We don't sleep the same like normal before because I have to check my daughter every day.
Two young children tested positive for amphetamine/methamphetamine after exposure at Rainbow Early Learning Center; investigation found employee had placed meth in bathroom cubby. Facility operates under three-year probation instead of license revocation; parents report lack of notification about probationary status as required by state law.
- Two children tested positive for amphetamine/methamphetamine after exposure at Rainbow Early Learning Center in May 2024
- State investigation found employee placed methamphetamine in bathroom cubby; three children exposed and ingested drugs
- Facility placed on three-year probation in February 2026 instead of license revocation; remains open
- About half a dozen parents unaware of probationary status despite state requirement to notify all current and prospective parents
- 393 California childcare facilities placed on probation between 2020-2025; state withholds names and probation reasons from public
A California daycare where children tested positive for methamphetamine in 2024 remains open under probationary status, with parents unaware of the facility's compliance issues despite state notification requirements.
On a spring afternoon in 2024, a four-year-old girl came home from Rainbow Early Learning Center in Winnetka vomiting and unable to sleep. Her father, Jose Aguilar, watched her refuse food, talk incessantly, and struggle to sit still. Within days, a hospital blood test delivered the answer: his daughter had tested positive for amphetamine. Around the same time, another child at the same facility—a two-year-old—tested positive for methamphetamine. Both girls had been exposed to drugs while in the care of people entrusted with their safety.
A state investigation that followed in July 2024 uncovered how it happened. An employee at the daycare had placed a small bag containing methamphetamine in a bathroom cubby. Three children were exposed to and ingested substances containing amphetamine or methamphetamine. The employee was fired, and the state prohibited her from ever working in or even being present at any licensed childcare facility again.
But the facility itself remained open. In February 2026, the California Department of Social Services reached an agreement with Tampe Management, the company that owns Rainbow Early Learning Center. Rather than revoking the daycare's license outright, the state placed it on probationary status for three years—a conditional arrangement that allows the business to continue operating while under heightened scrutiny. The license revocation was put on hold.
What troubles parents and advocates most is that many families using the facility have no idea any of this happened. State law requires daycares to inform all current and prospective parents when they are placed on probation. Yet when CBS California Investigates spoke with about half a dozen parents, none had been told. When reporters visited the facility in April, a woman closed the gate and refused to answer questions. The daycare's director acknowledged by phone that the employee had been terminated, but offered little else.
Jose Aguilar's daughter is now six years old and attends a different school. But the exposure has left lasting marks. She still struggles to focus in class and at home. She cannot sleep through the night alone. Her parents have set up a bed for her in their bedroom so they can check on her throughout the night—a nightly ritual born from what happened to her at age four. "It's really hard for me," Aguilar said. "We don't sleep the same like normal before because I have to check my daughter every day."
Dominic Gamali, whose daughter currently attends the daycare, expressed the frustration many parents feel. "Under no circumstances should people be able to get off easy," he said. "I feel these establishments should be completely shut down." A lawyer representing the Bekir family in a lawsuit against the facility noted that the children showed clear symptoms of drug exposure, yet staff did not take it seriously and parents were not notified. Medical personnel were never contacted to investigate.
The problem extends beyond this single daycare. Between 2020 and 2025, California placed 393 childcare centers and family childcare homes on probationary status for failing to comply with health and safety regulations. In Los Angeles County alone, 132 facilities were placed on probation. Yet the state has refused to release the names and addresses of these facilities, citing exemptions to public records law. When asked for the reasons these facilities were placed on probation, the Department of Social Services said the request exceeded its responsibilities under the Public Records Act.
There is a tool available to parents—the state maintains a searchable database where families can look up whether a childcare facility is on probation. But that requires parents to know to look, and to know where to look. Meanwhile, Tampe Management, the company that owns Rainbow Early Learning Center, is under investigation for another incident at a different facility it operates, where a lawsuit alleges a child was left locked in a vehicle for about an hour. When reporters visited that daycare, staff declined to comment. The probationary arrangement at Rainbow Early Learning Center continues, the facility remains open, and the question of whether parents are being adequately informed remains unanswered.
Citações Notáveis
Under no circumstances should people be able to get off easy. I feel these establishments should be completely shut down.— Dominic Gamali, parent whose daughter attends the daycare
There were symptoms that these children were exposed to dangerous drugs, and you know, staff, no one really took it seriously. Parents weren't notified. Medical personnel wasn't contacted to look into this.— Ese Omofoa, attorney representing the Bekir family in lawsuit against the facility
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would a state choose probation over closure when children were actually poisoned?
The agreement was reached in February 2026—nearly two years after the exposure. By then, the immediate crisis had passed, the employee was gone, and the company likely argued it had corrected the problem. Probation lets the state maintain oversight without shutting down a business. But it also means the facility keeps operating, keeps taking tuition, keeps serving children.
And the parents don't know?
About half a dozen parents told investigators they were never informed, despite state law requiring it. When reporters showed up, the gate closed. The director only admitted the firing happened when directly asked. There's a searchable database parents can use, but it requires them to know it exists and to actively search.
What about the children who were exposed? Are they okay?
One girl, now six, still can't sleep alone. Her parents keep a bed in their room and check on her every night. She struggles to focus at school. The other child is at a different facility now. But the damage—neurological, psychological—that doesn't disappear when you change schools.
Is this common?
The state has placed 393 childcare facilities on probation since 2020 for health and safety violations. But the state won't release their names or the reasons they were placed on probation. Parents have almost no way to know which facilities are problem facilities unless they happen to search a database most don't know exists.
What happens in three years when the probation ends?
That's the question. If the facility complies during probation, the license revocation gets lifted and they operate normally. If they don't, the state can revoke the license. But the burden is on parents to stay vigilant—and most don't even know they should be.