City lawmakers told NBC New York on Thursday that they’re calling for a hearing to explore issues raised by the death of a four-month-old boy in day care.
According to a child welfare investigation, two workers at the day carefailed to check on Jeremy Davila for a substantial amount of time on March 25. When they did check on him he was unresponsive and not breathing, according to the report.
The medical examiner determined that Jeremy’s death was natural, although the exact cause was undetermined.
“We got to make sure kids are safe,” said Jeremy’s mother, Jeanette, who has been fighting since her son’s death to make sure other children are checked on regularly.
On Thursday, she picked up another ally.
“We hope to have a hearing on this matter early in the month of November. There are many questions that need to be answered,” said Maria del Carmen Arroyo, chair of the City Council health committee.
Jeremy’s day care, Kiddie Academy of Staten Island, told NBC New York via email that it did not play a role in Jeremy’s death, and the workers accused of “inadequate guardianship” did not receive a hearing on the matter.
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City officials tell NBC New York that Kiddie Academy of Staten Island is safe for children and the day care has implemented a plan to physically check on sleeping babies every 15 minutes.
The City Council wants to explore similar ideas for all day cares, specifically, “the frequency of how those children are monitored and how well the staff is trained to be able to accomplish and be able to carry out those tasks,” explained Arroyo. “We believe that this hearing will provide an excellent opportunity to get answers to those questions and more importantly to identify opportunities to improve the process.”
Arroyo told NBC New York that they hope to have a joint hearing with officials from the Administration for Child Services and the city Health Department.
