Inspection records · Kentucky
What Kentucky daycare inspectors cite
Kentucky inspectors cited at least one rule at 93% of the 1,975 daycares they visited since October 2023. Staff training, health and building rules come up most, and the single rule cited at the most daycares is about staff training: 1,201 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 1,975
- Visits in the records
- 12,281
- Had at least one rule cited
- 93%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 12
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Kentucky
The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services licenses daycare centers and certified home daycares and inspects them. Routine visits come without notice, and the state also investigates complaints and goes back to check that problems were fixed.
Kentucky's records list each visit and the rules cited at it, by rule name and regulation number. A cited rule is one finding at one visit. The middle daycare in these records had 12 cited rules over about three years, so a record with several findings is common here.
- Who inspects: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
- Routine visits: Kentucky reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 7,205 inspections, 526 follow-up visits, 1,373 complaint investigations, 3,177 other visits, at 1,975 daycares (1,780 centers and 195 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2023.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 1,975 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 93%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 12
These figures describe Kentucky'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 Kentucky's cited rules are about
Share of the 32,288 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Building rules make up the largest share of what Kentucky cites, 20.8% of all cited rules, and 68% of the daycares visited had at least one. These cover floors, walls, ceilings, rooms and equipment kept clean and in repair. Staff training and qualification rules come next at 18.3%, and they reached 74% of daycares, many of them for missing training hours or paperwork.
Health, medication and illness rules (16%) reached the most daycares, 75%, often for staff health statements or children's shot records. Supervision and ratio rules are a small share of citations (4.6%), but 38% of daycares had at least one, so they are worth asking about.
Most cited
The rule areas Kentucky 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.
- Staff training and qualifications1,201 daycares (60.8% of those visited)
Yearly training hours for staff
The state's rule: 435 - Training (922 KAR 2:090 Section 11)
Each staff member must complete the training hours Kentucky requires, both when hired and every year after. A citation usually means a staff file did not show the required hours, not that a child was harmed.
Ask on a tour: How many training hours did my child's teachers complete this year, and in what topics?
- Health, medication and illness1,025 daycares (51.9% of those visited)
A tuberculosis statement for every staff member
The state's rule: 405 - TB Verification (922 KAR 2:090 Section 11)
Before starting work, and every two years after that, each staff member must show a health professional's statement that they are free of active tuberculosis. A citation means a staff file was missing a current statement.
Ask on a tour: Are all staff health statements, including the TB statement, up to date?
- Records and paperwork844 daycares (42.7% of those visited)
Complete enrollment information for each child
The state's rule: 1250 - Enrollment Information (922 KAR 2:090 Section 9)
The daycare must keep each child's enrollment information on file, such as parent contacts, emergency contacts and who may pick the child up. A citation means some of that information was missing or out of date.
Ask on a tour: How do you keep emergency contacts and pick-up lists current for every child?
- Health, medication and illness755 daycares (38.2% of those visited)
Shot records within 30 days of enrollment
The state's rule: 1245 - Immunization (922 KAR 2:090 Section 9)
Each child needs a current immunization certificate on file within 30 days of starting, unless a parent or doctor objects as the rules allow. A citation means a child's file lacked a current certificate.
Ask on a tour: How do you track immunization records for the children in my child's room?
- Building, equipment and play areas754 daycares (38.2% of those visited)
Floors, walls and ceilings in good repair
The state's rule: 625 - Floors, Walls, Ceilings (922 KAR 2:120 Section 4)
Floors, walls and ceilings must be smooth, in good repair and easy to clean. Citations cover things like peeling paint, damaged flooring or stained ceiling tiles.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the rooms my child would use, including the bathrooms and nap area?
- Staff training and qualifications627 daycares (31.7% of those visited)
Education requirements for staff in charge of children
The state's rule: 400 - Educational Requirements (922 KAR 2:090 Section 11)
Staff who supervise children must have at least the schooling Kentucky requires, such as a high school diploma or GED, with proof on file. A citation means a staff file did not show it.
Ask on a tour: What education and experience do the lead teachers in my child's room have?
- Staff training and qualifications585 daycares (29.6% of those visited)
A yearly professional development plan
The state's rule: 1280 - Professional Development (922 KAR 2:090 Section 9)
A center must keep a written yearly plan for how its staff will keep learning. A citation means the plan was missing or out of date; it is paperwork more than a classroom problem.
Ask on a tour: What training is planned for your staff this year?
- Safety and hazards564 daycares (28.6% of those visited)
Cleaning supplies and medicines out of reach
The state's rule: 565 - Inaccessible Items (922 KAR 2:120 Section 3)
Cleaning supplies, poisons, matches, lighters and staff belongings such as medicines must be kept where children cannot get to them. A citation means an inspector found one of these within a child's reach.
Ask on a tour: Where do you store cleaning products, medicines and staff bags?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Training and health paperwork are what Kentucky cites at the most daycares, so ask the director how they keep staff training hours and health statements current, and how many teachers are new this year.
Then walk the rooms your child would use and look for cleaning products within reach and worn floors or walls. Ask about anything on the daycare's state record that you want explained.
The full tour checklist for Kentucky puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Kentucky listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare and the rules cited at each one. Kentucky's records name the rule but carry no risk level, so read what each rule is about: a missing training certificate is a different matter from a supervision finding.
The records do not show when a cited rule was corrected, so ask the director what changed. Look at the dates too; a repeat citation for the same rule at visit after visit says more than one finding from two years ago.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Kentucky, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Kentucky daycare inspections
How often are Kentucky daycares inspected?
Kentucky reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice, and certified home daycares once every 2 years, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Kentucky made 12,281 visits to the 1,975 daycares listed here.
How do I look up a Kentucky daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Kentucky's child care provider records by name or location.
Is it normal for a Kentucky daycare to have cited rules?
Yes. 93% of the Kentucky daycares visited since October 2023 had at least one cited rule, and the middle daycare had 12. Read what was cited rather than counting.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, and many Kentucky citations are about staff paperwork and training records. Look at what was cited and ask the daycare what it changed.
Can I compare Kentucky's numbers with another state's?
No. Each state writes and cites its own rules, so the same daycare could collect a different number of citations elsewhere. Compare daycares within Kentucky instead.
Source: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 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.