Infant dies at Indianapolis daycare where 1 watched 36 kids

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A 10-month-old girl strapped into a car seat died at a child-care ministry where one worker was responsible for 36 children, authorities said Thursday.

Someone at the Miracles and Blessings Daycare called 911 shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday to report a baby wasn't breathing and was unconscious, Speedway Police Lt. Trent Theobald said. First responders found someone attempting CPR on the girl, and they took her to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, where she later died, he said.

An employee at the child-care center told officers the girl was found unconscious in her car seat, he said.

"It's concerning when there's 36 kids to one care worker," Theobald said.

Facilities accepting federal Child Care Development Fund payments are required to maintain worker-to-child ratios depending on the children's ages, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration says on its website. For example, one worker can watch no more than 12 children, but only if all of the children are older than 3. Younger children require closer supervision.

It wasn't immediately clear if Miracles and Blessings Daycare accepts Child Care Development Fund payments.

The Marion County Coroner's Office was scheduled to perform an autopsy, Theobald said. Investigators are working with the Marion County prosecutor's office, he said, and the Department of Child Services is also investigating.

A phone message seeking comment was left at a number listed for Miracles and Blessings Daycare.