A Case Study In State’s Failures
Despite complaint upon complaint, woman licensed
By Sandra Peddie, Investigations Team
Originally published in Newsday, 1999
DAY FOUR
When Denine Dixon was looking for day care for her 3-month-old son, Matthew, an ad caught her eye. It said, "Ellen's Day Care. Licensed. Insured. CPR. Former kindergarten teacher offering preschool program in a warm, loving, educational home atmosphere. Outdoor playground. Ages six weeks and up. Reasonable rates."
She and her mother visited Ellen's Day Care, run by Ellen Sirkin-Blanthorn in the basement of a neatly kept, gray ranch house at 167 John St. in Levittown. They liked what they saw. "This looked like paradise compared to the other places I looked at," Dixon said. Blanthorn's references checked out, and Dixon enrolled Matthew in November, 1995.
Like many other parents, Dixon felt more comfortable with a licensed day-care provider. "I thought that licensed meant that the state was keeping track of them, that the state was overseeing them," she said.
Dixon did not know that Ellen's Day Care had been the subject of numerous complaints to the state—ranging from poor supervision to rough discipline—and that the state had allowed it to keep operating.
There were other things she did not know, according to a Newsday examination of records and interviews with former employees. Dixon did not know that there had been a suspicious fire there the year before and that an inspection had found the emergency exit was blocked. She did not know that Blanthorn used bungee cords to tie down children, and put hot sauce on a boy's tongue to discipline him, according to former assistants and a parent. Nor did she know that a 3-month-old boy had died of sudden infant death syndrome there seven months earlier.
For years, she operated without a license. A week after a state fire inspector ordered Blanthorn to shut down immediately—citing imminent danger because of unsafe conditions—a Hempstead Town building inspector called state officials to tell them she still was operating illegally. Nonetheless, four days later, the state issued Blanthorn a license to run a group family day care home.
Ellen's Day Care is a glaring example of how serious complaints about abuses received only a perfunctory response from the state's Bureau of Early Childhood Services (BECS). Even though state officials knew Blanthorn was operating in "gross violation" of state law, according to an internal memo, they never fined her or took steps to suspend or revoke her license. And it shows how little a parent may know about what actually happens at day care.
Blanthorn, 52, declined to be interviewed. In the day-care contract she provided to one parent, she described herself as a former special education teacher.
Some parents have praised Blanthorn. Grace Lovell, whose son Guy spent four years in Blanthorn's day care, said she was good with children. Lovell said she even wrote a letter to the state supporting her. "I feel to this day that they were trumped-up charges," she said.
Blanthorn's husband, Harold, also declined to be interviewed. But in e-mails sent to Newsday in response to what he thought was the basis of the Newsday inquiry, he referred to complaints from "parents with quirky behavior” and a "disgruntled employee” who "fabricates the knee-jerk horror story.” After Newsday's inquiries, Blanthorn renamed her program Just 4 Kids Preschool and Day Care, according to records.
The state's file on Blanthorn is filled with complaints about overcrowding, poor supervision and mistreatment of children, dating back to before she was licensed. The state received at least 19 complaints about her, cited her for more than 55 violations, and ordered her to cease and desist three times.
Asked why her agency had allowed Blanthorn to continue operating, BECS director Suzanne Zafonte Sennett said she could not comment on certain aspects of the case, but said, "I will say that it [Blanthorn's day care] has been inspected at least once a year since 96-97 and there have been no violations.”
Blanthorn was licensed in 1994, less than a month after a fire at her home while at least two children were there.
The fire started in rubbish outside the front of her house at 6:53 p.m. on June 14, 1994, according to Levittown Fire Department records. No one was injured, but the front part of the house was damaged. Blanthorn later told state officials the fire was "suspicious."
The fire prompted a state inspection on June 30, 1994. The BECS fire inspector found, among other things, that she was caring for 23 children in the basement; that a toddler was isolated from the rest of the children, and that the emergency exit was blocked. He reported that the fire was only 15 feet from the front door and that if it had blocked that door, "successful evacuation of children and adults would not have been possible." BECS ordered her to cease operating.
On July 7, 1994—one week after the order to shut down—another BECS inspector found the home to be very well maintained and recommended licensing. There is no indication in the file released to Newsday that the violations cited by Watts were corrected or even passed on to the other inspector. Blanthorn was licensed July 11, 1994.
