Chesterfield daycare has religious exemption revoked after toddler wanders into road
VENN
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- In February, a toddler wandered away from a Chesterfield County daycare facility and onto a busy road. Following that incident, and amid a variety of other often-repeated violations, the state revoked its religious exemption to operate -- yet officials found nearly 30 children there just three days later.
On Friday, Feb. 21, a 3-year-old was found in the street in the 4300 block of West Hundred Road after wandering away from Fortress of God Childcare. A bus driver stopped in the road, allowing other drivers to exit their cars and save the child.
Investigators with the Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS) later determined that the person responsible for the toddler, a 17-year-old staff member, had not noticed they had disappeared.
While no charges were filed against the daycare's owner, Monique Ede, the incident prompted additional scrutiny from both DSS and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).
As of the time of reporting, at least one violation is noted in every publicly available DSS inspection record for Fortress of God Childcare, dating back to Jan. 11, 2024. Many of them are listed as repeat violations.
These violations range from issues with staff-to-children ratios to leaving children unsupervised with people unknown to staff. The facility was repeatedly found to lack needed health screenings and background checks for some employees. In January of this year, several issues with the building itself were noted, including unstable furniture and exposed wiring.
Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County as of 8News' visit in March. (Photo: Brad Vassar/8News)
Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County as of 8News' visit in March. (Photo: Brad Vassar/8News)
Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County as of 8News' visit in March. (Photo: Brad Vassar/8News)
As a result of these numerous violations, in addition to the Feb. 21 incident, VDOE issued a notice of its intent to revoke Fortress of God Childcare's religious exemption -- which allows it to operate without a traditional license and, subsequently, without following the same regulations that a non-exempt facility would.
VDOE previously told 8News that an informal conference would be held on April 9 to allow the facility to appeal. DSS records indicate that the result of that conference was a final order to revoke Fortress of God Childcare's religious exemption, which was issued on April 22.
Three days later, on April 25, DSS performed an unannounced inspection of the facility -- during which inspectors found 27 children inside the daycare center, accompanied by seven staff members.
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A total of eight violations were documented during this inspection, with all but one being repeat violations and three being marked as "systemic" issues. Multiple of them had to do with staff documentation, such as missing health and vaccination records and a missing background check. Another repeat violation noted during this visit involved a child sitting unbuckled at a feeding table.
When 8News visited the facility on May 9, however, we found that all of Fortress of God Childcare's signs had either been replaced or boarded up. New signs instead advertise "Serenity Faith Academy Early Childhood Education," alongside a different phone number.
A sign advertising a "Serenity Faith Academy" at the site of Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County. (Photo: Eric Philips/8News)
The site of Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County with a new sign reading "Serenity Faith Academy." (Photo: Eric Philips/8News)
The site of Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County with a new sign reading "Serenity Faith Academy." (Photo: Eric Philips/8News)
A boarded-up sign that once advertised Fortress of God Childcare in Chesterfield County. (Photo: Eric Philips/8News)
8News was able to obtain state business records for Serenity Faith Academy, which indicate that it was registered as a business by Ede, at the same address as Fortress of God Childcare, on March 18.
Its Articles of Incorporation list what appears to be an email address for Fortress of God International -- the church that Fortress of God Childcare is associated with -- within the area for contact details.
However, no record exists for a childcare center with that name on the DSS' website.
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8News is working to learn more about the future of Fortress of God Childcare now that its religious exemption has been revoked. We are also working to learn more about Serenity Faith Academy and its operations. An update will be provided when possible.
This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.
