Child Haven will be revising its policies after a 4-year-old girl was left in a van for 40 minutes last week.

Tom Morton, director of the Clark County Department of Family Services, said the staff of the county-run home for abused, neglected and abandoned children will now have to account for children by name, rather than by numeric count, whenever they transport the children to or from Child Haven.

The 4-year-old girl, whose name was not released, was left in the Child Haven van after a mix-up regarding how many children were in the vehicle when it returned to the home.

The girl and five other children had been taken to see the movie "Madagascar" at a theater on Rainbow Boulevard near Lake Mead Boulevard about 9:30 a.m. July 26, Morton said. The six children were taken in a Child Haven van under the supervision of two employees, he said.

When they left the theater, they picked up a child who had arrived in another van, Morton said. They arrived back at Child Haven at 12:10 p.m. and counted the children.

The 4-year-old girl was asleep in the van and didn't get out with the rest of the children, he said. The head count equaled six -- the same number of children who departed from Child Haven earlier in the day.

"That (extra child) may have contributed to the confusion, but that in no way excuses the situation," Morton said.

The rest of the children and the two employees went into Child Haven for lunch and left the girl inside the van. About 40 minutes later, a school nurse walked by the van and heard the child's cries, Morton said.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Las Vegas was 102 degrees at 12:56 p.m. July 26.

As a precaution, the girl was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where she was seen by a doctor. The doctor determined that the girl's temperature wasn't high and she wasn't injured, Morton said.

Still, he acknowledged, the child had been left in "a very dangerous situation."

Morton, who is in his third week as head of Family Services, said he has been trying to eliminate or lower situational risks to the foster children in the department's custody.

"Unfortunately, this has pointed out another area where the risk was too high," Morton said.

Authorities determined beforehand that the child was to be back in her mother's care the next day, Morton said. He wouldn't provide the name of the mother or the circumstances behind the girl's arrival at Child Haven.

Morton said the department has taken "appropriate actions" against the two employees, as well as an undisclosed number of employees who were working at Child Haven who should have realized that the girl was missing. He wouldn't elaborate on the actions against the employees or provide their names.

Morton said he has asked state investigators to look into the incident. Once the state has concluded its investigation, Las Vegas police will determine whether to press charges against the Child Haven employees who were involved, he said.