Dina’s Home Sweet HomeOUR STORY & FAMILY UPDATES

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

A family story,
built around children.

Dina began caring for children while raising her own. More than three decades later, that family story remains at the heart of Dina’s Home Sweet Home.

How Dina beganRead our family’s response
Family album photograph marked 1996: children gathered beside a playground slide, with their faces obscured.
FROM THE FAMILY ALBUM · 1996Little moments. Memories kept for decades.Explore the family album

PROTECTING CHILDREN’S IDENTITIES

Parents’ requests to the original poster to take down the video

Multiple parents have reached out to the original poster and asked that the video be taken down to protect their children’s identities.

We respectfully ask that those requests be honored and that the children’s images no longer be posted or reshared.

Protecting the children’s privacy and cooperating with the authorities can go hand in hand. Original recordings can be preserved privately for the appropriate authorities.

Read our request to protect children’s privacy and safety

Since 1990THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAME

A mother’s decision became a family’s life’s work.

Before the daycare, there was a mother.

In 1990, Dina was working in the restaurant industry and raising a young family. The cost of childcare was consuming what she earned. She made a decision that would shape the years ahead: care for her own children at home and welcome other children alongside them.

Her sons grew up with those children. For our family, Dina’s Home Sweet Home is woven into our own childhood. It is the place where our mother raised us while building the work that would occupy more than three decades of her life.

The photographs she kept bring those years close again: small chairs around a table, birthday candles, dress-up days, and afternoons outside. The colorful borders and handwritten years are part of that story, too. These were moments worth keeping.

THEN · PAGES FROM OUR FAMILY ALBUM

A life in the little moments.

These photographs offer a glimpse of the everyday life behind the name: celebrations, friendships, and children growing up together.

Children in costumes gathered around a table; all faces obscured.
1993 · AS MARKED IN THE ALBUM

Days to dress up.

Costumes, a little table, and a celebration preserved on a handmade album page.

Birthday cake and piñata in a historical album photograph; faces obscured.
1995 · AS MARKED IN THE ALBUM

A candle. A cake. A memory.

A birthday moment, with a colorful piñata standing beside the cake.

Group of children on brick steps in a photograph marked 1996; faces obscured.
1996 · AS MARKED IN THE ALBUM

Growing up together.

A group photograph on the steps, saved with its handwritten year.

Children seated beside toys in a historical photograph marked 1998; faces obscured.
1998 · AS MARKED IN THE ALBUM

The everyday belongs here, too.

Toys and time together, captured on another page from the family’s collection.

Historical outdoor childhood portrait marked 1993; all visible faces obscured.
1993 · AS MARKED IN THE ALBUM

A moment in the garden.

A small outdoor portrait, framed in bright paper and kept through the years.

Historical outdoor group celebration beside a pool; all visible faces obscured.
UNDATED ALBUM PHOTOGRAPH

Gathered around the table.

Balloons and a shared table in a celebration from the family album.

Photographs shared by the family. Children’s faces are obscured for privacy; years are transcribed from the album. Select a photograph to view it larger.

A door covered with a colorful collection of family photographs and holiday cards; faces and personal messages obscured for privacy.
Family photographs and holiday cards on display. Faces and personal messages are obscured for privacy.

THE MEMORIES SHE KEPT

The years have
a place on the wall.

Holiday cards. Family photographs. Bright paper borders around moments that mattered enough to keep.

This collection is still part of the daycare’s everyday surroundings. For our family, it makes Dina’s history tangible: a life’s work remembered in the children and families connected to the place she built.

A family’s story, one photograph at a time.

NOW · INSIDE DINA’S HOME SWEET HOME

The story continues
in the spaces she created.

Color reaches from the floor to the walls: paper chains, illustrated animals, little kitchens, and shelves of toys. Our family sees these rooms as part of the same story: years of time and resources put back into the place Dina built.

Wide view of the daycare playroom with colorful floor mats, paper chains, toy shelves, and a play enclosure.
The main playroom, photographed by the family.
Another view of the main playroom, with wall art and activity areas.

A room full of color

Another view of the main playroom, with wall art and activity areas.

A pretend kitchen, a small table, and an indoor playhouse.

A little world of their own

A pretend kitchen, a small table, and an indoor playhouse.

Toys and activity stations beneath the decorated mantel.

Details at every turn

Toys and activity stations beneath the decorated mantel.

Animal artwork above bins of blocks and toys.

Room for imagination

Animal artwork above bins of blocks and toys.

An illustrated display of everyday foods.

Learning on the walls

An illustrated display of everyday foods.

The room’s cribs, wall decorations, and star-covered ceiling.

A separate room for rest

The room’s cribs, wall decorations, and star-covered ceiling.

View through the doorway into the playroom, with paper chains above colorful mats and a pretend kitchen.

A view into the playroom

Paper chains overhead, colorful mats underfoot, and little spaces for play.

A wall decorated with handmade paper tulips, flowers, stems, and grass.

A garden made of paper

Cut-paper flowers and green stems turn a wall into a small garden.

The daycare kitchen with wooden cabinets, paper flowers, and colorful chains; personal photos and paperwork obscured.

A kitchen with a personal touch

Paper flowers and bright chains carry the room’s color into the kitchen.

Current facility photographs supplied by the family. Personal photos and paperwork in the kitchen image are obscured for privacy.

