Troubled Chester daycare removed from Virginia Department of Social Services website
VENN
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- After 8News saw several children dropped off at Fortress of God International in Chesterfield on Tuesday, despite being required to forfeit its religious exemption, the facility has been removed from the Virginia Department of Social Services' (VDSS) website.
On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 3, Fortress of God International's VDSS page was no longer available online.
8News crews visited the facility on Wednesday, and the owner, Monique Ede, declined to speak.
Before it was removed or deleted from the department's website, the page listed the facility's address at 4301 W. Hundred Road, its owner, and its now-forfeited religious exemption status, which previously allowed the facility to operate without a license.
The page also contained links to multiple inspections conducted on the facility, many of which outlined several violations, including false advertising.
8News has reached out to both the VDSS and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) regarding the facility. A VDOE spokesperson said the department was "working to gather information."
8News saw several children dropped off at Fortress of God International on Tuesday, Sept. 2, even though the childcare facility was required to forfeit its religious exemption to operate on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Door of Fortress of God International, taken on Sept. 3. (Photo: Katelyn Harlow/8News)
Child being dropped off at Fortress of God International on Sept. 2. (Photo: Mariah Jallad/8News)
Child being dropped off at Fortress of God International on Sept. 2. (Photo: Mariah Jallad/8News)
Child being dropped off at Fortress of God International on Sept. 2. (Photo: Mariah Jallad/8News)
The facility’s owner entered into an agreement with the state last July to forfeit her religious exemption to operate at the end of August due to "high-risk violations."
But, on Sept. 2, the day after Labor Day, at least four children were seemingly dropped off into that same owner’s care.
The VDSS agreement said Ede needed to apply for an exemption or license and have it issued “before the child day program can legally operate."
8News also saw and spoke with officials from the VDOE in front of the church/childcare facility on Sept. 2, who knocked on doors and looked inside windows. The officials were not answered by Ede or anyone else inside.
The facility first came under scrutiny on Feb. 21 when a 3-year-old wandered away from the daycare and into the busy roadway nearby. The child was not hurt, and while Ede did not face charges for the incident, increased attention came to dozens of violations from past inspections.
This led the state to revoke the facility’s religious exemption, which allowed it to operate without a license and without following some regulations.
