Horror as two children drown and another is injured after falling into daycare pool, where social services raised safety issues eight times in three years, including adjusting pool fence
- Two children died in day care in south San Jose
- One child was hospitalized but is now in a non-life-threatening condition
- In 2023 alone, the daycare center received six fines from social services
Two children have died and another was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool at a daycare center that has come under repeated scrutiny over concerns about poor protection.
Police in San Jose, California, were called to a residential daycare on the 1000 block of Fleetwood Drive, in the city’s south end, Monday morning to assist firefighters with a welfare check.
Police said several children had fallen into a swimming pool at the daycare, which has received six fines from social services since the start of this year, including two Type A, reserved for the most serious offences.
Police added that the hospitalized child is now in a non-life-threatening condition.
The city’s homicide unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident at the daycare, which is run by two women who have not yet been named.
San Jose police said several children were found in the pool
Police have cordoned off the area to investigate the incidents
The childcare sector has already come under heavy scrutiny for alleged security shortcomings
The daycare has been visited by the California Department of Social Services eight times in the past three years, with one visit specifically about the daycare’s backyard pool.
The daycare center’s managers were criticized for piling up “hazardous materials” in the backyard near the pool.
Additionally, during a 2021 visit, researchers discovered several holes in the pool’s fence.
Other reported threats over the years included failure to provide a criminal record for an adult working in residential childcare.
The child care center was also not properly staffed, with state investigators finding there were too many children in the building relative to the number of staff members working there.
The daycare center managers have also not conducted a fire/disaster drill in recent months.