Related links
OLATHE, KAN. -
An Olathe daycare provider, Jeanette Lawrence, has been arrested after a death in her daycare April 13 in the 16,000 block of W. 148th Terrace.
Lawrence, 46, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated endangerment of a child, and a daycare violation following the death of an 18-month-old.
A family friend, Kim Engleman, tells FOX 4 18-month-old Ava Patrick died in the basement of the daycare. Engleman is now an advocate for changing Kansas state laws to toughen the requirements on home daycares.
Engleman said there was a small wooden fence separating the babies and toddlers and Ava was interested in babies. The child pushed a chair toward the fence, stood on top of the chair, fell on the fence and her neck got stuck between the slats. She was strangled.
"It rips a hole in my stomach, right to the pit of our core," said Engleman. "You know my husband and I are just sick about what has happened and what continues to happen in the state of Kansas."
Engleman's 13-month-old daughter Lexie died at a Mission daycare five years ago. Now, she's working on "Lexie's Law" to toughen Kansas daycare regulations which currently only require providers to be in sight or hearing distance of a child in their care.
According to the Emergency Order of Suspension filed by the State of Kansas, Lawrence did not notify Patrick's parents at the time of the incident because there was no paperwork on the child, and no contact information for the parents and therefore police were even unable to contact the girl's parents.
The complaint filed by the State of Kansas says the daycare provider was operating that day with too many children for a registered family daycare home. And, according to the State Health Department the daycare had 14 children instead of the six she was allowed.
According to the state of Kansas, Lawrence has "a history of exceeding capacity, denying access to surveyors, alternating between licensed and registered, and complaints involving supervision and injuries to children in care." She also "has not shown a change in child care practices or behavior since the 1990's at which time two applications to operate a licensed daycare home were denied due to similar violations."
"My heart does go out to (Ava's mother) because I understand what she's going through," said Alecia Boone, whose seven-month-old daughter Aniyah died in May after receiving injuries at a Merriam daycare.
"It doesn't make any sense for all these babies to keep dying in home daycares," said Boone. "It makes me think, why are no one paying attention to any of this? Why do they just keep letting it happen over and over and over again?"
According to Engleman, there was an emergency suspension order in place following Ava's death. But, the state went back to check at least twice and she was still watching the kids. The state has confirmed to FOX 4 that Lawrence was operating the daycare even after the child's death and having a suspension order issued.
Lawrence's bond has been set at $20,000. One of the conditions of her bond is that she can no longer operate a daycare.
Link: Website that Alecia & Steve Patrick developed recently to help parents ask the right questions about their daycare: www.daycareaware.com
Lawrence, 46, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated endangerment of a child, and a daycare violation following the death of an 18-month-old.
A family friend, Kim Engleman, tells FOX 4 18-month-old Ava Patrick died in the basement of the daycare. Engleman is now an advocate for changing Kansas state laws to toughen the requirements on home daycares.
Engleman said there was a small wooden fence separating the babies and toddlers and Ava was interested in babies. The child pushed a chair toward the fence, stood on top of the chair, fell on the fence and her neck got stuck between the slats. She was strangled.
"It rips a hole in my stomach, right to the pit of our core," said Engleman. "You know my husband and I are just sick about what has happened and what continues to happen in the state of Kansas."
Engleman's 13-month-old daughter Lexie died at a Mission daycare five years ago. Now, she's working on "Lexie's Law" to toughen Kansas daycare regulations which currently only require providers to be in sight or hearing distance of a child in their care.
According to the Emergency Order of Suspension filed by the State of Kansas, Lawrence did not notify Patrick's parents at the time of the incident because there was no paperwork on the child, and no contact information for the parents and therefore police were even unable to contact the girl's parents.
The complaint filed by the State of Kansas says the daycare provider was operating that day with too many children for a registered family daycare home. And, according to the State Health Department the daycare had 14 children instead of the six she was allowed.
According to the state of Kansas, Lawrence has "a history of exceeding capacity, denying access to surveyors, alternating between licensed and registered, and complaints involving supervision and injuries to children in care." She also "has not shown a change in child care practices or behavior since the 1990's at which time two applications to operate a licensed daycare home were denied due to similar violations."
"My heart does go out to (Ava's mother) because I understand what she's going through," said Alecia Boone, whose seven-month-old daughter Aniyah died in May after receiving injuries at a Merriam daycare.
"It doesn't make any sense for all these babies to keep dying in home daycares," said Boone. "It makes me think, why are no one paying attention to any of this? Why do they just keep letting it happen over and over and over again?"
According to Engleman, there was an emergency suspension order in place following Ava's death. But, the state went back to check at least twice and she was still watching the kids. The state has confirmed to FOX 4 that Lawrence was operating the daycare even after the child's death and having a suspension order issued.
Lawrence's bond has been set at $20,000. One of the conditions of her bond is that she can no longer operate a daycare.
Link: Website that Alecia & Steve Patrick developed recently to help parents ask the right questions about their daycare: www.daycareaware.com
