State: Brooklyn Center Child Care Facility 'Imminent Risk of Harm to Children'

The Minnesota Department of Health imposed what it calls "the most serious licensing sanction" against a Brooklyn Center child care center.  The center's license has been suspended.

A check of state records shows the Arena Early Learning Center has been under close scrutiny for more than a year.  Before its license was suspended, it was allowed to continue operating while it appealed a previous revocation ruling.

"We have issued numerous fines, correction orders and previous conditional licenses to this facility in hopes that it would come into compliance with licensing requirements," said Jerry Kerber, Inspector General with the Minnesota Department of Health.  "Once we determined imminent risk to the children, we were required to issue the immediate suspension.  We cannot tolerate harm or potential harm to children in our licensed facilities."

The department did not disclose what specifically led investigators to believe children at the facility were at risk.

Arena Early Learning Center was licensed for up to 88 kids.

The Department of Health says this is only the third time it has taken this kind of action against a child care facility in a decade.

To read more about Arena Early Learning Center's licensing history, click here.