Daycare AND Foster Care Sexual Abuse QUICK LINKS

Confidentiality and privacy when filing a sexual abuse civil lawsuit

Michigan’s laws pertaining to daycare or foster care sexual abuse

Determining negligence in a daycare injury case

Examples of negligence in daycare injury cases

Who Is liable for daycare sexual abuse?

Who is liable for foster care sexual abuse?

The deadline for filing a child abuse case and wrongful death case

Why contact Steve Crane and Crane Law?

There is no fee until you win

Daycare and Foster Care Sexual Abuse Statistics

When it comes to statistics surrounding daycare and foster care sexual abuse, so little of what’s happening gets reported, and so little of what’s reported gets recorded in state databases.

• One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.
• 30% of women were between the ages of 11 and 17 at the time of their first completed rape.
• 12.3% of women were age 10 or younger at the time of their first completed rape victimization.
• 27.8% of men were age 10 or younger at the time of their first completed rape victimization.
• More than one third of women who report being raped before age 18 also experience rape as an adult.
• 96% of people who sexually abuse children are male, and 76.8% of people who sexually abuse children are adults.
• 34% of people who sexually abuse a child are family members of the child.
• It is estimated that 325,000 children per year are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial child sexual exploitation.
• The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14 years old, and the average age at which boys first become victims of prostitution is 11-13 years old.
• Only 12% of child sexual abuse is ever reported to the authorities.
• 90% of children who are sexually abused are abused by someone they know. 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by people the family trusts. 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members.
• 40% of children who are sexually abused are abused by older or more powerful children.
• Most children under the age of five receive childcare from someone other than a parent. Almost one-quarter (23.4 percent) of children five and under are in some form of organized childcare including daycare centers, nurseries, and preschools.
• More than 4.1 million reports from Child Protective Services agencies were received in 2017 alone. These reports involved more than 7.5 million children. Reports included neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and medical neglect.
• In 2017, 2,237 daycare providers were found to be abusing and neglecting children in their care.
• Of perpetrators who were child daycare provides, more than 20% committed sexual abuse

Statistical Information from The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)
“Scope of the Problem: Statistics” (last visited Dec. 18, 2020) and Darkness to Light (July 22, 2020) “Daycare Abuse Statistics”  (last visited Nov. 30, 2020)

Confidentiality and Privacy When Filing a Sexual Abuse Civil Lawsuit

A child is entitled to privacy under State and Federal Law. Michigan Courts will protect your right to file as a “Jane or John Doe” to permit a child to maintain anonymity and privacy while still allowing you to pursue justice.
An adult is entitled to privacy too. When possible, Steve will file your case as “Jane or John Doe.” This can keep your identity private, while still allowing you to pursue the deserved justice.

If you are a survivor of sexual abuse or assault, it is important that you have legal counsel that understands and has the compassion to address the damages you have suffered emotionally and physically.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by speaking with Steve Crane and his team regarding your safety, good name, and legal options. Steve has helped many victims of sexual assault and abuse obtain substantial recoveries when they were abused.

Contact Steve Crane now and be assured he will discreetly and in full confidence discuss your case. To schedule a discrete and confidential consultation about your matter, email or call him at (833) 855-4400.

Michigan’s Laws Pertaining to Daycare or Foster Care Sexual Abuse

In Michigan, if a person, family child care home, group child care home, agency, or representative or officer of a firm, a corporation, an association, or an organization intentionally violates a licensing rule for family and group child care homes promulgated under this act and in effect on January 1, 2017, and that violation causes the death of a child, the person, family child care home, group child care home, agency, or representative or officer of a firm, a corporation, an association, or an organization is guilty of second-degree child abuse described in section 136b of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.136b, and punishable as provided in that section. In addition to any other penalty imposed, its license shall be permanently revoked.

