Oregon regulators in December granted a childcare license to a woman prohibited in 2005 from caring for children in California and cited in 2017 for running an illegal day care in Portland.

Oregon's Office of Child Care shut down Sunnyside Sprouts Playschool just five months later, after receiving photographic evidence that a one-year-old at the day care had been tied tightly in a blanket inside a crib. The state's suspension order also says Sunnyside Sprouts and its owner, Melinda Hagen, are accused of unsafe sleep practices and corporal punishment.

The case raises significant questions about Oregon's oversight system for day care operators who move from out of state. Hagen, 39, had her childcare license revoked by California regulators in 2005 after compiling a long list of safety violations. Records and interviews suggest Hagen cared for kids in Oregon for years before being caught without a license late last year.

Hagen's case comes after state officials in 2017 pledged to improve safety standards in the wake of reporting by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The stories revealed widespread gaps in the oversight of day cares.

In the case of Sunnyside Sprouts, regulators did not identify Hagen's past problems in California, did not share details of the day care's illegal operation with parents, and did not fine Hagen for flouting licensing requirements.

Parents who sent their kids to the boutique Portland day care say they are horrified by the allegations against Hagen and believe Oregon regulators failed them.

"I don't understand why the state is even bothering to do their job if this is the level of scrutiny that they're going to give," said Dan Holmes, whose child attended the day care for nearly 18 months.

"This is like knowing that someone loves to play with matches and giving them a blowtorch," he added.

State officials substantiated allegations that a child was bound inappropriately and that workers were not always within sight or sound of kids. The state continues to investigate all of the other allegations.

Hagen, through family and legal representatives, declined to comment.

From the outside, Sunnyside Sprouts appeared idyllic. Operating inside a craftsman home at 4115 S.E. Yamhill St., the day care offered organic food, boasted online about offering yoga and sign language for kids, and even provided after-hours care so parents could occasionally go out for date nights.

It wasn't cheap. Monthly rates ran up to $1,740, according to the day care's website.

Many of the patrons were first-time parents who found the day care through friends' recommendations. Parents say the day care had about 10 children, all younger than 3.

On May 8, the Office of Child Care suspended the day care's license. The day care was accused of placing infants and toddlers in cribs as punishment, withholding food for discipline purposes and, on one occasion, force-feeding a child solid food, according to the suspension order.

State officials were told children were left unsupervised in a basement for a nap time that stretched from 12:15 p.m. to 4 p.m., the suspension order says. Children also wore sleep garments that restricted movement and were placed on stomachs during nap time, according to allegations cited in the suspension order.

If true, such positioning would represent a violation of the state's safe sleep rules and create a "severe threat of harm," according to the state's suspension order.

Remarkably, regulators were also provided with photographic evidence.

An image shows a 1-year-old child whose "arms were bound and tied to their body with a blanket covering" the child, according to state records. Authorities were told the child was tied up after being heard crying, the document says.

An employee later found the child in distress, authorities wrote, citing information provided in May. It took the employee about two minutes to untie the child, the suspension order said.

The employee had worked at Sunnyside Sprouts for only a few days and shared the photo with a mentor, according to parents interviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Either the worker or mentor subsequently contacted the state with concerns, the parents said.

On May 17, the Office of Child Care substantiated the allegation about a child being tied up based on the photo.

"This type of binding is not compatible with caring for children and is inappropriate," regulators wrote.

The Office of Child Care also determined that day care workers were not within sight or sound of the children.

The Department of Human Services is investigating whether children were abused or neglected. An investigator recently showed the photo of the tied-up child to one of the child's parents.

The child was inside a star-shaped sleeping garment, according to a parent of the child, who requested anonymity to ensure the child isn't publicly identified.

It appeared that someone had bent the child's arms at the elbow and pinned them to the stomach, the parent said. Then a swaddling blanket was wrapped around the sleeping garment at chest level and tied with a knot to keep the arms in place.

"Just seeing my little innocent baby in that position was horrifying and confusing and sad," the parent told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Hagen's history in Oregon goes back at least as far as 2012.

That's when she filed paperwork with Oregon's Secretary of State registering the name of her day care.

The Office of Child Care investigated whether Hagen was providing illegal care in March 2012 but was unable to substantiate the allegation, spokeswoman Betty Bernt said Tuesday.

State licensing, required for day cares that serve more than three children, would have triggered annual inspections for safety issues.

In November 2017 regulators received another complaint alleging that Hagen ran an unlicensed day care, records show. When a state licensing specialist visited the location, the person at the door wouldn't let the official inside, according to state documents.

A month later, on Dec. 7, the licensing specialist returned. Hagen acknowledged watching eight children but said it was temporary care for the holiday, according to a state violation notice.

The Office of Child Care cited Hagen for operating without a license. But officials did not issue a fine. Nor did the agency notify parents, who had no idea Hagen's day care was operating illegally.

"To not provide any sort of notification seems like a huge lack of judgment," said Holmes, who subsequently filed a public records request with the state to learn more about the day care that his child attended. Holmes said he's not sure if he would have pulled his child over the lack of a licensing, had he been notified.

"It would have been a huge question mark and a big red flag for us," he said.

State officials are reviewing whether they should do more to notify parents whose kids attend unlicensed day cares, said Bernt, the state spokeswoman, in response to written questions.

Hagen applied for an Oregon childcare license in December, just weeks after being cited, records show. The Office of Child Care licensed Hagen and Sunnyside Sprouts on Dec. 30. State officials allowed Hagen's day care to watch up to 12 children.

Hagen's license application shows she told Oregon authorities about her childcare business in California. But her application said she faced no legal issues related to that business.

State officials don't check to see if the information they receive is accurate, Bernt said.

"Unfortunately, in this case the applicant was untruthful in her application," Bernt said. "If she had been forthcoming, she likely would not have been granted a license in Oregon."

However, records show that Oregon licensing officials had more information available than what Hagen supplied them.

Among the records in the state's possession was a report dated Dec. 18, the same day Hagen's application was filed, listing dates that match the period her San Diego childcare was in operation. The document states that the daycare was closed under state agency initiative.

California's Department of Social Services on Tuesday told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Hagen's childcare license was revoked in April 2005. The revocation followed a complaint from San Diego police alleging a lack of care and supervision, according to Michael Weston, a state spokesman.

California authorities found that in 2004, Hagen left three young children unattended while she napped with her boyfriend, records show. State officials also found that authorities had not cleared the boyfriend to be around children.

Separately, regulators in California listed four instances where Hagen failed to ensure proper staffing. At one point, the day care was found watching nine children, four of them infants, without enough staff, California records say.

Bernt, the Oregon spokeswoman, said officials will evaluate whether the state needs to do more when vetting childcare owners.

"We have committed to child safety first and continuous improvement," she said. "Moving forward, we will look at the feasibility of verifying information about previous licenses in other states, and improve communication with families about providers' licensing status."

Now, Hagen may be on the move again.

State regulators in May suspended the license of Melinda Hagen and Sunnyside Sprouts Playschool. Now, Hagen is packing up and the home where she ran her day care is listed for rent.

On Monday, Hagen's father was seen hauling boxes from her house into a moving trailer attached to a vehicle with California license plates. The Portland house, which the Hagen family owns, is now listed for rent at $3,895 a month.

Hagen's father told a reporter that his daughter did not want to talk about her day care. He referred inquiries to an attorney, Elizabeth Levi, who declined to comment Tuesday.

Parents say they are worried Hagen might open a day care elsewhere.

"She circumvented the system in Portland," Holmes said. "She can do it again."

-- Brad Schmidt

503-294-7628

@_brad_schmidt