OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Following the arrest of two former employees and one of the current co-owners of the Rosewood Academy child care company, the State Department of Health and Human Services sent an email to parents stating the facilities would remain closed because "an emergency exists requiring immediate action".
Below is the email parents received which was sent to 3 News Now by several recipients.
Hello Parents/Guardians,
I am contacting you because you have been identified as a parent or guardian to a child or children attending Rosewood Academy.
It has been determined that an emergency exists requiring immediate action to protect the physical well-being and safety of children attending all 3 Rosewood Academy locations. Until further notice, all 3 Rosewood locations will be closed pending the results of ongoing investigations. If you have questions please contact Lindsy Braddock at xxx-xxx-xxxx (3 News Now has redacted the phone number). She will be available Monday morning.
Thanks,
Lindsy Braddock | DHHS Program Manager II
PUBLIC HEALTH
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
Parents also received a message from Rosewood Academy co-owner Kelli Hansen stating their facilities would not re-open on Monday, which was the end of the two-week period in which the facilities were shut down during DHHS investigations.
The Omaha Police Department has confirmed to 3 News Now that one of the co-owners and two former employees of the Rosewood Academy child care company, with facilities in Omaha and Elkhorn, have been cited for child abuse.
Last week the 3 News Now Investigators reported the daycare had signed documents on 3 different occasions with the state Department of Health and Human Services agreeing that 3 different people were not allowed to be alone with childcare children until an investigation was complete.
One of those agreements involved co-owner Carl Hansen, which was signed back in February.
In January, a similar agreement was signed involving Sage Bartow, who police say is a former employee.
OPD told 3 News Now that both have been cited, along with another former employee, Summer Dawson.
All 3 have been cited for "child abuse - no serious injury".
Rosewood provided the following statement: "Because this is an ongoing investigation, Rosewood Academy is limited on information it can share. However, Rosewood is cooperating with authorities. The safety of children while providing a high-quality educational experience has always been the top priority at Rosewood Academy. Over the past 15 years that Rosewood Academy has been in business, hundreds of children have been in our care, and parents have told us that Rosewood Academy has made a positive difference in the lives of their children."
Rosewood also confirmed that the facilities will not reopen until further notice.
Earlier this week we asked OPD for a copy of the police report involving their investigation. The department denied the request, stating it was an ongoing investigation, but did confirm the department's special victims unit was leading the investigation.
Last week, 3 News Now Investigators reported on the daycares.
Learn more: Rosewood Academy faces state investigation
Rosewood Academy announced on March 28 that it would close all three of its locations for two weeks while DHHS conducted investigations.
Two Omaha police reports obtained by KMTV involve Rosewood. One was a case of possible child abuse reported by a team at Children's Hospital. A 5-month-old was found to have bruises on their head when picked up by a parent, according to the report.
In another, an employee reported a owner named "Carl," no last name specified, threatened to assault them.
No arrests have been made in either of those two cases.
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