Parents Angry at Closing of Leominster Day Care by DSS and 'Child Care Services'

Maria Cupo, the owner and director of "Piccolo Mondo Day Care and Learning Center" in Leominster

A group of parents are angry at the way state agencies have treated Maria Cupo, the owner and director of "Piccolo Mondo Day Care and Learning Center" in Leominster, following the suspension of one of her employees for alleged inappropriate touching and behavior last June.

The parents held a press conference on Thursday to show support for Cupo and to vent their frustration at the way the licensing agency, Office of Child Care Services, and DSS turned on Cupo and tried to shut her down because of her employee's alleged actions. Cupo was accused of putting children at risk and interfering with an investigation among other alleged violations.

Last August, parents rallied outside the Center holding signs in support of Cupo. She was cleared at the time and then reinvestigated by DSS upon the filing of a new 51A. In early February she was cleared again by DSS.

Piccolo Mondo Day Care and Learning Center

Parents say the agencies fabricated allegations against her, cancelled a January "Fair Hearing" in Boston after a large group of witnesses showed up in support of Cupo, and for months kept the Center under a cloud of suspicion and kept the families in the dark over the fate of the popular Center.

The alleged abuser, Frank Garcia of Fitchburg, was immediately suspended by Cupo and faces three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14.

The Center has become a close-knit family over the years, parents say, and is a valuable resource to the community.

The parents group announced they are forming a committee to consider filing a class action lawsuit against DSS and OCCS for unnecessarily abusing the children and families of Piccolo Mondo. They say they wish to prevent it from happening again to another day care/learning center.

DSS wrote to the embattled Cupo on Feb 6, telling her they are changing their records to reflect that the investigation against her should have been unsupported. However, in what parents say is a face-saving gesture, the letter from DSS states that "concerns remain" that Cupo did not immediately report the alleged abuse by her worker. The letter concludes by offering her and her staff training on mandated reporting if she is interested.

Cupo, whose husband is on the school committee, says she heard about the abuse complaint on a Friday evening while grocery shopping, but did not have enough information to call DSS. The parent who called her that evening already had notified a police detective. She says she tried to gather the facts over the weekend while the Center was closed and the children were not at risk. She reported it to DSS on Monday and suspended the employee. The police, who were first to receive the complaint, also waited until Monday to report it to DSS, says Cupo.

Cupo stepped down as director last November in an agreement that would keep the Center open, but she says she is applying to the OCCS for immediate reinstatement now that she has been cleared by DSS.

She says there weren't any indications from the kids or staff to alert her to a problem, but she did what she could as soon as she heard about it.

"I knew all along I didn't do anything wrong," says Cupo. "I followed procedures and protocol. State agencies caused undue stress on children, staff and families. It's not a matter of trust, because the parents trust us."

Cupo says her reputation was built by word of mouth over the years. She feels it has been tarnished by the state's unsupported accusations and will take a while to bring it back to where it was.

The parents held a press conference on Friday to show support for Cupo and to vent their frustration at the way the licensing agency, Office of Child Care Services, and DSS turned on Cupo and tried to shut her down because of her employee's alleged actions.

As evidence of the trust of the community, the day care center hasn't lost any clients since the incident, except for the families of children who made allegations against the staff worker, and some through normal attrition, says Cupo.

Leominster resident Mary Jean, who is the founder of an anti child-abuse group called "Worcester Voice," tells MassNews "This affected 300 people in our community. They were going to lose their daycare. I had parents crying to me, even getting sick with worry. This Center has been here 14 years. They love this place. They are in and out of here every day. It's a learning center for kids up through first grade. What would be the point in closing it down?"

Another parent at the press conference spoke up to say they invited state agencies to come in and work with staff and parents if they thought anything needed improvement, in order to keep the valuable center open, which would be a win-win situation, but agencies wouldn't listen.

DSS spokesman Michael McCormick tells MassNews that DSS merely investigated allegations made against the director. "Ms. Cupo was not persecuted by the Department," he said.

McCormick said if any parents felt that communications were poor with DSS, that is because DSS couldn't discuss much with them about the case. The only ones that would have access to records during the investigation would be people listed on a 51A or parents of children listed as victims. He says he hasn't seen any lawsuit yet from the parents that he could comment on.

McCormick says Ms. Cupo's scheduled Fair Hearing in January was cancelled at the advice of DSS general counsel, who felt it was probably appropriate for Ms. Cupo to speak further with her own attorney about possible criminal ramifications before going forward.

A month after the cancelled hearing, DSS found the OCCS investigation and other 51A's to be unsupported.

OCCS spokesperson Jessica Hanley tells MassNews they had serious concerns about the safety of the program and about Ms. Cupo running it. The agency took legal action resulting in Cupo stepping down as director of the program with the right to petition OCCS after six months for reinstatement. So far, three months of the agreement have passed, said Hanley.

MassNews informed Hanley that Cupo says she intends to seek immediate reinstatement now that she is cleared. Hanley says the findings by DSS do not change their agreement and Cupo has not yet applied for reinstatement, but OCCS will look at it if she does apply and look at other factors surrounding the running of the program. She says she cannot speculate on what will happen.