Oregon DHS announces investigation into child learning center

Published 1:42 pm Thursday, January 30, 2025

The Oregon Department of Human Services is investigating an Aumsville children’s learning center after its employees allegedly left a two-year-old girl alone on a bus for about three hours on Monday.

The announcement comes days after Aumsville police opened an investigation into the incident.

Cassandra Robinson, the mother of the girl, previously told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Family Building Blocks staff had failed to take her daughter off a bus, leaving her strapped into a child safety seat with no coat in roughly 36-degree weather.

“We are aware of and acknowledge the family’s concerns and the gravity of the situation,” Family Building Blocks executive director Patrice Altenhofen said in an email on Tuesday. “We are committed to understanding all the facts and will address this with care and transparency.”

Oregon Department of Human Services’ Office of Training, Investigations and Safety is investigating the incident, agency spokesperson Jake Sunderland said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Such investigations typically take about 60 days to complete.

If the investigation finds that child-neglect allegations are founded, the subject of the investigation can appeal the findings, Sunderland said.

Once the investigation is complete, the department will share its findings with law enforcement and Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care.

Alicia Gardiner, the director of the Department of Early Learning and Care’s Child Care Licensing Division, previously told The Oregonian/OregonLive that consequences for noncompliance violations can range from a written letter of noncompliance to revoking a provider’s license.

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