CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — Michigan officials have suspended the license of a group childcare home in Cedar Springs after the owners admitted to using meth on the property.
The Michigan Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs announced Wednesday that it has summarily suspended and issued a notice of intent to revoke the group child care license of Ericka and Thomas Cronkright.
According to LARA, the Cronkrights own a childcare home called Monkey Run Daycare at 50 Solon in Cedar Springs.
During an interview with officials, Ericka admitted she and Thomas started using meth in August 2022. She told officials that Thomas also uses cocaine. She also said they will sometimes use meth in the child care room attached to their home, but not while children are there.
According to state documents, Ericka said they had to close the child care on April 28, 2023, because they had used meth the night before and were in no shape to care for kids.
The documents also state that Thomas used meth in the home on April 30. The following day, LARA says Thomas physically assaulted Ericka while children were in the home.
The documents also state that Thomas put a gun to the head of one of the children during the altercation.
According to the documents, Ericka ran from the home with the child while Thomas continued to threaten her and point a gun at her. The Kent County Sheriff's Office says the child — an 8-month-old girl — was in her arms at the time.
"I think any time we have a domestic argument or assault-related situation and children are either present or directly involved, it's a scary time for a child," Sgt. Eric Brunner with the Kent Co. Sheriff's Office told FOX 17. "Unfortunately, throughout Kent County, our deputies respond every day to some type of a domestic altercation."
When deputies arrived at the house, they say two more children had been left alone inside.
We're told the wife was hospitalized with injuries to the face.
Thomas was arrested without incident on charges of assault and domestic violence.
"Any time a child's directly involved in a domestic assault, whether they're injured or not, there's still that trauma that they're experiencing. They're around someone being assaulted, in an argument, a firearm is now involved, that's a scar that that's leaving on that child that they will have to process through, you know, with their parents and in their life because it's a very traumatic incident," Sgt. Brunner added.
Read the full suspension order below.
Kent County Child Care Home Suspended by WXMI on Scribd
