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Closed St. Cloud child care center cited for neglect

St. Cloud Times - 1/23/2017

Jan. 20--The Minnesota Department of Human Services has cited a now-closed St. Cloud child care center for neglect after a toddler with autism left the center unsupervised and was found running in the street.

Gar Gaar Child Care Center operated on St. Germain Street in downtown St. Cloud. It closed in November.

In an investigative memo dated Jan. 13, DHS determined that a staffer at Gar Gaar was responsible for maltreatment in the Nov. 17 incident, when the developmentally delayed 3-year-old left without the staff's knowledge and was gone for 10-30 minutes. The child was picked up by two community members and taken to the nearby police station.

According to DHS, two people were driving near the child care center when they saw the child running in the street. The witnesses said the child crossed the street and almost got hit by a vehicle, according to the DHS memo.

The witnesses stopped, picked up the child and took the child to the police station, the memo states.

A similar incident occurred at Gar Gaar in July. In that case, the center was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine after a toddler was found outside and returned to the facility by a community member.

A message left on the phone listed for Gar Gaar was not immediately returned,

Follow Kirsti Marohn on Twitter, Facebook or contact her by phone at 320-255-8746.

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(c)2017 St. Cloud Times (St. Cloud, Minn.)

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