Inspection records · Delaware
What Delaware daycare inspectors cite
Delaware's records hold 9,085 cited rules at 945 daycares since October 2023, and 35.5% of them are about records and paperwork. The single rule cited at the most daycares asks for complete staff files: 377 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 945
- Visits in the records
- 3,981
- Cited rules
- 9,085
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Delaware
The Delaware Department of Education's Office of Child Care Licensing licenses daycare centers and home daycares and inspects them. Routine visits come without notice, and the office also investigates complaints from parents and the public.
Delaware lists only the visits that found a problem, so a visit with nothing to cite does not appear in its file. Each finding names the rule, describes what the licensing specialist saw and, for most cited rules, records when the problem was corrected.
- Who inspects: Delaware Department of Education, Office of Child Care Licensing.
- Routine visits: Delaware reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 2,441 inspections, 604 complaint investigations, 936 other visits, at 945 daycares (521 centers and 424 home daycares).
- What the state lists: only visits that found a problem; visits with no findings are not in the state's file.
- Records on each listing go back to: 2021.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- cited rules in the records
- 9,085
- of cited rules have a correction on record
- 90%
Delaware lists only visits that found a problem, so this page does not give a share of daycares with no cited rules.
These figures describe Delaware's own inspection records since October 2023. States write and cite their rules in different ways, so a figure here cannot be compared with another state's. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, not a rating of a daycare.
What gets cited
What Delaware's cited rules are about
Share of the 9,085 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Paperwork leads by a wide margin: records rules make up 35.5% of the rules cited in Delaware's file. Most are about staff and children's files, such as a missing reference, CPR card or health form, not a danger in the room.
Building and play area rules come next at 13.1%, then safety and hazards at 9.7% and health at 9.6%. Substantiated complaints, which are not tied to one rule, are counted with other rules (10.8%). Supervision and ratio rules are a small share, 2.9% of the rules cited.
Most cited
The rule areas Delaware cites most
Ordered by how many daycares had the rule cited since October 2023. The wording is the state's rule; no daycare is named here.
- Records and paperwork377 daycares
Complete files for every staff member
The state's rule: 30U Personnel Files
A daycare must keep a full file for each staff member, including references, health forms, CPR and first aid cards and background check results. A citation means something was missing from one or more files when the specialist checked.
Ask on a tour: Do all staff in my child's room have current CPR and first aid training on file?
- Records and paperwork314 daycares
A complete file for every child
The state's rule: 40U Child Files
Each enrolled child needs a file with emergency contacts, health records and the forms the state requires. A citation means a child's file was missing a form, a health record or an emergency number.
Ask on a tour: How do you keep my child's emergency contacts and health records up to date?
- Records and paperwork265 daycares
Children's files with permissions and health records
The state's rule: 22P Children's Files
This rule also covers children's files: attendance days and hours, health checks and signed permissions, such as for naps on a cot or an emergency trip. A citation means one or more of these were missing.
Ask on a tour: Which permission forms will I sign at enrollment, and can I see a copy now?
- Building, equipment and play areas224 daycares
Safe, clean and well-lit indoor space
The state's rule: 49U Indoor Space
Rooms children use must be safe, clean, well lit and free of hazards such as uncovered outlets or air fresheners. A citation means the specialist found a problem in a room or space children use.
Ask on a tour: Can I see every room my child would spend time in, including the nap area?
- Building, equipment and play areas177 daycares
A safe, fenced outdoor play area
The state's rule: 53U Outdoor Area
Play areas need sound fences, gates that close and latch on their own, and enough soft cover, such as mulch, under climbing equipment. A citation means part of the outdoor area did not meet the rule.
Ask on a tour: How often do you check the playground fence, gates and the ground under the equipment?
- Safety and hazards146 daycares
Cleaning products and other hazards locked away
The state's rule: 45U Hazardous Materials
Chemicals and other hazardous materials must be locked up or out of children's reach, and some required safety tests, such as radon, must be current. A citation means a hazard was within reach or a test was out of date.
Ask on a tour: Where do you keep cleaning products, and are those cabinets locked?
- Food and nutrition126 daycares
A clean, safe kitchen
The state's rule: 50U Kitchen and Food Preparation
Kitchens must be kept clean, with working thermometers in refrigerators and freezers and a sink used only for handwashing. A citation means the specialist found a food safety or cleanliness problem.
Ask on a tour: Who prepares meals and bottles, and can I see the kitchen?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Paperwork tops Delaware's list, so ask the director how staff and children's files are kept complete, and whether every teacher's CPR and background check is current.
Then look at the rooms and the playground yourself, and ask about anything on the daycare's state record. If the record shows a substantiated complaint, ask what happened and what the daycare changed.
The full tour checklist for Delaware puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Delaware listing on DaycarePal shows the visits where the state found a problem, with each cited rule and what the specialist saw. Delaware also records corrections, and 90% of the cited rules in its file have one, so you can see whether a problem was fixed.
Because Delaware lists only visits with findings, a daycare with few entries may simply have had visits that found nothing. Look at what was cited and how recent it is: a missing form from two years ago says less than a recent finding about supervision or safety.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Delaware, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Delaware daycare inspections
How often are Delaware daycares inspected?
Delaware reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Its file holds 3,981 visits since October 2023, including 604 complaint investigations.
How do I look up a Delaware daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal, or search Delaware's child care records by name or location.
Why can't I see visits with no problems in Delaware?
Delaware's file has 3,981 visits since October 2023, but it lists only visits that found a problem. A short record does not tell you how many visits found nothing.
What is a substantiated complaint in Delaware?
It is a complaint the Office of Child Care Licensing investigated and found to be true. It is not tied to one rule, so this page counts it with other rules. Read the finding on the daycare's listing to see what it was about, and ask the director what changed.
Can I compare Delaware's numbers with another state's?
No. Each state writes and cites its own rules in its own way, and Delaware lists only visits with findings. Compare daycares within Delaware instead.
Source: Delaware Department of Education, Office of Child Care Licensing, inspection records October 2023 to September 2026, for the daycares listed on DaycarePal. Inspection schedule: National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations (ACF), from a 2017 survey of state licensing agencies.