In interviews with nine former assistants, many said parents did not know what really went on there. Several said they quit because they were upset by the overcrowding and the mistreatment of children.
"It came to the point where I didn't like the way, when she was there, she was treating the children," said former assistant Nancy Foster. "And I would say something to her, and then it would cause problems."
Blanthorn was licensed to care for a maximum of 12 children, but she had as many as 25 to 28 children at some points, according to complaints made to the state. "She would leave me alone sometimes with 25 children," Foster said.
Former employee Jennifer Musto and other former assistants confirmed that Blanthorn often left assistants alone with the children, in violation of state regulations. "She used to go shopping all day," Musto said.
Records show that during at least two state inspections, Blanthorn wasn't there. And when Newsday observed Blanthorn's day care on Oct. 12, she left at least 10 children in the care of assistants while she went out from 1 to 2:20 p.m.
State records show that several people complained to state officials that Blanthorn's day care was overcrowded and that she actually hid children during inspections. One investigator following up on a complaint that Blanthorn was caring for 20 children noted that "some details were quite suspicious," but deemed the complaint unsubstantiated.
The investigator noted that any view through the windows was completely blocked by curtains or blinds. She said Blanthorn answered the door only after she rang the doorbell three times. Finally, she said, Blanthorn shut a door to her left as she entered. But the investigator never asked her to open the door or to see other areas of the house. Seeing only eight children in the basement, she left after five or ten minutes, she said.
Blanthorn was cited for overcrowding twice. After one inspector found 17 children in her care on Jan. 26, 1996, she agreed to reduce the number to the legal limit of 10.
But worse than the overcrowding was the treatment of children, former assistants said. One day, Foster found a 2-year-old girl harnessed to a playpen for a nap. "I said, ‘The harness! That's not what it's for! God forbid that the child rolls over and chokes herself!"' Foster said.
One 3-year-old boy bit other children. To stop him, Blanthorn tied him down with bungee cords to a chair and put Taco Bell hot sauce on his tongue in front of the other children, according to Foster and other assistants. The boy's father, Leonard Kleinman, said Blanthorn had suggested the discipline as a way to stop the biting. He said she did it for about a week or two.
In addition, Blanthorn would use bungee cords to tie children to a chair if they weren't listening or sitting still, Foster and Musto said. One girl, in particular, was a sweet girl, but had trouble sitting still, Foster said. "Ellen would yell at her, scream at her. She would bungee-cord her feet to the chair because she would not sit still."
Although state regulations prohibit corporal punishment and yelling at children, records show state inspectors found evidence of harsh discipline on three occasions and ordered her to stop it.
"I've seen her pull children by the arm," Foster said. "I've seen her husband Harold drag the children by the arm, put them in the timeout chair and scream at them and point at them."
One parent complained to BECS that a Hispanic boy was verbally abused and subjected to ethnic slurs. The parent said Blanthorn told the boy that even though his parents had moved to the suburbs, he would still grow up "with bad characteristics and carry a knife."
In addition, a state inspector witnessed the boy being singled out consistently for discipline and said other children doing the same things were not disciplined, according to a letter BECS sent to Blanthorn citing numerous violations.
Blanthorn denied any discrimination and told state officials the boy had severe behavioral problems and had been asked to leave.
There is no indication in state files that officials spoke to the boy or his parents.
Blanthorn also had favorites among the children, former assistants said. "Some kids would get a lot of attention," Musto said. "Some kids wouldn't get attention at all."
"When I left," Foster said, "I said to my husband, ‘You know, I feel horrible because one day something is going to happen to a child at that place."'
Foster quit before Levittown firefighters rushed to 167 John St. for two calls alerting them that something had happened to a child.
On Feb. 6, 1995, Levittown firefighters responded to an alarm about an infant choking, said former firefighter Margaret Whittington. Chief Michael Gilroy performed the Heimlich maneuver on the child, dislodging food.
Whittington suggested taking the child to the hospital, but Blanthorn refused, Whittington said. Whittington was stunned, but said she thought Blanthorn refused because she was the only adult there to care for the other children.
There is no indication in state files released to Newsday that the incident was reported to BECS. Although there is no requirement that such an incident be reported to the state, a provider is required to maintain a record of injuries.
Three months later, on May 2, 1995, firefighters responded to another call, about 3-month-old Brendan Glinka.
