A Niagara County daycare that operated for 11 years has shut its doors after New York State regulators determined that two toddlers were in imminent danger, suspending the facility's license over allegations of inappropriate contact with children and repeated failures to report suspected abuse. Jill's Play Yard, located at 3745 Ransomville Road in Ransomville, closed following the October 16 suspension, and the state is now seeking to revoke the license entirely.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services suspended Jill's Play Yard's child care license and recommended revocation, according to wivb.com. The suspension and proposed revocation rest on six alleged violations, including leaving children without competent supervision and failing to immediately report suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreatment on at least two occasions, the outlet reported. State records cited by the station say an employee at the daycare engaged in inappropriate contact with daycare children on June 12 and October 2, involving a toddler who was 2 years old and another who was 3 years old.
The Division of Child Care Services received a complaint about Jill's Play Yard dated October 2 and conducted inspections on October 5 and October 7, per the letter detailing the state's findings. Those inspections produced two separate citations. As wkbw.com reported, a complaint filed on October 5 cited Jill's Play Yard for leaving children without competent supervision, and a second complaint filed on October 13 found the daycare in violation for failing to adequately supervise staff responsible for caring for children.
State Cites Imminent Danger, Moves to Shut Operations
The suspension notice said the Office of Children and Family Services determined that a child's safety or welfare was in imminent danger, wivb.com reported. The agency said it moved swiftly to suspend the child care license of Jill's Play Yard, closing its operations for severe violations of child care safety regulations, according to the same report. The license suspension took effect immediately upon receipt of the letter.
Under the terms laid out in that letter, Jill's Play Yard has 10 days from the letter date to request a hearing contesting the suspension and 30 days to request a hearing contesting the proposed revocation. As of the most recent reporting, the daycare had not requested a hearing to contest the suspension. The State Office of Children and Family Services told yahoo.com that the program's license is currently suspended and that the daycare has been removed from the referral lists. Yahoo noted the facility's license is listed as running through November 16, 2029, with a total capacity of 162 children, though state records elsewhere list a combined capacity of 173 across age groups.
Criminal Investigation Opened by Sheriff's Office
The allegations also triggered a criminal investigation by the Niagara County Sheriff's Office, the wivb.com report said. Sheriff Michael Filicetti described it as an open and active investigation at Jill's Play Yard regarding a former employee and allegations from parents of children who attended the daycare.
The owner of Jill's Play Yard said the daycare would be closing its doors after 11 years in business and thanked families for their trust, support and memories, wkbw.com reported. That closure follows reporting from WGRZ, which first detailed the state's suspension letter and its timeline of complaints and inspections.
A Pattern of Complaints Before the Shutdown
Jill's Play Yard had been the subject of four investigations since May 23, 2025, according to wivb.com's reporting. Yet no violations were found in eight previous inspections earlier this year, wkbw.com reported — a discrepancy in the record that the available evidence does not explain. It is unclear from the reporting whether those two counts refer to the same set of inspection and investigation records or distinct ones.
New York prioritizes child-care complaints by potential danger, with imminent-danger investigations supposed to begin by the next operating day and serious complaints generally investigated within five days, according to News 12 Hudson Valley. Facilities also receive an annual unannounced inspection, while initial licensing and renewal inspections are generally scheduled in advance, the outlet reported.
Jill's Play Yard is not an isolated case in New York's recent child-care enforcement record. News 12 Hudson Valley reported that Inspire Kids, a Goshen special-education preschool, faces possible loss of its license after a student was allegedly left unsupervised for more than a minute, with its status listed online as pending revocation and denial. The outlet also reported that the state moved in 2025 to revoke the license of Pattycake Playhouse after a child allegedly wandered away from the facility, and that Little Scholars in Chester had its license immediately suspended in 2024 after a 3-year-old allegedly wandered outside unnoticed, with the state citing imminent danger to children in that case as well.
