Boone County childcare center changes owners following cannabis gummy incident

LEBANON — A childcare center that’s been under state scrutiny for several months has closed and reopened under new ownership and a new name.

Just Be Kids Learning Center in Lebanon closed on April 27 and no longer shows up on the state’s childcare finder website .

Just Be Kids Learning Center had been operating the past two months, pending a license revocation by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

FSSA notified Just Be Kids Learning Center on February 29 of its intent to revoke their license .

PREVIOUS | State moves to revoke childcare center’s license

The state’s actions followed an incident in which a toddler ate a cannabis gummy and ended up in the hospital , records show.

Two former workers at the center were criminally charged in connection with the incident.

Boone County prosecutors criminally charged Stella Latham and Paige Wilson with Neglect of a Dependent, a Level 6 felony.

A new childcare center, Learning our P’s and Q’s Preschool, opened on April 28 at the same address, 356 N Mt. Zion Road.

WRTV

When WRTV Investigates stopped by on May 2, the center’s signage still read “Just Be Kids Learning Center.”

A spokesperson for FSSA said that they are aware of the change.

“The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is aware of the sale of Just Be Kids to Learning Our Ps and Qs on April 27,” said FSSA spokesperson James Vaughn in an email to WRTV. “The program is under new ownership and is on a provisional license until Oct. 31.”

WRTV Investigates asked FSSA for more information about what the provisional license entails.

"The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning will regularly inspect Learning Our Ps and Qs over the next six months to ensure compliance," said Vaughn in an email to WRTV. "Just Be Kids’ owner withdrew their appeal of the state’s action and closed the program."

WRTV also reached out to the owner of Learning Our P’s and Q’s, April Bunch, who also worked as the director of Just Be Kids Learning Center.

Bunch said the provisional license does not affect parents as long as Learning Our P’s and Q’s is following the rules.

Bunch said the employees, parents and the children at Just Be Kids Learning Center had to deal with “constant put downs and untruthful things said” following the gummy incident.

“Learning Our Ps and Qs Preschool will continue to be school readiness curriculum and focus on the children and their needs on their level,” said Bunch in an email to WRTV. “All the hate for Just Be Kids is keeping me from even being able to advertise the new company.”

Bunch said the owner of Just Be Kids Learning Center, Barbara Judson, is a family member.

“So what if it is still in the family? The management of Just Be Kids did all that was asked of them,” said Bunch in an email to WRTV. “We look forward to the new change.”

WRTV Investigates spoke with Bunch in person following the gummy incident, and she said both employees involved were fired, and she told WRTV Investigates the incident was not intentional.

WRTV

As WRTV Investigates reported , the incident happened on January 16 at Just Be Kids Learning Center in Lebanon.

The toddler’s parents, Joseph Rauseo and Shelby Edens, contacted WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney after their 1-year old son Creed ingested a gummy.

Kara Kenney

Rauseo knew something was wrong when he picked Creed up from daycare on January 16.

“He was lethargic, very unresponsive to me,” said Rauseo.

Creed was wearing different clothing than he had on that morning, Rauseo said, and the staff told him Creed didn’t take a nap that day.

But Rauseo said Creed’s behavior seemed more serious than just skipping a nap.

"I put him in the car, and he was nodding in and out, not himself at all,” said Rauseo. “You could tell something was not right."

Rauseo drove Creed to the hospital with Creed’s older sister in tow, and called their mother and his fiancé, Shelby Edens.

Edens will never forget seeing her baby in that hospital bed.

"It was very concerning seeing him limp and not responding to anything,” said Edens.

Doctors ran tests on Creed.

"When we got the toxicology report back, I was just in shock you know,” said Edens.

Records show Creed tested positive for Cannabinoids, a group of substances found in the cannabis plant, typically THC and CBD.

WATCH | Lebanon parents say son hospitalized after eating cannabis gummy while at daycare

Creed’s parents say they don’t use any marijuana products, so they immediately suspected the childcare center.

“You're supposed to be able to trust these people with your children,” said Edens. “So, when something like that happens, I was just in a world of shock."

The parents contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA)—the state agency that licenses and inspects childcare facilities.

They also filed a police report with the Lebanon Police Department, which investigated the incident.

On February 8, Boone County prosecutors charged Stella Latham and Paige Wilson with Neglect of a Dependent.

Latham brought a THC gummy into the classroom during naptime, and Wilson placed it on a box that was accessible to children, according to court documents.

The gummy contained Delta 8 or Delta 9, according to court documents, a cannabis product that can be legal to buy in Indiana in low concentrations.

Video surveillance showed Creed grab the gummy and put it into his mouth, drop it onto his shirt and then onto the floor, according to court documents.

Creed’s parents say their son only ate part of the gummy, but because he’s only 30 pounds, it was enough to make him sick.

The daycare workers later found the gummy, checked on Creed, changed his stained shirt and high-fived each other, according to court documents.

“ That showed me that they were trying to hide it,” said Edens. “They instantly took his shirt off. That shows me they didn't want us to find out. They didn't want us to know what happened."

Provided by family

Creed appears to be back to normal, but his parents worry about long-lasting impacts on his growing brain.

Rauseo and Edens immediately pulled both of their children from Just Be Kids Learning Center.

Edens left her job working with special needs children, and now stays home with Creed and his sister.

"It's hard to trust anybody with your kids after something like this happens,” said Edens.

You can check a childcare’s inspection record on the FSSA Child Care Finder website .