Owner Sells Gainesville Children’s Center Following Inspection

Staff at the Gainesville Children’s Center, located at 8171 Linton Hall Road, confirmed that the owner is selling the facility. Rumors persist that the facility is shutting down as a result of a recent inspection by the Virginia Department of Social Services. "We just found out," said the program director of the Gainesville Children's Center, who asked not to named. Phillip Adams, the owner of the facility said he first considered selling the center after the Feb. 19 inspection. He ultimately decided to sell the day care center to Pamela French, the owner of the award-winning Willowcreek Academy, which opened 2003 in Centreville. "Our company had two choices: sell to a national chain, or for less money, to a wonderful lady," Adams said about French. "I guarantee you she will run the best center in the Gainesville area. Adams now looks forward to dedicating his time to his staff training concept, Parent University. In June, VDSS conducted a renewal inspection of the facility and cited the company for 20 violations, including improper record keeping, maintaining the center in an unsafe condition, not disciplining children properly and failing to have a properly credentialed program director. The acting program director who was managing the center at the time of the inspection report was no longer employed at the facility as of July 12. According to DSS inspector Sharon Ball, the facility had hired a new program director to respond to the violations, which they submitted July 10. “At the time of the inspection, there was no one qualified to respond [to the inspection report],” she said.