The baby had been left sleeping on his stomach, which doctors discourage because experts believe that position may contribute to SIDS. In Blanthorn's statement to police, she said she had been told to put Brendan on his stomach because he had a breathing problem.
Dressed in a red and blue outfit, he was put down to sleep about 8:30 a.m.
At 12:05 p.m., Blanthorn's former assistant, Sarah Selfridge, and Blanthorn found Brendan facedown in his pillow. He was not breathing.
Selfridge called 911 and asked for help to guide her through CPR, according to state records. The Levittown Fire Department and police responded within two minutes, but the baby's body was already cold, according to firefighters on the scene. Blanthorn called his parents and told them he was sick, a state report says. Brendan was taken to Nassau County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead of SIDS , according to state and county records.
A state inspection summary written after Brendan's death said Nassau Police Det. Robert Goetchius had asked state officials if there were any complaints against Ellen's Day Care. He was told there had been "several unsubstantiated complaints."
In fact, by the day Brendan died, the Bureau of Early Childhood Services had received at least 13 complaints about Ellen's Day Care from parents, neighbors, an employee, a job applicant and a Nassau Child Care Council staffer. And not only had state officials substantiated some serious complaints, they had cited Blanthorn for numerous violations and ordered her, before she was licensed, to cease and desist operation three times.
BECS Director Sennett said she could find no record of the conversation with Det. Goetchius.
State officials issued Blanthorn a violation for letting Brendan sleep on a mat and padding. Records show no penalty was imposed.
Brendan's parents declined to comment.
Denine Dixon did not know about any of those incidents or the complaints to the state. But within weeks of enrolling her son there, she began to feel uncomfortable.
Some days, Dixon would arrive and Blanthorn wasn't there. Twice, in 1996, a day-care worker called Dixon at work and told her to take Matthew home because a state inspector said they had too many children. And one day, Dixon overheard Blanthorn and her daughter loudly arguing. "They were yelling, cursing. Kids were crying. And they were screaming at each other in the middle of the room. It was crazy," she said.
Musto confirmed that such arguments and tension were common in the Blanthorn household. "There used to be a lot of yelling," she said.
Some days, Dixon said, Matthew wasn't fed properly or at all. Even more disturbing was the fact that Matthew, who was colicky, slept five to six hours at a time there. At home, he wouldn't sleep more than an hour and a half. As Dixon wrote later in a letter to Blanthorn, "I would hate to think that Matthew is being given Nighttime Orajel (which you insisted I bring to the day care and leave it there) to make him sleep so much. However, I have seen this given to another child on his pacifier early in the morning and then was put down to go to sleep."
Former assistants confirmed that Blanthorn gave Nighttime Orajel to infants. If teething medications are used on a pacifier or teething ring, there is the risk of swelling the tongue and choking, especially if a child is allergic to it, said Dr. Thomas Manning, a toxicologist in the Nassau County medical examiner's office.
"I would leave him there and leave crying every day," Dixon said. "I was trying to find another day care, but everybody has a waiting list."
Dixon did not know that another inspection on Feb. 8, 1996, found more serious violations at Blanthorn's day care. Among other things, the report said, the inspector found that Blanthorn had too many children; school-age children were there during school hours, and that Blanthorn wasn't even there. The investigator saw an assistant yelling at the children and saw one feeding an infant while the child was lying on the floor. Four infants were left unattended for more than half an hour, and soiled diapers were left on the floor. In addition, the basement day-care area was not properly heated.
Blanthorn was ordered to correct the violations, and she agreed.
By mid-February, Dixon couldn't stand it any longer. She arranged for a leave of absence from work and pulled Matthew out of Ellen's Day Care. Dixon, a legal secretary, complained to the state, both by phone and in writing.
State officials seemed "not to want to be bothered" by her concerns, despite the fact that they had found serious problems at Blanthorn's day care just one week before Dixon removed her son. Dixon said she was brushed off and told to write to Albany. She persisted with several more letters, but to no avail, she said. "I kind of felt like, ‘Why did I bother complaining?' I still see the ad."
Sennett said Dixon initially complained to the Nassau Department of Social Services, not her office. She said that when Nassau DSS forwarded the complaint, her office investigated it. "In fact, most of the complaints were the same or very similar to complaints that were already under investigation," she said.
