South Bend KinderCare

"My daughter has been attending KinderCare for about a month and we’re really happy with the center! She’s in the infant room and is doing really well. Her teacher worked with her on taking a bottle and now she takes it like a champ! Miss Jalisa is a wonderful teacher and even lets me come in daily to nurse during my lunch. Our daughter also is sleeping better at home. They have a great app and will occasionally upload pictures of her playing which we love to see. We would recommend this daycare to others!"

"Ms. Halee is hands down one of the best infant teachers rainbow has to offer. She's so kind, caring and shows so much patience when working with the kids. Being the infant one teacher for the past two years is also a big plus. In daycares there is always such a high turn around it's nice to see someone who has years with a daycare instead of just months. Having had kids of her own she does not lack experience with newborns and infants. Rainbow is blessed to have her as a teacher!"

"My kids have been in Rainbow on and off for years. My daughter started when she was 6 weeks old in the infant room. I loved the staff when she started and unfortunately had to pull her out because she was constantly getting sick and missing days, but we had to pay to keep her spot. I ended up pulling her out because this arrangement just was not practical. After about a year, I went to re-enroll her, in the toddler room. Her teachers were great, and became like family. I still talk to one of them today. She was really struggling in the toddler room, throwing tantrums every time we would drop her off, and I truly felt it was out of boredom. By this time, one of her toddler teachers was filling in at the front to cover the director positions because of the turnover in those positions and the lack of adequate staffing. She along with the new director, once hired made it possible for her to move up to the YPS classroom where she thrived. Unfortunately, the turn-over and staffing issues continued. The environment continuously deteriorated. I went from being greeted by first name as I walked through the front door, to at some points not even being acknowledged. I had several concerns, including the lack of hot (even warm) water in the classrooms (because how in the world can you get rid of germs with soap and cold water) among other things which were brought to the attention of management, but I do not feel were adequately addressed. Several weeks ago now, I received a call from the newest of the directors that she had received a complaint that my son (an infant) was an alleged victim of inappropriate behavior with one of his teachers. I was not being given much information, other than someone said he was inappropriately handled by his teacher and that CPS and the licensing board had been contacted and there was an ongoing investigation. I was never once contacted by DCS, nor did management have any further communication with me about what was going on except when I asked to see the video of the alleged inappropriate behavior to which I was told that the video is for administration and cannot be viewed. I heard rumors of cigarette butts and other "paraphernalia" found on the play ground. I saw, and reported, one of the teachers grabbing a child (in the infant room) by his upper arm and carrying him down the hall (that teacher still has her job to my knowledge). I will say, that not ALL of the teachers here should be "punished" for the bad reputation that management is giving this facility. My daughter's teachers in YPS were AMAZING with her and she loved going to school every day. My older son's teachers were AMAZING and helped us work through some things with him. I truly believe, that upper management is the start of the problem. Leadership comes from the top, and from what I have seen and the encounters that I have had with the DM, there is a TRUE lack of active leadership. I called and left messages for KinderCare Supervisors with no response. I called, left messages, and even had an in person meeting regarding concerns that I have had, and my concerns were completely dismissed by the DM. My request to see the video surveillance from the "incident" with my son that was sent to the DM, was responded to by the director. I still do not even know when the incident happened exactly, but I have heard from several sources that it happened days before I was actually notified. This is not okay. If my child is a victim or potentially a victim of any maltreatment or the like, I should be the first person notified, not DCS and not the licensing board! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I pulled both of my children out as soon as I could get there to pick them up. it is unfortunate because this is a really nice facility - much newer and nicer than many of the other facilities in the area - and for the amount of money we paid each week for 2 kids and on occasion 3, I expected much, much more."

"We were very happy with the care provided to our daughter from 3-8 months. I wish we didn't have to move because she seemed to really like some of the caregivers here."

"My child attended Rainbow for 3 weeks-in this short time, I noticed there was no structure in the classroom and the children spent a lot of time in the gym, running freely, while the "teachers" talked amongst themselves-overall a non-conducive environment for a toddler."