After the police and the justice system, the government in turn took up the case concerning the death of the 11-month-old baby, poisoned with Destop in the People and Baby crèche in Lyon. The Minister of Solidarity has asked the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs to carry out a mission to understand how such a tragedy could have happened.
People and Baby crèche: an 11-month-old baby poisoned at the Destop
This Monday, July 11, 2022, the new Minister of Solidarity Jean-Christophe Combe announced the seizure of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) to investigate the circumstances that led a childcare assistant to poison an 11-month-old baby on June 22, 2022, in a People and Baby group crèche in Lyon. Indeed, the crèche employee, overwhelmed by the crying of the baby, admitted to having sprayed him with caustic soda – a toxic product used to unclog the pipes –, then to have made him drink it. The baby then died without being able to be resuscitated and the childcare worker was indicted for “intentional homicide on a minor under 15 years old.” before being taken into custody. For his lawyer, the fragile psychological state as well as possible errors of assessment as to his skills are at the origin of the drama, rather than an intention to kill. Given its fragility and “of a particular personal context“, she should never have been alone with baby, he says. On July 2, the Rhône prefecture for its part recorded the administrative closure of the establishment.
The government seizes the IGAS
While the police and justice seized the case, the Minister of Solidarity wants for his part to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. And this goes through the mission entrusted to Igas, responsible for providing “quickly clarify the factors which, in this crèche, in this network, or in the general framework of the reception methods, could have contributed to the installation of situations of danger or mistreatment” is being developed at the ministry, which is also expecting “solutions to fix it” to allow the Minister to take any new regulatory measures “likely to be implemented in the fall”.
What measures for the early childhood sector?
On the occasion of this announcement, the Minister, who was meeting at the same time with the members of the Early Childhood Sector Committee, considered a few avenues for revive the early childhood sectorwhile guaranteeing parents the quality of reception and the professionalism of the staff in charge of toddlers, whether they are in collective or individual care. It is because the gravity and the atrocity of the facts revealed the vulnerability of the sector. The shortage of professionals above all, which forced the minister to release two million euros, to finance a campaign to promote and attract young children’s professions. Other suggestions to prevent further abuse: the obligation to create a parents’ council in all crèches, the creation of a national incident reporting and monitoring system, or even checks and evaluations of establishments and staff not only reinforced, but also taking into account the satisfaction of parents.