Child's toes 'severed' by lawnmower at Utah daycare; state wants it to shut down

CEDAR CITY, Utah (KTVX) – A childcare center in southern Utah is losing its license and must cease operations by Dec. 4 after a child's toes were "severed" by a lawnmower, according to a notice from the Utah Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS).

In a letter dated Nov. 21, DHHS officials informed Chandara Childcare LLC of Cedar City that its license was being revoked because it was "out of compliance" with six state administrative rules – including a rule that was meant to protect children from being endangered while in its care.

According to the letter, 14 children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years old were present as a staff member used an electric lawnmower in the backyard of the daycare on Oct. 15.

"During this incident, a child was seriously injured, multiple toes were severed, and the child required emergency surgery," the department said following an Oct. 18 inspection.

Officials said the daycare violated an administrative rule requiring sharp objects to be kept out of children’s reach and that the lawnmower was used "in the presence of multiple children."

The daycare was cited for not maintaining "active supervision" of each child (another administrative rule), with DHHS saying the staff member was not actively supervising the children while mowing the lawn.

In addition to being out of compliance with rules related to the lawnmower incident, DHHS said the daycare did not inform parents in writing when a child received minor injuries in an accident.

The DHHS inspection found that one staff member was responsible for up to 13 children throughout the day, exceeding the state's required ratio of one caregiver per eight children.

Additionally, the daycare did not have children sleeping in equipment that was "designed for sleep," with several infants reportedly left to sleep in baby bouncer chairs, which are explicitly discouraged, according to DHHS.

Chandara Childcare was given 10 days to provide the names and addresses of the parents of each child who was enrolled at the daycare.