Inspection records · Maryland
What Maryland daycare inspectors cite
Maryland inspectors cited at least one rule at 74% of the 6,334 daycares they visited since October 2023. Health and paperwork rules are cited most often, and the single rule cited at the most daycares covers children's health records in family child care homes: 1,022 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 6,334
- Visits in the records
- 19,781
- Had at least one rule cited
- 74%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 3
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Maryland
The Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care, licenses child care centers and registers family child care homes, and inspects both. Since October 2023 it made 19,781 visits to the daycares listed here: 17,399 inspections, 1,098 complaint investigations and 1,284 other visits, at 2,527 centers and 3,807 home daycares.
Maryland has one set of rules for family child care homes and another for centers, so the same kind of finding can appear under two different rule numbers. Each finding names the rule that was not met.
- Who inspects: Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care.
- Routine visits: Maryland reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 17,399 inspections, 1,098 complaint investigations, 1,284 other visits, at 6,334 daycares (2,527 centers and 3,807 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2023.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 6,334 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 74%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 3
These figures describe Maryland'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 Maryland's cited rules are about
Share of the 28,596 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Health rules are the largest group: health, medication and illness made up 24.9% of the rules Maryland inspectors cited, and 50% of the daycares visited had at least one. Most are about records, such as immunizations and blood lead tests.
Records and paperwork come next at 21%, reaching 48% of daycares, mostly children's emergency forms. