The assistant director of the child learning center called Cassandra Robinson out of the blue Monday afternoon.

“I don’t know where to start,” the woman on the phone said.

As the woman kept talking, Robinson’s mind filled with questions — and then panic.

“She explained that my child had been left on the bus that morning,” she recalled. When Robinson asked how long her 2-year-old daughter with autism had been strapped into a child safety seat by herself on the bus, owned and operated by Family Building Blocks in Aumsville, the answer shocked her: about three hours, in roughly 36-degree weather without a coat.

“I couldn’t comprehend what the words were that she was saying to me,” Robinson told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “I was shocked and in disbelief. I could not believe that this was real life.”

Robinson reported the incident to police, she said. She said they told her they would look into it and talk with the district attorney about whether charges were warranted.

Ron Harding, administrator for the city of Aumsville, confirmed in an email that the incident is being investigated.

The allegations also could trigger an investigation by the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care, which oversees the licensing of child care programs in Oregon.

“[The Child Care Licensing Division] takes all allegations that are regulatory in nature and will respond to those complaints through an unannounced visit on site to investigate the allegation,” said Alicia Gardiner, the division’s director. She added that in cases involving potential child abuse or neglect, the Oregon Department of Human Services will investigate while staying in close communication with the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care.

Gardiner said that substantiated allegations can result in a range of consequences from the division, ranging from a written letter of noncompliance all the way up to revoking a facility’s child care license.

The actions that the Department of Early Learning takes against a facility depends on the severity of the violation, as well as the facility’s past history of violations, she said.

Child care facilities can request a hearing if they object to a decision, but Gardiner said that in cases where they believe children are an imminent danger the department can issue an emergency suspension to close down the facility until the hearing process is complete.

Gardiner declined to say whether the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care was investigating Family Building Blocks over the incident with Robinson’s daughter.

Robinson said she took her daughter to the doctor after picking her up and found that the girl appeared uninjured, with no signs of hypothermia. But, she said, her daughter appears less talkative than usual.

As Robinson spoke with people at Family Building Blocks, she began to piece together what appears to have happened. There were four children on the bus that day, including her daughter — whose coat had been taken off in order to fit into her child safety seat. And there were two adults: a supervisor who was in charge of counting the children and unloading them from the bus, and a driver who was supposed to do a final check before parking and leaving the bus.

But how Robinson’s daughter could be overlooked, with only four children to account for, remains a mystery. In hot weather, leaving a child unattended in a car can be deadly. The National Safety Council reports that an average of 37 children under 15 die from heatstroke after being left in vehicles each year. In Oregon, a 6-month-old girl died in her dad’s car at Intel in 2014 and a 1-year-old girl died in her mom’s hot SUV in 2018. Neither parent was prosecuted.

Neither of the two Family Building Blocks employees responsible for the bus remembered to account for Robinson’s daughter on Monday, Robinson said the organization told her, and employees only discovered the girl after the day’s first class period had ended around noon, when they were getting the bus ready to drive the students home.

Robinson said her daughter appears to be reliving the immediate aftermath of the employees finding her on the bus.

“She’s been carrying around her baby dolls and her animals, saying, ‘I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,’” Robinson said.

Family Building Blocks executive director Patrice Altenhofen, in an emailed statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive, provided no details about the incident.

“We are aware of and acknowledge the family’s concerns and the gravity of the situation,” Altenhofen said. “Be assured that the safety and well-being of the children we serve is core to our mission and guides everything we do.”

Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care records show that Family Building Blocks’ Aumsville location has received two “serious” noncompliance violations in the past.

On Feb. 22, 2022, a licensing specialist noticed a can of Lysol spray, disinfecting wipes and batteries in an unlocked cabinet in one of the classrooms. Family Building Blocks corrected the violation, records show.

In May of 2022, Family Building Blocks self-reported that a child was out of sight and supervision for about two minutes after he left a play area; he was found unharmed and the Department of Early Learning and Care determined that Family Building Blocks had corrected the issue and were back in compliance, records show.