Determining Negligence in a Daycare Injury Case

If a child suffers an injury at daycare, the child’s parents may decide to pursue a civil claim for damages and to hold the daycare responsible for negligence. Daycare injuries can also lead to criminal charges against the responsible party. In any personal injury case, the plaintiff must prove four main elements of negligence.

• The plaintiff must establish the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff or the victim in the case. When a parent pays a daycare to supervise his or her child, the daycare has a duty of care to supervise the child responsibly and meet all aspects of the service contract with the parent.
• Next, the plaintiff needs to show the court how the defendant breached the duty of care for the given situation. In a daycare injury case, an example may be a daycare employee failing to prevent an injury to a child because of distraction with a cell phone.
• The plaintiff only has a claim if he or she suffered a measurable loss or some kind of actual harm, so the next element of proving negligence is providing evidence of the extent of the plaintiff’s damages.
• Finally, the plaintiff must prove a link between the defendant’s negligence and the claimed damages.

Sometimes, negligence in a daycare injury case may involve an indirect issue or inaction, such as the daycare’s failure to maintain an acceptable staff-to-child ratio in accordance with state and local laws.

Daycares must also conduct extensive background checks into new employees to determine if they are fit to supervise children. If a daycare facility fails to conduct a background check and hires an employee with a history of child abuse, this would be a clear indication of negligence if that employee were to harm a child at the daycare.

Examples of Negligence in Daycare Injury Cases

A daycare facility or an employee could face civil penalties or even criminal charges in many ways for a daycare injury.

• Failure to maintain a clean premises free of safety hazards.
• Failure to keep harmful objects and choking hazards out of reach of the children.
• Inadequate staff-to-child ratio.
• Unacceptable hiring practices or failure to conduct required background checks on new employees.
• Poor supervision, such as failing to watch children at play on playground equipment and jungle gyms.
• Inadequate access to food and clean drinking water for children at the facility.
• Failure to maintain clear policies against all forms of abuse and neglect.
• Failure to maintain an appropriate cleaning and maintenance schedule.
• Inadequate access to first aid supplies.
• Negligent security, such as leaving doors or gates unlocked so children can wander unsupervised.

Who Is Liable for Daycare Sexual Abuse?

It is illegal to run an unlicensed daycare in the state of Michigan, as per the Michigan Child Care Organizations Act 116 of 1973. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (“MDHHS”) and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (“LARA”) are responsible for approving state 10,000 daycare programs. The MDHHS’ Child Protective Services (“CPS”) program is responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect. The Michigan Child Protective Law, MCL 722.621 et sq, provides the framework for what CPS must do.

Recently, it was reported that CPS investigators are not conducting their work in a timely or proper manner. This can lead to children not receiving proper medical care or not being place in a safe environment. It can lead to abuse and neglect. A government report noted that “CPS workers did not assess the risk of future harm in over 35 percent of the cases, didn’t refer cases to county prosecutors in 50 percent of the cases, and did not provide required medical examination for children in 15 percent of cases.” John Counts, Michigan Child Protective Services Cited For Multiple Failures By Auditors

In addition, there are still many unlicensed, unregulated private home daycare facilities. Children in these settings are three times more likely to be physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. Furthermore, these unlicensed settings generally limit the scope of liability.

• In October of 2015, a 47-year-old southwest Michigan man was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse at a home-based daycare. The case arose out of the molestation of five children at a daycare operated out of the man’s girlfriend’s residence in Three Rivers, Michigan. The man lived at the residence and worked at the daycare when the molestations occurred The man was at the home much of the time when children were being supervised by a daycare worker. He provided transportation from school to the daycare and sometimes was alone with the children. At sentencing, the mother of one of the survivors stated to the court that “[her child’s] innocence has been stolen, and they will never be able to forget that. He has stolen a piece of their childhood, and they will never be able to get that back.” Man Gets Prison For Sexually Assaulting Children at Three Rivers Daycare
• In another case, a 64-year-old central Michigan woman, who ran a home daycare operation convict a former daycare operator of stalking a minor and retaliation against certain sexual abuse victims. The victims had the courage to testify against this woman’s husband, a 65-year-old man, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting children in his wife’s daycare operation. The husband is serving a 10- to 15-year sentence.

