Authorities Investigate Baby’s Death at San Francisco Childcare Home
Local and state authorities are investigating the death of a 3-month-old girl at a licensed childcare home in San Francisco’s Bayview district.
The San Francisco Fire Department said it responded to a report of a medical emergency at Mama Nida’s Loving Arms Childcare last Friday, shortly after 11 a.m.
After providing medical care at the scene, first responders took the baby to UCSF Medical Center in Mission Bay, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said the medical examiner’s office will investigate the infant’s cause of death.
“At this time, there is no evidence of foul play, nor is it suspected,” Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya said Tuesday.
Gwenisha Terrell, the child’s mother, told the San Francisco Chronicle that a few hours after dropping off her baby, Cya, and her 2-year-old sister, Cia, the childcare provider’s daughter called to alert her that Cya had choked on milk and stopped breathing.
According to a GoFundMe post for Terrell and her husband, the couple was planning to celebrate their older daughter’s birthday later that day.
“In a single day, this loving family experienced unimaginable joy and unimaginable heartbreak,” the post said.
“A birthday that should have been filled with laughter, cake, and memories became a day their family will carry with them forever,” it said.
Requests to speak with Terrell and other members of the victim’s family have not been returned, and a woman who answered the phone number listed for Mama Nida’s Loving Arms Childcare declined to speak with KQED.
Records show state regulators received two complaints in 2023 concerning children’s safety at the home. One complaint made on Dec. 13 alleged that the licensed provider, Anita Saulny-Green, left children unattended for an extended period of time, and another complaint made on Dec. 14 alleged that Saulny-Green kicked a child.
The records show that a licensing inspector visited the home, spoke with the provider and parents and reviewed evidence.
“Although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is no preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violation did or did not occur,” the inspector wrote. “Therefore, the allegation is unsubstantiated.”
The California Department of Social Services is conducting a separate investigation into what led to baby Cya’s death. A department spokeswoman, Theresa Mier, said she couldn’t comment further on the ongoing investigation.
Saulny-Green is licensed to provide care for up to eight children in her home. State law allows one adult to care for up to eight children, provided that no more than two of them are infants and at least two children are older than 6.
Providers typically have a family member or assistant to help them out, depending on capacity and the age of the children.
In 2024, Saulny-Green was among 21 Black early childhood educators honored by Children’s Council San Francisco, a local childcare resource and referral agency, for caring for children in high-need communities.
On social media, Saulny-Green posted photos of the kids under her care, highlighting their developmental progress and the healthy foods that she served them. One post shows a photo of San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, whose district includes Bayview, visiting her home in April 2024.
“It was such an honor to be able to showcase all that I have accomplished and even learned through the years of experience that I have in childcare and child development,” she wrote in the post.
“Childcare is more than just giving adequate care to infants, toddlers and children,” it said. “Putting time and effort, dedication and hard work to implement a plan that will help better the future of our youth is what it’s all about.”
It’s not immediately clear whether anyone at the childcare home knew how to administer lifesaving efforts when the baby experienced the medical emergency.
Licensed childcare providers must learn and maintain current certification in pediatric CPR and first aid.
An update to state licensing rules that went into effect this month requires assistants or other staff members at a family childcare home to also learn pediatric CPR and first aid, including the use of auto-injectors to treat life-threatening allergic reactions.