Even though state records show that at least one of Dixon's complaints was substantiated, state officials never took steps to suspend or revoke Blanthorn's license, never fined her, and did not order Blanthorn to shut down.
Blanthorn's license was renewed on June 30, 1997, for two years, and again this year.
That puzzles Foster, among others. "From what I understand, there were a lot of complaints put in about her. So I don't understand. Why doesn't the state do something?" she said.
On Aug. 23, 1999, Blanthorn notified parents she had decided to change to a full-time ”learning day-care." She told them she no longer accepts children under the age of 2. She has changed her phone number and advertises under the names "Jenny's After School Program" and "Just 4 Kids Preschool and Day Care."
Sennett said the name change does not affect her licensure and that she was not running an additional program. "She has simply changed her d.b.a.[doing business as] to ‘Jenny's After School Program.'”
For Dixon, the experience she had with Blanthorn's day care still is upsetting. "No wonder you read so many things in the newspaper," Dixon said. "Nobody helps you."
How Blanthorn’s Case Unfolded: A Time Line
By Sandra Peddie, Investigations Team
Here is a chronology of some of the complaints to the Long Island regional office of the Bureau of Early Childhood Services and state actions against Ellen Sirkin-Blanthorn, according to state documents.
Oct. 2, 1991—Complainant says Blanthorn, who is not registered or licensed by the state, is caring for more than 14 children.
Nov. 18, 1991—A letter sent from another regulatory agency says Blanthorn has been caring for 12 children in her basement.
Jan. 30, 1992—BECS sends a letter to Blanthorn telling her to cease and desist operating until she gets registered.
Feb. 14, 1992—Blanthorn writes back, saying she believed she was operating properly.
May 14, 1992—A caller from the "Day Care Council" says Blanthorn is caring for 15 children as young as 3 months old in her basement and that Blanthorn's assistant was alone with children on two floors.
May 26, 1992—A parent calls to say Blanthorn is caring for 15 toddlers and four infants. The caller also says a 10-month-old child was left sleeping unsupervised upstairs.
June 2, 1992—State inspection finds 12 children in the basement and recommends ordering corrective action.
July 20, 1992—Blanthorn sends paperwork for licensure. She also tells BECS the complaints followed money disputes with two parents.
July 24, 1992—A BECS fire inspector orders Blanthorn to install an emergency-escape window with a ladder, and smoke detectors in the basement, and to remove a collapsible door.
Aug. 15, 1992—A caller complains Blanthorn averages about 12 children a day in the basement and that the children are sometimes left with a teenager.
July 15, 1993—A caller complains Blanthorn is caring for at least 10 children, and that there is excessive noise. Blanthorn tells a state licensing representative she will keep the noise down.
Aug. 12, 1993—A neighbor complains of noise and says one young woman cares for 15 to 20 children.
Nov. 18, 1993—An unannounced inspection finds 12 children; Blanthorn provides records showing 20 children, in total, attending full or part time. Improvements required by the fire inspector were made.
Nov. 23, 1993—BECS sends Blanthorn a second cease-and-desist letter.
Jan. 11, 1994—A parent complains that children are disciplined with hair pulling, spanking and "rough removal." Caller adds that Blanthorn is not always available during day-care hours.
Feb. 9, 1994—Blanthorn writes to BECS that an assistant has threatened to make false complaints.
March 1, 1994—Complainant says Blanthorn cares for 15 to 20 children.
March 3, 1994—A BECS fire inspector and a licensing representative make an unannounced visit and find continued illegal care as well as several safety violations. They recommend ordering her to cease and desist.
March 7, 1994—A caller says two adults are caring for 25 to 28 children, including three infants. The caller adds that Blanthorn and her husband have been seen pulling children's hair and that the "family argues, yells and curses (i.e. Ellen, her spouse, her daughter and her son)."
April 6, 1994—Based on a March 3 inspection, BECS notifies Blanthorn of violations, including not having smoke detectors or exit signs. BECS also tells her to clear space to the exits. A month later, BECS cites Blanthorn for caring for children without a license; poor nutrition, child abuse and discipline based on the same inspection.
May 20, 1994—Blanthorn tells BECS she has improved fire safety as directed.
June 14, 1994—Levittown firefighters respond to a fire at 6:53 p.m. outside the front of Blanthorn's house.
