A West Valley woman had her day-care license revoked after a state licensing officer found 15 children left in the care of a 12-year-old boy.
The children were found alone Thursday morning as the officer made a routine unannounced inspection of the day-care facility, Utah Department of Health spokeswoman Jana Kettering said. The day care is in Lowena and Veryl Johnson's home near 4000 South and 5400 West. Lowena Johnson's license was up for renewal in July, Kettering said.
The health department issues day-care licenses. A department employee could see the children inside the home but no one answered the door, so she contacted West Valley police. Police entered the home and found the 15 children — from infants to 12 years old — without adult supervision. Seven of the children are Johnson's; the other eight are from three different families. Three of the children in the home were infants, Kettering said.
"State regulations require that that number of children should have had at least two adults supervising," Kettering said.
Neither Lowena nor Veryl Johnson was home Friday night when called by the Deseret Morning News.
Kettering said the health department had no complaints about Johnson's day-care operations. The department drops in on day-care facilities only on an annual basis unless there are registered complaints, she said.
Some 90 minutes elapsed between the time the licensing officer arrived at the home and when Lowena Johnson returned.
"We're unsure how long she was actually gone and the children were alone," Kettering said.
Child protective services was notified but none of the children was taken into state custody.
Johnson plans to appeal the revocation of her license, Kettering said. The department will schedule a hearing and after hearing the evidence from both sides make a determination about Johnson's license.
"This is a pretty serious infraction, and we aren't taking it lightly," Kettering said. "Leaving 15 kids unattended is pretty serious in our books."
E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com