New Jersey Daycare and Childcare Sexual Abuse Lawyer

What parents ask first

The questions that come up in the first call are almost always the same four, and they are worth answering before anything else.

“My child is too young to say what happened.”

Almost every one of these cases involves a child who cannot give a clear account, and it does not prevent a claim. Cases involving very young children are built from the center’s own material, from who had access and when, from staffing records, and from properly conducted forensic interviews carried out by people trained to do them. Repeated questioning by worried family members does not help a child and can make things harder later, which is a reason to speak to someone early rather than a reason to wait.

“The center said they looked into it.”

An internal review is the operator examining itself, at speed, with an interest in a particular conclusion. It does not bind anyone. What it looked at, and what it carefully did not, tends to become part of the case.

“I do not want to make things worse for my child.”

A claim does not require a child to give evidence in a courtroom, and it very rarely comes to that. What is involved is explained before anything is filed, and the pace is set around the child rather than around the case.

“I have no proof.”

You are not expected to. Licensing records, inspection reports, staff files, ratio and attendance logs and internal correspondence are held by the center and the state, and obtaining them is work done inside a claim.

Can you sue a daycare in New Jersey?

In most circumstances, yes. A childcare operator takes on responsibility for children it is paid to look after, and a civil claim can be brought whether or not there was ever a criminal charge or conviction. It is a separate process, brought by the family rather than by a prosecutor, and decided to a lower standard of proof.

Who is legally responsible

Usually the center and its operator rather than only the individual, because the operator’s own decisions are what put someone in a room with children.

• Negligent hiring. Childcare staff in New Jersey are subject to background checking requirements. A claim asks what was actually run, what came back, and what was done about it.
• Negligent supervision. Ratios, sightlines, nap rooms, bathrooms and diaper changing areas, and whether any adult was ever alone and unobserved with a child.
• Negligent retention. Whether a parent, a staff member or an inspector had raised something previously, and what happened to that person afterward.
• Failure to report. Childcare staff are mandatory reporters. A failure to report is a breach in itself and evidence of what was known.
• Licensing and inspection failures. A record of violations, particularly repeated ones on supervision or staffing, speaks directly to how the center was being run.
• Corporate and franchise responsibility. Where a center is part of a chain or a franchise, the decisions about policy, training and staffing standards are often made above the individual site.

How institutions are held liable for sexual abuse in New Jersey

The settings these claims come from

• Licensed childcare and daycare centers, including national and regional chains
• Preschools, nursery schools and Montessori programs
• In-home and family childcare providers
• Before-school and after-school care
• Church-run and community-run nurseries
• Drop-in childcare at gyms, clubs and retail sites
• Summer and holiday programs for young children
• Transport to and from a center

What to do now

None of this is required before calling, and none of it needs to be done in order.

• Do not question your child repeatedly. It is a natural thing to do and it can complicate a properly conducted interview later. Write down what was said, in the child’s own words, with the date.
• Keep what you already have. Enrollment paperwork, the parent handbook, invoices, messages with staff, incident reports, photographs.
• Do not ask the center for its records before speaking to someone.

What a claim can recover

Typically the cost of therapy and treatment for the child, now and in the future, the effect on their development and schooling, and the harm itself. Claims involving young children often require expert evidence about needs that will only become clear as the child grows, which is one reason nobody can tell you what a claim is worth at the outset.

There is no fee unless a claim succeeds, and no cost to asking whether you have one.