Horizon Child Development

What initially sold me on Horizon was the head teacher in the infant room, Cecilia Rivera. She was wonderful and very reassuring for a first-​time mom of a child with some complicated health needs. Unfortunately, in recent weeks there has been some staffing drama within the center, resulting in Cecilia leaving Horizon. The director, Sonia Jackson, is now a much more active presence, which would be good if she had any idea what was going on or how to talk to parents who are entrusting their children to her care.
My son needs two different medications at three different times during the time he is in daycare, every day. I filled out paperwork on his first day, which in conjunction with a faxed note from his doctor’s office seemed to satisfy state requirements. A few weeks later, it was discovered that this was not the case: a different form was needed, and the doctor had to sign that form. I was told the faxed note would still suffice in place of a signature on the form. Only when Sonia took over last week were we told anything different, but even then it was not made clear to us where the problem was.
Tuesday evening of this week, the form was returned to us, but still without any real sense of urgency. Wednesday morning, the threats started: we need this, do you have it yet? There was a similar message when my husband picked our son up in the evening. Keep in mind we both work full-​time in DC, and that our son’s specialist can be difficult to get in touch with. Thursday it escalated to a threat: «if we don’t have this form on Friday, we can’t give him his medication on Monday.» I called and was told by another teacher that Sonia was not available, but a new faxed note with the missing information would suffice.
When I walked in Friday (this) morning, with my son sleeping in his carseat, Sonia decided that it was more important to harass me about the paperwork than to take care of my son. The deadline was changed again, at 6:50am, to «if we don’t have this paperwork TODAY, we cannot give him his medication TODAY.» I told her that was simply not possible, and she was effectively telling me that they could not care for him at all if they could not give his medication.
Sonia’s solution was to tell me we, or a designate, could come give it to him. Obviously it is not practical for either of two people working in DC to come out to Reston three times a day to administer medication. And if I have to ask someone to come in there three times a day, what on earth am I paying the daycare center to do?
I attempted to find a solution. I asked if it absolutely had to be on the state mandated form, or if a faxed doctor’s note with the required information would suffice. Sonia didn’t know. I asked if I could call the licensing people and find out; I would have been willing to call, but Sonia couldn’t find the phone number. She had to call Cecilia at home to get the number. Sonia later called me at work to tell me that they needed the actual form. I was ready and immediately gave her the specialist’s fax number so she could send it out and we could get this resolved. I then left a message for the specialist’s nurse to keep an eye out for it. The nurse called me back an hour later, and had not yet received it. I called Sonia back; over an hour and a half after she had told me that they must have this paperwork filled out TODAY and I had given her the fax number, she still had not sent it to my son’s doctor’s office.
This is what convinced me that Sonia, for whatever reason, does not wish to keep my family as clients. I recapped for her how completion of this form had become a moving target. She claimed this was not the case. I expressed my frustration that the urgency and consequences hadn’t been communicated clearly earlier. She blamed us for stalling. I expressed that we should have gotten these forms sooner, and been informed that he couldn’t start without them. She blamed Cecilia. I told her that if she refused to give my son his medication today, while in her care, she would be putting his health at risk and making it clear that she cared more about the paperwork and her business than she did the health of one of the children in her care. She claimed that licensing was at fault here, and that she wasn’t putting my son’s health at risk by refusing to give him his medication. In fact through the entire conversation, she continually cut me off and insisted that this was not her fault. I ended the conversation by insisting she stop talking over me and interrupting me, that she fax the form immediately, and that if we had to come to the center today to give our son his medication, he would not be returning.
Well, he got his medication, but by this point my husband and I agreed: we will not be taking our son back to Horizon Child Development Center. From what I’ve been told, we’re not the only unhappy parents. Don’t trust this woman with your babies.