Northport, Alabama, Church Daycare Under Abuse Investigation After Parent Accusations

A private daycare run by The Word Community Church in Northport, Alabama, is under investigation after parents and employees raised concerns about possible abuse and neglect by staff. The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the active investigation to Tuscaloosa Patch on Tuesday. The inquiry followed a widely shared Facebook post by a parent about The Word Academy (TWA), the daycare the church operates on Highway 69 North. TWA’s advertisement says it accepts children from newborns to pre-K.

The allegations include that a TWA teacher physically abused children. Parents say the teacher forcefully slammed a small child into a mat, struck children on the back, and covered a baby’s face with a blanket. Parents also reported suspicious bruises and pinch marks, along with neglectful practices such as improper feeding and placing infants in unsafe sleep positions. These claims have not been resolved in court or by an investigative finding.

The parent who wrote the Facebook post, India Keller, told Patch she received a call on Friday, Sept. 12, from a Birmingham number. The caller was an employee of the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). Keller said the DHR representative had visited her child’s school and checked the child for marks after an anonymous report of possible abuse at the daycare. Keller said she had expected the school or church to tell families if they knew of such a problem. Her post had been shared nearly 300 times and drew 461 comments, many describing similar concerns.

Pastor Scott Willmore issued a statement to parents after the accusations surfaced. He said church staff were notified around 4:30 p.m. Friday that a case had been opened. “Within minutes, our TWA board was on site and available to assist in any way,” he said. He added that the church had been in contact with DHR and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department, had made available all documentation and video footage it held, and would remain in full cooperation.

The accusations center on teacher Ali Watkins, whom parents accuse of physically abusing children. Patch reported that one video, recorded on Aug. 25, allegedly shows Watkins forcefully slamming a small child into a nap mat and then striking the child on the back. Nurse Allie Sims said she learned the 1-year-old in the video was her daughter. “I literally just froze and just started bawling because I was furious,” she recalled. Sims, other parents, and a former employee told Patch that Watkins was the person shown in the video.

Willmore initially told parents, without naming the teacher, that the staff member had been removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. In an update to parents on Tuesday, he said the church had begun its own investigation because TWA operates within its facility and is directly associated with the church. He said he met with the sheriff’s department, turned over all footage the church had, and then personally interviewed TWA director Kristy Sanford. He said that he and the board of directors concluded that, regardless of how the DHR investigation turned out, “the way this incident was handled is not in line with the standards and heart of our church” (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Willmore later said he had permanently removed Sanford as director of The Word Academy with the unanimous backing of the board of directors, and that the church had also fired Watkins.

Source: Read the original report