Inspection records · Indiana
What Indiana daycare inspectors cite
Indiana inspectors cited at least one rule at 71% of the 2,915 daycares they visited since October 2023. Health and safety rules are cited most often, and the rule cited at the most daycares, 389 of them, is about keeping rooms and equipment clean and in good repair.
- Daycares visited
- 2,915
- Visits in the records
- 23,189
- Had at least one rule cited
- 71%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 3
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Indiana
Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration, through its Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, licenses child care centers and child care homes, registers child care ministries and inspects them. Since October 2023 it made 23,189 visits to the daycares listed here: 22,033 inspections, 833 complaint investigations and 323 other visits.
Each finding names the rule and usually describes what the inspector saw. Indiana also records corrections: 87% of the cited rules here have a correction on record, so a listing shows whether a problem was put right.
- Who inspects: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.
- Routine visits: Indiana reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 22,033 inspections, 833 complaint investigations, 323 other visits, at 2,915 daycares (1,450 centers and 1,465 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2021.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 2,915 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 71%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 3
- of cited rules have a correction on record
- 87%
These figures describe Indiana'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 Indiana's cited rules are about
Share of the 21,502 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Health, medication and illness rules are the largest group, at 15.9% of the rules Indiana inspectors cited, reaching 41% of the daycares visited. Safety and hazards come next (14.2%, at 42% of daycares).
Background checks (12.9%) and staff training (12.7%) follow closely; together they reached more than a third of the daycares visited. Supervision and ratio rules made up 7.3% of citations and were cited at 21% of daycares.
Most cited
The rule areas Indiana 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.
- Safety and hazards389 daycares (13.3% of those visited)
Clean, well-kept rooms and equipment
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-4.5-4(1) All interior surfaces, equipment, materials, furnishings, and objects with which children will come in contact shall be well maintained, in a clean and sanitary condition, and of nontoxic durable const
Every surface, toy and piece of furniture children touch must be clean, in good repair and made of safe, durable materials. Citations cover things like holes in walls, peeling paint or broken equipment.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the rooms and play equipment my child would use?
- Background checks326 daycares (11.2% of those visited)
Criminal history checks for ministry staff
The state's rule: IC 12-17.2-6-14(1) The child care ministry must do the following: Conduct a criminal history check of the child care ministrys employees and volunteers
A child care ministry must run a criminal history check on every employee and volunteer. A citation means one or more people at the ministry did not have a completed check on file.
Ask on a tour: Has every staff member and volunteer here cleared a criminal history check?
- Staff training and qualifications310 daycares (10.6% of those visited)
First aid and germ-safety training in child care homes
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-1.1-32(a)(5) The licensee shall maintain the following documentation in the child care home for review by the COFC: Documentation of certification of a current first aid course, training in Universal Precaution
A licensed child care home must keep proof that the provider has current first aid training and training in universal precautions, the steps that stop germs spreading through blood and body fluids. A citation means that proof was missing or out of date.
Ask on a tour: Can I see your current first aid certificate?
- Health, medication and illness268 daycares (9.2% of those visited)
Yearly TB screening for home caregivers
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-1.1-28.5(c)(1) The caregiver shall maintain and make available verification of the following: Annual Mantoux tuberculin test or chest x-ray for direct child care providers and all family members over eighteen (
In a child care home, caregivers and adult family members must show a yearly tuberculosis test or screening. A citation means a test record was missing or had expired.
Ask on a tour: Have all the adults in the home had their yearly TB screening?
- Staff training and qualifications252 daycares (8.6% of those visited)
Germ-safety training for new staff
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-1.1-33.5(b)(4) Direct child care providers, including volunteers, shall receive training in the following within thirty (30) days of starting employment or volunteer work: Universal precautions
Caregivers and volunteers must be trained in universal precautions within their first month on the job. A citation means a staff file was missing that training.
Ask on a tour: What training do new staff get in their first month?
- Supervision and ratios250 daycares (8.6% of those visited)
Ratios and supervision in centers
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-4.7-48 Child/staff ratios and supervision
A center must keep enough qualified staff with each group for the children's ages and watch every child. A citation can mean a room had too few adults or a staff member counted in the ratio was not yet cleared to work.
Ask on a tour: How many adults and children are in my child's room at nap time and at pick-up?
- Health, medication and illness247 daycares (8.5% of those visited)
Working, clean restrooms
The state's rule: 470 IAC 3-4.5-4(2) All restrooms shall be equipped with flush toilets and handwashing sinks and shall be ventilated to the outside. An adequate supply of water, under pressure, shall be provided at all handwashing sinks,
Restrooms need flush toilets, handwashing sinks with running water and fresh air, and must be kept clean and stocked. Citations cover things like empty toilet paper holders or surfaces that cannot be cleaned.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the restroom my child would use?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Indiana's citations lean toward health, safety and staff records, so ask how staff keep their training and background checks current, and whether everyone in the room has cleared a check.
Then look around: the rooms, toys and restrooms tell you a lot. If the daycare's record shows a validated complaint, ask the director what happened and what changed.
The full tour checklist for Indiana puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Indiana listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare, with each cited rule, what the inspector found and whether it was corrected. A few corrected paperwork citations are common.
Pay most attention to validated complaints, supervision citations and the same rule cited visit after visit. Look at the dates as well: a problem fixed two years ago says less than one found at the last visit.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Indiana, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Indiana daycare inspections
How often are Indiana daycares inspected?
Indiana reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Indiana made 23,189 visits to the 2,915 daycares listed here.
How do I look up an Indiana daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Indiana's child care provider records by name or city.
What is a validated complaint?
It is a complaint the state 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.
Were the problems fixed?
Most were: Indiana has a correction on record for 87% of the rules cited since October 2023. Each listing shows which citations were corrected.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. 71% of the Indiana daycares visited had at least one rule cited, many for paperwork such as a missing training record. Look at what was cited and whether it was corrected.
Source: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, 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.