Child-care license revoked for false application

Denise Cardinal

Friday, May 22, 1998 | 9:44 a.m.

A child-care provider who has been operating in Las Vegas for more than a year had her license revoked Thursday by the city of Las Vegas for not reporting her previous drug use.

Lori Irish, owner of Simply Kids at 4320 East Bonanza Road, was given 60 days to sell the center before the city's licensing division closes its doors.

Irish did not disclose on her application for a license that she tested positive for cocaine and "speed" use when she was a dentist in Texas in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners revoked her dentistry license in April 1993 because she "habitually use(d) cocaine ... habitually use(d) a drug known as 'speed."'

During the application process for a child-care license in Las Vegas, Irish lied about the revocation of her dentistry license. She told Metro Police investigators that her license was suspended after she had been put on probation and had not paid her license fee.

But lying on her application isn't the only issue involved in Irish's case. A complaint filed with the Child Care Licensing Board said Metro Police had responded to 24 calls of service to the center.

Included in the police reports:

Irish owns another day-care center, also named Simply Kids, near Nellis Air Force Base in Clark County.

In February, Irish's license was to be approved by the Clark County Commission. The commission voted to allow her to operate the facility pending any decisions made by the city of Las Vegas in the complaints about her other facility.

Irish would not comment on the board's decision.

The fact that Irish was allowed to operate the center -- despite her background and the large number of Metro calls -- has some officials and child-care providers worried about the city's licensing system.

"I'm very concerned about whether these conditions that led up to this (hearing) will continue," June Gilmore said. She is chairwoman of the Child Care Licensing Board and operator of her own center.

The holes in Irish's application would have been found more quickly if she would have been more honest, Jim DiFiore, manager of the licensing board, said. He said he's found that almost all of the applicants for child-care licenses have clean slates.

"She had the license for a year because of misleading information on the application," he said. "When Metro went back over her application and did a thorough search, we found the false information she originally gave and were able to uncover a lot of things."

During the next 60 days, Irish must hire a new director, who will be chosen by DiFiore, and she is prohibited from appealing the board's decision to the City Council or a court.

It's only the second time in the past five years that the Child Care Licensing Board has revoked a license, according to city officials.