IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Inspectors found some violations at a large Iowa daycare center when it was owned by Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, including deficiencies in 2007 that prompted a downgrade in its license status.
Whitaker and his wife owned Little Endeavors in his hometown of Ankeny, Iowa, a center with a capacity for 204 children from newborn to school-age, from 2003 until 2015. He has said that owning the center and other businesses has given him valuable experience.
The Associated Press obtained 49 pages of complaints and inspection records covering Whitaker's ownership under the Iowa open records law.
They paint a mostly positive picture of Little Endeavors but also show persistent concerns about a shortage of toys and supplies in some rooms and occasionally serious safety incidents.
Whitaker's ownership of the daycare is part of the unorthodox background he brings to the nation's top law enforcement position.
