Joplin Y Under Investigation

A local day camp for kids is closing it`s doors to some local children. It`s every parents nightmare,they come to pick up their child from daycare and he`s gone. That`s just what happened to one mom when her four-year old fell asleep in a Joplin Family Y bus and was allegedly left there for nearly 2 hours. "If the incident is accurate we are fortunate it didn`t escalate into something worse,"said Cookie Estrada,Y Executive Director. Luckily the 4-year old boy was not harmed,but it`s an incident the Y is taking very seriously. "The seriousness of this is something we can`t take lightheartedly we just need to make sure the children are safe,"said Estrada. That incident prompted an investigation by the division of family services. Which later revealed that the Y was unknowingly violating state policy. Which says in order to care for 4-year olds you must have a day-care license. "It was just one of those things that slipped past us, we should`ve been aware of that and we were not at all aware of it,"said Estrada. The Y has been operating their preschool day camp for the last two years. But has now voluntarily opted to shut down the pre-school program to any child under the age of 5. Estrada says applying for a day care license didn`t fit their pocketbook. "Financially, we need a playground and more space, just a number of things for us to do that it would cost us a great deal to comply and meet state requirements,"said Estrada. After the recent developments estrada says they are taking extra steps to make sure these kids are safe and sound. The preschool closing does not effect the family Y`s operation of summer day camp programs for older children. It will continue to operate for children ages 5 to 12 through the end of the summer. Reported By:Courtney Cullor&Brad Douglas