Tuscaloosa County Church Daycare to Close Amid Abuse Investigations
A church-run daycare near Northport will permanently close later this month amid state and local investigations into alleged abuse of young children there.
The Word Academy is operated by the Word Community Church on Highway 69 North in Tuscaloosa County. The care center is now the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Human Resources.
The controversy began when parents took to social media to say DHR had notified them that the agency was looking into reports of physical mistreatment of the very young children who were at the daycare.
As word spread on social media and through local reporting, the Academy said on Tuesday that the director of the daycare and a teacher allegedly involved in the actions under investigation had both been fired.
On Wednesday night, one of the parents who first raised the issue on social media posted an update and said it was confirmed that the Word Academy would close effective September 29th.
A TCSO spokesperson said the investigation into the alleged abuse is still ongoing and no criminal charges have been filed as of Thursday.
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