Oak Creek day care employee arrested, police investigate neglect

OAK CREEK, Wis. - Oak Creek police arrested a day care employee after urine tests showed a 1-year-old boy had cocaine in his system, the department announced Tuesday.

The police department said a 24-year-old woman was taken into custody, and KinderCare said the employee is on leave as police investigate.

Nearly two weeks ago, on May 15, Oak Creek police said they were called to Children's Wisconsin to look into possible child abuse. The boy was brought in for marks and scratches on his body.

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Police said they learned a toxicology screen of the child's urine found chemicals that are commonly found when the body processes cocaine. The next day, detectives showed up at KinderCare near Howell and Drexel.

A drug-sniffing dog found cocaine inside a backpack in the day care's infant room.

Oak Creek Police Department

In a statement, KinderCare corporate said: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care. The teacher involved is out of our center on administrative leave while police continue their investigation."

The employee was arrested and taken to the Milwaukee County Jail. Charges of child neglect, possession of a controlled substance and possession of cocaine were referred to the district attorney's office.

FOX6 also learned the Department of Children and Families is also conducting its own investigation, saying in a statement: "This is an extremely tragic incident and no parent should ever have to worry about their child while in the care of someone whose job is to protect, care for, and nurture children."