The daycare operator agreed to pay the state $440 in fines a couple of years ago because inspectors found daycare staff did not have fingerprint clearance cards. A state official says that process conducted by the Arizona Department of Public Safety checks to see if a person has a criminal background.

The last time a state surveyor came out to check A Dream Come True was in July 2014. At that time, the operator received 20 citations. Among the violations include: a staff member didn't get a TB test until months after starting work. A log for prescription medication shows a kid took medicine on the wrong days. There was no individual plan for a special-needs child.

Roger Loreto has been taking his children to "A Dream Come True" daycare near Valencia and Midvale Park on the south side for years. He was shocked to find out about this information but stood up for the daycare and operator.

"I can't really say anything bad because so far my daughter has been coming here for about three years and they've done an immaculate job with her," said Loreto.

Patsy's kids also get dropped off at A Dream Come True. We asked what her reaction was to these findings and she said she had no idea.

"Well, I'm concerned now, big concerns, now," she said.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services there are about 2,500 licensed daycare centers in the state.

Branch Chief for Non-Health Care Institution Licensing Tom Salow says the state has about 30 safety inspectors checking in on all the state-licensed day care facilities. That's about one person for every 83 day cares.

"They're unannounced surveys so they don't know when we're heading out," Salow said. "We have a whole set of rules and statutes that we do look at. But our main focus is health and safety-type violations."

The state took legal enforcement action against 28 daycare centers in Tucson in the last three years.

"Little Ranch School" was fined $400 for failing to report and document eight incidents of alleged child abuse in March 2013. Just a little more than a year later, the operator received 18 violations. One of the citations included children not being signed out properly.

"The Outer Limits School" operator was fined $100 in October 2014. Earlier this year, a surveyor investigated claims that two 3-year-old children left the daycare through a gate. Someone in the neighborhood found the kids walking down the street. According to documents, the staff believed the kids were gone no longer than 10 minutes.

"Imagine Nation" agreed to pay a $325 fine and then was stuck with 15 citations in June. One violation included staff not logging when a child took medicine used for ADHD treatment, which is required by state statutes.

Salow said that daycare centers having a citation list of upwards of 20 violations wasn't necessarily normal and that every case is unique.

Our crew caught up with the owner of A Dream Come True daycare, Armida Lopez Fierro, and asked her about the daycare center's history with the state inspectors.

"I say that A Dream Come True has had deficiencies in the past and we've addressed them," said Lopez Fierro.

She would not talk about specifics of the last survey but agreed that the state has a job to do.

"Department of Health Services does have qualified staff to determine and evaluate our credibility and I agree with them. I do agree with them. I just feel that things happen and we do our best to comply and we will continue to do our best to comply," she said.

Salow says it's a tough job but it's one where they want to help all licensed daycares to comply with state standards if they're falling behind.

"I think if a facility is in compliance, you know if the facility does have the staff trained and educated as required. Does maintain their ratios, does have their fingerprint clearance card, just to name a few of the rules, I think makes a good basis for safe child care," Salow said.

Daycares are given a few weeks to address their violations. All the daycares mentioned in this report did.

If you want to check out your kid's daycares past state survey results you can head to: AZCareCheck.com