Trenton, Maine, daycare ordered to suspend operations due to unsafe conditions for children
A judge has ordered a daycare in Trenton to close for 30 days due to conditions "which immediately endanger the health and safety of children" at the facility.
The order was signed on Aug. 28 by a Hancock County District Court judge and follows a 1-day administrative suspension, which was issued on Aug. 18 and took effect at 6 a.m. on Aug. 19.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services filed the complaint seeking an emergency suspension of the license of Betsy Grant and Tiny Tikes Day Care to operate a child care facility for 30 days.
In the ruling, the court found that, on August 18, 2026, the facility would not allow Maine DHHS investigators and a licensing specialist onto the property to investigate an allegation of child abuse and neglect and allegations of violations of licensing rules.
In the ruling, the court found that the facility violated several other child care licensing statutes as part of an unannounced inspection on the same day in August, including failing to have the proper staff-to-child staffing ratio, not having required child records on the property for six children, having staff members who had not completed required comprehensive background checks, not having a staff member on site who was certified in CPR or first aid, and not holding a required monthly fire drill for the previous five months.
The suspension can be extended by the court. A hearing will be held on Oct. 2, 2026, to determine if the license of the day care will be permanently revoked and if the facility will be fined.
According to the Tiny Tikes website, the facility has provided care to hundreds of children over the course of more than 20 years.
In September of 2025, they posted on Facebook "Time to fight for mandated reporters to be regarded, not Retaliated on and to have children received [sic] the protection mandated reporter laws were intended to do."