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Worst Day Care Ever: 2-Year-Old Tests Positive For Marijuana
A La Crescenta day care has been shut down and the woman running it arrested after a 2-year-old girl tested positive for marijuana.La Cañada Valley Sun reports that the day care, Bina's Family Child Care, located in the 3200 block of Orange Avenue, was so "unsanitary and unfit" that officials declared it uninhabitable.
After a 2-year-old returned home "lethargic" after being at the day care, her parents took her to Verdugo Hills Hospital, where she tested positive for THC. Police were called and obtained a warrant for the day care.
There, they found the house had no electricity, the toilets weren't working, knives in the kitchen were in easy reach of children and the sink was piled high with dirty dishes. Even worse, they found rat and mice droppings throughout the house, as well as drug paraphernalia.
"The conditions of the home warranted a criminal investigation," Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
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Unbelievably, police had to turn away eight families who were trying to drop off their children at the day care, according to Lorenz. The residential day care, which was decorated with Christmas lights, is close to Valley View Elementary School and allegedly provides services to low-income families, police said.
Roubena Hartounian, 50, was taken into custody on suspicion of child neglect and endangerment. According to City News Services, she is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail with a court date scheduled for Friday in Glendale.
In a wildly misleading posting on Need Child Care, the day care promises "the highest level of nurture, education, and care in a loving and secure environment." The location is listed as "Bena's Child Care" on the site, but a sign in front spelled the name as "Bina's."
Since Hartounian told officers she accepted referrals from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Social Services will be investigating the day care, Lorenz told the La Cañada newspaper.
The 2-year-old is now at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for monitoring, according to CNS.
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