Who Is Liable for Foster Care Sexual Abuse?

Foster care is almost always presided over by state officials. In these cases, there are social workers and agency administrators involved in the oversight. Liability extends to those who knew or should have known about the abuse.

In 2008, the State of Michigan settled a class-action lawsuit concerning the states troubled child foster care and welfare system. As part of the settlement, the State has been under federal oversight. In November of 2020, the State filed its 14th monitoring report. Monitors noted that MDHHS’ CPS has made progress in keeping the approximately 12,000 children in Michigan’s foster care system safe.

The latest monitoring report detailed instances of risks to children in group home, including the “improper use of physical restraints, inappropriate sexual conduct and fighting among youth. Some of those shortcoming, primarily the state’s failure to say how many foster children were abuse or neglected, show serious issues with the state’s ability to keep children safe.” Carol Thompson and Angle Jackson, “Michigan’s child welfare system makes progress, but flawed data, poor oversight still endanger kids,” Michigan’s Child Welfare System Makes Progress, But Flawed Data, Poor Oversight Still Endanger Kids

The most disturbing aspect of the federal monitor’s latest report was the death of 16-year-old Cornelius Fredrick in the Spring of 2019. His death is a tragedy and it could have easily been avoided. He died after Kalamazoo Lakeside Academy staff pinned him on the ground for allegedly throwing a sandwich. Fredrick had been in the State’s care since his mother died in 2015. The entire incident was caught on camera, which showed staff placing their full body weight on the teen as he yelled that he couldn’t breathe. Fredrick was “motionless” after four minutes, yet he was restrained for 32 minutes. Frederick died two days later. The local coroner rules his death a homicide caused by asphyxia. Three Lakeside Academy staff members have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse. Fredrick’s family filed a lawsuit.

In cases of such as Cornelius Fredrick’s, attorneys will demonstrate that the defendant owed a “duty of care” to the victim; that the defendant either knew or should have reasonably known of the abuse; and that the defendant did not take the appropriate action required by law or that a reasonable person in the same position would take. Third parties can be held liable for failure to conduct background checks, failure to supervise, failure to provide adequate training, and failure to take corrective action.

The Deadline for Filing a Sexual Abuse Civil Lawsuit

The “statute of limitations” is a term used by courts to describe the maximum amount of time plaintiffs can wait before bringing a lawsuit. This time limit is set by state law and is intended to promote fairness and keep old cases from clogging the courts. In the publication of private facts cases, the statute of limitations ordinarily runs from the date of the first publication of the offending facts.

Because Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act does not include a statute of limitations, the statute of limitations for the underlying cause of action (i.e., negligence) applies. In the case of wrongful death actions based on general negligence, the statute of limitations is the general 3-year statute of limitations for injury to a person or property when reviewing. See Michigan Compiled Law 600.5805(2).

The statute of limitations varies for sexual abuse (which includes criminal sexual conduct and the broom-sticking of one’s rectum) and when the victim is a minor.

Michigan Compiled Law 600.5851b(1)(a) allows children (minors) until age 28 to file a civil lawsuit, or under section 5851b(1)(b), within three years of discovering the harm, whichever is later. See Michigan Compiled Law 600.5851b(1)(b).

MCL 600.5805(6) affords adult victims 10 years from the most recent incident of sexual abuse to bring a case against the abuser.

DISCLAIMER: The information in this blog is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this blog or on this website should be construed as legal advice from Crane Law PLLC or Steve Crane, Esq. Neither your receipt of information from this website nor your use of this website to contact Crane Law PLLC or Steve Crane, Esq. creates an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm or any of its lawyers. No reader of this website should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this website without seeking the appropriate legal advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s jurisdiction.