Other regulations that were violated, according to OCFS, include requirements that children cannot be left without competent direct supervision; that the center must employ or have available staff who promote the physical, intellectual, social, cultural and emotional well-being of the children; that an adequate number of qualified staff must be on duty to ensure the children’s health and safety; and that “written disciplinary guidelines, including acceptable methods of guiding children's behavior, must be established and provided to all staff and parents,” and “the staff must use acceptable techniques and approaches to help children solve problems.” These violations have yet to be corrected, OCFS said.

The city declined to comment on specific allegations of abuse, but said that it is conducting an internal review of the facility’s operations. “Running a top-notch day care facility for Long Beach families is our number one concern,” city spokesman Gordon Tepper said in a statement. “With that in mind, we have in place a number of safety and security measures, including around-the-clock video surveillance. As we await these agencies to directly advise us of any specific issues, we are working in full cooperation with both the county and state in the interest of running the best day care facility possible. Additionally, we are pursuing an internal review of all policies and procedures pertaining to our day care facility.”

This is not the first time the center has faced serious violations — it has racked up 21 violations since last July. Last year the Herald reported that the facility was issued eight violations in July, including one for the corporal punishment of a child by an employee who was subsequently fired, and another for failure to report the incident to the state. All of the violations, according to OCFS, were corrected.

At the time, one city official, who declined to be identified, said that the incident of punishment involved a counselor who allegedly “tapped a child on the hand with a shoe.” The employee, whose name was not disclosed, had worked at the center for 10 years, but was fired the next day, the official said.