Employers, more than ever before, need to protect themselves against accidents and crimes committed by their employees. With negligent hiring, lawsuits, training costs, workplace violence and theft on the rise, pre-employment screening as well as taking the correct pre-employment screening steps are no longer an option, but rather a necessity for businesses.

As a follow up to our previous story regarding a child who was abducted from her daycare in Houston, Texas, we have learned that the State of Texas has closed down the Mothercare Daycare as a result of the abduction and additional violations.

Raeshala Rhylette Morris was charged with kidnapping when she disguised a little girl as a boy and left the daycare center. No background check was run on Morris. If the daycare center had run one as required by Texas law, it would have revealed that Morris had her own child placed in foster care due to neglect. Morris was also homeless and a diagnosed schizophrenic whose family told authorities that she stopped taking her medication for the illness. In the past, her failure to take her medication has forced her family to place her in mental institutions.

Morris is currently being held at the Harris County Jail. She told the press in an interview that she believes the child she abducted is her daughter reincarnated from a previous life, over 1,000 years ago. Morris acknowledged that she has schizophrenia and is homeless, but still contends that the toddler would be better off with her. She has taken responsibility for her actions, but was unapologetic about what she did.

After meeting with the daycare’s owner, Rita Obodoechina, state officials in Texas have shut down the daycare facility. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website shows multiple violations found by officials during their inspections over the last two years. Our staff found that one repeated violation was the lack of background checks on employees. Calls to Obodoechina have gone unanswered.

The mother of the abducted child, Shemika Thacker-Brantley is suing Obodoechina for one billion dollars. Her attorney cited the large amount as a deterrent for other daycare centers committing the same negligence.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 3:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.