(Columbia) April 11, 2003 - A Lexington County child care center closed its doors for good Friday, and not voluntarily. On Monday a judge ordered the Bright Ideas Child Development Center to shut down by 6:30pm.

Judge Richard Chewning's decision came after the Department of Social Services asked to close the center after accusations that a toddler, left unattended, was injured in January. Thirteen employees lost their jobs when the center closed.

WIS went to the front door of Bright Ideas on Friday and asked for an interview. The people inside said they had no comment either on the closing, or the allegations against the owner.
   
It was clear not everyone was happy Bright Ideas was closing as parents picked up their children there for the last time. They included a tearful Michelle Hawkins, "I have a three-year-old boy, devastated. He loves it."
    
Rosalyn Johnson has brought her sons there for nine years and says she still has faith in former owner Angela Almeida, "I trust her, and if the daycare were to remain open, I'd still be here."

Thursday night group of Midlands parents banded together in the hopes of keeping Bright Ideas open. The parents have been taking their kids to Bright Ideas child development center for years and are now having to find alternative childcare. Phyllis Shelley says Bright Ideas was more than just a daycare. Her children, Timothy and Hannah, have been going there since they were babies, "Because I trust them whole heartedly. I wouldn't put my children somewhere that I didn't trust."

Parents say the daycare has made adjustments, like removing the owner and improving the staff to child ratio. Angela Almeida, 36, is charged with two felony counts of unlawful conduct toward a child by a legal custodian and faces up to ten years in prison if convicted.

The judge forbade her from working at Bright Ideas or any other South Carolina child care center. Almeida was arrested for leaving 16 children unattended at the Augusta Road center on January 28th. Larry Bull says his son was bitten several times while Almeida was away.

Many other parents say the judge didn't take the parents input into account and definitely didn't considering how the kids will cope.

DSS first took Bright Ideas to court February 4th. At that time, they were seeking a temporary injunction, but instead, struck a deal with Bright Ideas, allowing them to temporarily stay open under daily DSS supervision and as long as Angie Almeida was removed and staff-to-child ratios were met.

The hearing on Monday was for a permanent injunction. It was clear from DSS reports that Bright Ideas had been meeting the agreed upon requirements, mostly ratio issues, but Bright Ideas refused to sign a corrective action form.

Almeida's husband, who took over running the center, said this was because it tried to limit the number of children at the center to 44 and he needs to make money and have the opportunity to expand.

Jerry Adams with DSS says the agency wanted to send a message that incidents like January 28th would not be tolerated, "Yes, we were taking a hard stance. Not because it was in the media, but because a child was badly injured and left alone. That's not right."

The judge based his ruling simply on the incident itself and not anything related to the first hearing or breaches of the agreement.

Angela Almeida left the courthouse in tears. Shelley reacted in the hall, "I'm sorry for what happened to that little boy. I'm so sorry, and I feel sorry for his family, but it is an accident. There are accidents that happen at other day cares and they are not treated like this."

Bull says his child still has nightmares, "He cries out at night and sometimes you even see him fighting in his sleep." Bull says he is now looking at legislation to reform daycare around the state.

Two employees were also fired and one placed on a leave of absence after the three were accused of failing to supervise three- and four-year old children.

Updated 10:40pm by BrettWitt