Arvada daycare held four infants, twice the state limit, before infant near-death

Four infants were in the care of an Arvada home daycare operator, double the number permitted by her state license. The discrepancy surfaced in a suspension order issued by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood following an incident where one child was hospitalized in critical condition. The operator’s license specifically authorized her to care for two infants at a time.

The sequence of events began in September when Hannah Fuller received a frantic call from the operator’s daughter. The caller reported that an infant had choked and required cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Fuller picked up her two sons and arrived at the facility, where staff offered repeated assurances that everything was fine. Fuller said she felt something more serious had occurred but did not press the issue immediately to avoid feeling guilty about her choice of childcare.

Days later, the state agency formally suspended the daycare license. The order cited the September incident, noting the child was taken to a hospital in a critical or near fatal condition. It also referenced a prior misdemeanor child abuse charge connected to an incident in February 2026. Westminster police have since classified the matter as a criminal investigation, though no arrests have been made as of this week.

The injured child’s family has asked for privacy but allowed Fuller to share medical details. The boy has a traumatic brain injury and retinal hemorrhaging. He faces a long recovery, and his family believes he will never be the same. Police have asked parents to bring their children for physical exams to check for internal damage, though investigators have not yet told families what they believe happened on the day of the incident.

A family member at the daycare declined to comment on the suspension, referring questions to an attorney who also declined to speak. A police spokesperson stated that investigations involving children’s safety require careful review to protect privacy and the integrity of the case. The department encouraged parents to contact them directly with questions.

The daycare owner is scheduled to appear in court on October 29. That hearing concerns the earlier misdemeanor charge from February 2026, not the September incident. The criminal probe regarding the infant’s hospitalization remains active.