Susan Doe had been a successful provider for over twenty years. And over those twenty years, she stayed cross-wise with County licensing workers. She had had a previous incident that led to a negative sanction on her license. Deborah Eckland represented Ms. Doe when DHS (Clay County) revoked her license after she was caught leaving her four daycare kids in the care of a 16-year-old helper while she ran to the bank.

DHS’s revocation of Ms. Doe’s license was too severe a sanction for the “violation” involved. But the County was determined to see it stick—probably because of the acrimonious relationship between County workers and Ms. Doe.

After a short hearing, the Administrative Law Judge determined a licensing violation had occurred, but recommended that a sanction short of revocation be imposed. Ms. Doe’s license was made conditional and she had to pay a small fine. The Commissioner adopted the judge’s recommendation.