June 30, 1994—A state fire inspector makes an unannounced visit. In his report, he recommends sending Blanthorn a stronger than usual "cease and desist" letter, spelling out violations including unlicensed operation, overcrowding and a blocked emergency-escape window. A fire inspector told her in 1992 she was required to have an emergency-escape window.
June 30, 1994—The state orders Blanthorn to cease and desist for a third time.
July 7, 1994—A state inspection finds Blanthorn's day care "very well maintained” and recommends licensure.
July 11, 1994—State issues Blanthorn a license for group family day care, caring for upto 10 children (with an assistant) plus two after school.
Aug. 18, 1994—Blanthorn's next-door neighbor says he can see 18 children in the backyard and that he can hear more in the basement. He says two teenagers are watching the children in the yard.
Aug. 31, 1994—A state inspector makes an unannounced visit and counts 12 children. Blanthorn says both her assistants are over 18.
Jan. 3, 1995—Caller says he has seen 15 to 20 children at Blanthorn's home.
Jan. 17, 1995—Inspector counts 13 children, deems complaint unsubstantiated.
May 2, 1995—Infant Brendan Glinka dies of SIDS while in Blanthorn's care.
May 3, 1995—BECS sends Blanthorn a letter saying she is in compliance, but cites her for allowing a baby (Glinka) to sleep on a mat and padding.
May 10, 1995—State notifies Blanthorn that the Jan. 3 overcrowding complaint was unsubstantiated.
May 19, 1995—Blanthorn applies to renew her license.
June 26, 1995—A BECS inspector finds home well maintained.
July 11, 1995—The state renews Blanthorn's license for two years.
July 31, 1995—A woman calls to say she interviewed for a job and that Blanthorn was caring for approximately 20 children. She says Blanthorn "hides eight of these children in closets” when inspectors visit.
Sept. 2, 1995—An investigator follows up on complaint of hiding children. Her report notes, "Although some details were quite suspicious, this complaint is considered unsubstantiated."
Jan. 26, 1996—A parent says Blanthorn is caring for 18 or more children and that she hides them when inspectors come. The caller says babies are always screaming, are sometimes left upstairs unsupervised, are not changed when they're wet, and that children are cold because the heat is not turned on. She says 16-year-old assistants are sometimes left alone with the children. She says that Blanthorn is emotionally abusive to the children and singled out a Hispanic boy for discipline.
Feb. 2, 1996—Complainant says children are left upstairs with no heat, they are left unsupervised, Blanthorn screams at children, and children are always screaming for attention.
Feb. 8, 1996—State inspects and confirms allegations in Jan. 26 complaint. It orders Blanthorn to comply immediately. Blanthorn responds that she has corrected the violations, but denies singling out the Hispanic child.
Feb. 9, 1996—Some parents sign a petition supporting Blanthorn.
Feb. 14, 1996—Inspector cites Blanthorn for exceeding capacity.
Feb. 15, 1996—Blanthorn's husband, Harold, writes state to complain of "gestapo-like tactics" during a Feb. 8 visit because the inspector insisted on checking his stepson's room for children. He charges that the violations were fabricated and that preferential treatment was given to day-care facilities "operated by certain ethnic groups."
Feb. 22, 1996—Blanthorn charges in a letter that a former employee took her personnel files, as well as day-care files.
Feb. 26, 1996—Blanthorn's son, Dana Cusenza, writes, complaining that a state inspector insisted upon checking his room to see if children were hidden there.
March 1, 1996—Denine Dixon writes Nassau County Social Services Commissioner Irene Lapidez discussing a call she made to BECS regional director Aurora Farrington to report why she had removed her son from Blanthorn's day-care home. "Ms. Farrington appeared not to want to be bothered with my concerns. Instead, she instructed me to write to Albany. When I questioned what Albany was going to do, she was very abrupt and rude and stated, ‘I'm telling you to send it to Albany."'
March 6, 1996—Internal memo details complaints and concludes, "… this provider has been operating in gross violation of the regulations."
March 9, 1996—State notifies Blanthorn that a child-abuse complaint was unfounded.
March 14, 1996—Parent complains that one adult is left alone with the children and that cleaning solvents are accessible to them.
March 27, 1996—Dixon formally complains to BECS about problems in care.
March 27, 1996—State tells Blanthorn to correct violations.
April 30, 1997—Blanthorn applies for renewal.
June 30, 1997—State, after a June 16 inspection, tells Blanthorn she is in compliance. Her license is renewed for two years.
