The Button Law Firm Files Lawsuit Against YMCA of Central Texas, Claims Surveillance Footage Exposes Disturbing and Dangerous Discipline

Three families represented by the experienced daycare injury law firm allege a YMCA childcare program systemically harmed toddlers, operated unsafe facility

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Three families are suing the YMCA of Central Texas, alleging the organization negligently operated a daycare program that enabled the ongoing mistreatment of children in a toddler classroom with children ranging in age from 2 to 3 years old.

The lawsuit states the YMCA program's use of disturbing and dangerous methods to discipline children was discovered during a search for a child's missing shoe using recorded surveillance footage in February 2024. The footage revealed multiple instances of a caregiver using inappropriate, unsafe childcare methods, including grabbing toddlers by the neck, choking them, and leaving them unsupervised at the facility.

Parents LeeAnn Huber, Erin Tapiero, and Michelle Duffy filed the suit to hold the YMCA organization accountable, as the complaint details more than 12 incidents that were captured by surveillance footage at the daycare. One of the claims describes the caregiver grabbing a 2-year-old girl by the throat, then choking and shaking her while berating her for crying. The complaint states the toddler even grabbed onto the YMCA caregiver's hand clamped around her throat, in an attempt to make the woman let go of her throat.

Video from other days at the YMCA daycare captured the caregiver choking a 2-year-old child for six seconds and grabbing another 2-year-old child by the neck and collarbone with both hands before aggressively pushing the child to the floor, according to the suit. In fact, Huber states in the complaint that her toddler would often come home from the YMCA with unexplained bruises and scratches, but staff members could never explain how her daughter sustained the injuries, nor did the organization provide Huber with an incident report, as required by state childcare laws.

Another incident in the suit states footage caught the caregiver using her personal cellphone instead of closely watching the toddlers in the classroom.

Upon discovering the mistreatment of multiple children, the YMCA did not immediately report the incidents to the state or notify the toddlers' parents, as required by law, according to the suit. Pflugerville ISD administrators involved the Pflugerville ISD Police Department, but the YMCA kept the caregiver on staff, per the complaint. (The caregiver responsible for the toddler classroom was arrested and charged with five counts of injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury and is currently awaiting trial.)

In addition, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Child-Care Licensing Division and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services conducted an independent investigation into the incidents involving the three toddlers and issued the YMCA 23 citations for violating the state's childcare laws. In fact, interviews with state investigators and YMCA employees also revealed the daycare commonly broke state childcare laws. The complaint details how the YMCA failed to train caregivers, put caregivers in charge of too many children, and allowed workers to neglect their duties as caregivers. The lawsuit states one caregiver told investigators she did not think the facility was safe for children. Also, the often-absent daycare director failed to oversee the facility's caregivers to ensure all children were safe while in their care, according to the suit.

Sadly, the episodes of inappropriate and violent discipline practices uncovered in February 2024 were not isolated incidents at the YMCA daycare. In December 2023, caregivers left a 2-year-old girl and a classmate behind and unsupervised after a fire drill at the center, per the complaint.

"Nothing about what happened at the YMCA or how the organization operated this daycare center is acceptable. Innocent toddlers were severely mistreated on multiple occasions," says Russell Button, daycare and child injury lawyer of The Button Law Firm who represents all three families against the YMCA of Central Texas. "This ongoing trauma and mistreatment of toddlers could have been avoided had the YMCA managed its daycare properly and according to the law. We are committed to holding the YMCA accountable for allowing such horrific treatment and operating with unsafe practices, and we are working to ensure it never happens again at this facility."

The lawsuit is LeeAnn Huber, Individually and as next friend of Z.H., a minor child; Erin Tapiero, Individually and as next friend of J.T., a minor child; and Michelle Duffy, Individually and as next friend of A.T., a minor child, vs. YMCA of Central Texas, Cause No. D-1-GN-25-000531 in the 201st Civil District Court in Travis County, Texas. A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.

About The Button Law Firm
The Button Law Firm (buttonlawfirm.com) is a trusted Texas-based daycare and child injury law firm dedicated to helping families seek justice after children experience severe injuries or traumatic incidents due to negligence at daycare centers, schools, and businesses. The firm fights to deliver life-changing results and justice for young victims. The Button Law Firm focuses on abuse and neglect cases, bottle warmer burns, traumatic brain injuries, and catastrophic injuries. With offices in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm helps families move forward across the Lone Star State.

SOURCE The Button Law Firm