01 / OUR RESPONSE

Our immediate
response.

To our families and neighbors,

Dina was not aware of the incident when it occurred. We first became aware of the video a few hours after it was posted publicly online.

As soon as we were notified, we acted immediately. The employee involved was removed from the daycare and is no longer employed by us.

That same day, we contacted the appropriate authorities, including law enforcement and childcare authorities, and began cooperating fully with their investigation. We also contacted each daycare family individually that evening to inform them of the situation and shared the video with them.

All four actions were taken on the day the original video was posted.

The conduct shown in the video is unacceptable. The safety and well-being of the children entrusted to us is our highest priority. We take what occurred seriously and accept our responsibility for the care provided at Dina’s Home Sweet Home.

We are cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities and will continue to do so.

Because this matter involves minor children and an ongoing investigation, there are details we cannot appropriately discuss publicly. We ask everyone to respect the children’s privacy while the appropriate authorities complete their work.

Multiple parents have asked the original poster to take down the video to protect their children’s identities. Those requests deserve to be honored. Please do not post or reshare images that identify the children.

The family behind
Dina’s Home Sweet Home

IMMEDIATE ACTION

How we responded

Dina was not aware of the incident when it occurred. We first became aware of the video a few hours after it was posted publicly online.

We acted as soon as we were notified. All four actions below were taken that same day, the day the original video was posted.

Employee removed immediately

As soon as we were notified, the employee involved was removed from the daycare. This employee is no longer employed by us.

Families contacted individually

That same evening, we contacted each daycare family individually to inform them of the situation and shared the video with them.

Authorities contacted

That same day, we contacted law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and our childcare licensing representatives.

Cooperation with the investigation

We began cooperating fully with the investigation that same day and continue to do so.

02 / CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Protecting our children’s privacy and safety.

An additional concern has emerged as videos and information about the daycare continue to circulate online. Identifiable images of children have been distributed publicly. The original poster has also shared information identifying the daycare’s location, which is a private residence, along with approximate arrival times. In addition, she has made statements about recording or livestreaming families during drop-off.

Parents have expressed serious concern about this exposure and have independently communicated those concerns to the appropriate authorities. Multiple parents have directly asked the original poster to remove identifiable images of their children. Despite those requests, the content has continued to circulate, and the original poster has publicly indicated that she does not intend to remove the video.

We fully support a thorough investigation and continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities. Families should be able to participate in that process without having their children’s identities, location, and daily routines unnecessarily exposed online. Original recordings can be preserved privately for the authorities while public copies are removed.

We ask everyone discussing this matter, including social-media users and members of the media, to protect the children’s privacy. Please do not publish or reshare identifiable images of the children, the residential address, arrival times, or other details about their routines. Please do not record or livestream children or families during drop-off.

Our families are already navigating a difficult situation. They should not also have to worry about the public circulation of information identifying their children and where and when they receive care.

Accountability and children’s privacy belong together. Our children deserve both.

03 / MOVING FORWARD

Strengthening our safeguards.

Taking responsibility means learning from what occurred and strengthening the care we provide.

We are reviewing our policies, staff expectations, training, supervision, and existing safeguards to identify where improvements are needed. Safety and accountability are central to that review.

We are committed to putting what we learn into practice, strengthening our program where needed, and continuing to earn the trust families place in us. That trust must be supported by our actions every day.

04 / OUR COMMUNITY

Decades of trust.

For decades, Dina has devoted herself to caring for children and serving families in our community. The daycare grew through word of mouth, without a website, advertising, or traditional marketing. Parents recommended us to other parents, and generations of families placed their trust in Dina’s care.

We have not experienced an incident of this nature before. What occurred does not reflect the standards of care we expect. Our history does not lessen the seriousness of this incident or our responsibility to respond.

We are deeply grateful to the families who have been part of this community over the years. We remain committed to learning from this experience, strengthening our program, and providing a safe, nurturing environment where children can learn, grow, and feel at home.

05 / FOR FAMILIES

A private conversation
for personal questions.

If your child attends Dina’s Home Sweet Home, please use the phone number or private communication channel you already use with the daycare.

Questions about an individual child belong in a direct conversation with their parent or guardian.

06 / QUESTIONS

Clear information
for our community.

When did you respond?

Dina was not aware of the incident when it occurred. We first became aware of the video a few hours after it was posted publicly online and acted as soon as we were notified. All four actions were taken that same day: removing the employee, contacting each family individually that evening and sharing the video, contacting authorities, and beginning full cooperation with the investigation. That cooperation continues.

Does this page report the outcome of an investigation?

No investigative outcome is announced on this page. Any official findings should be obtained from the responsible authority.

Where can enrolled families ask about their child?

Please contact the daycare directly through your established private communication channel. We ask that children’s names and personal information remain out of public discussions.

Why isn’t the incident video included here?

We are not reproducing footage that identifies children. This page is intended to provide our family’s statement while respecting the children’s privacy.

What are you asking the original poster and people resharing the media to do?

Honor direct requests from parents or guardians to remove public media depicting their children. Our request covers the original post, reposts, screenshots, and other public copies. Please stop circulating those images. Original evidence can be preserved privately for the appropriate authorities.

Have parents asked for the video to be taken down?

Multiple parents have reached out to the original poster and asked that the video be taken down to protect their children’s identities. We respectfully ask that those requests be honored.