Church agrees to close its daycare in settlement with state

An Eastern Iowa church has agreed to close its child care operation after reaching a settlement with the state. In June, after three months of wrangling over safety hazards, the state ordered Cornerstone Christian School in Coralville to close its child care center. D-H-S director Kevin Concannon says a parent’s complaint prompted the initial investigation. Concannon says an active rail line went through the child care center’s property, and there was no fence to keep the “young tykes” from wandering over onto the tracks. Concannon says there were other concerns. Concannon says investigators found prescription drugs that some children were required to take weren’t properly stored in a place where the other kids couldn’t get to them. In addition, Concannone says daycare employees hadn’t gotten first aid training or gone through child-abuse prevention training. Concannon says state officials tried to work with the church to correct the problems, but the church resisted on “religious freedom” grounds. Concannon says state officials want faith-based groups to run child care centers, but they must abide by basic safety laws. Concannon says it’s rare for the state to seek a court order to shut down a child care center.