Mother says 6-month-old daughter came home from daycare with burns

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - How did an infant end up with a second degree burn on her private parts? That is what a mother, her attorney and Henry County police are trying to find out.

That mother says she dropped her child off at the childcare network on Jodeco Road in McDonough one Tuesday. When she picked her up, she had a painful wound.

Records show at least three other families say their children needed medical attention after dropping their children off at Childcare Network, too.

Six-month-old Ayva is a bubbly baby, but her mother’s just thankful to see her smiling again.

Tuesday, January 24th, Fay Menard dropped the little girl off at this Henry County daycare on Jodeco Road called Childcare Network.

When she picked her up after work seven hours later, employees told her Ayva developed a rash. So, she checked her wet diaper.

"I gave birth to a beautiful chocolate baby. By her private it’s completely pink. Raw flesh. It definitely wasn't like that." she said.

Henry County Police confirm they are investigating what happened to Menard’s youngest child.

Medical records show the mark was not a rash, but a second degree burn.

"This facility is on a state approved list," attorney Ken Bernard said. "[It's] licensed by the state and Fay trusted that her child would be safe. That trust was broken."

According to the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, or DECAL, Ayva isn't the only child reportedly hurt here.

A December 2022 report says staffers did not provide immediate care when a two-year-old scratched another.

A November 2022 report says the center did not tell parents a staffer picked a one-year-old up by one arm.

In 2019, DECAL documented a staffer who did not make a report about a three-year-old with nine bite marks on the stomach, back, arm, and leg.

In as many as four cases, including Ayva's, the children received professional medical treatment.

"I want someone to tell me exactly what happened. I don’t want the same thing to happen to another child," Menard said.

Menard says she took Ayva to that location because it is right by her house and part of a state program that helps working mothers receive affordable childcare.

She did not leave the facility until she saw surveillance video of what happened. She says an employee showed it, but since then, it has not been released to authorities.

FOX 5 reached out to Childcare Network several times over the past week. They did not respond.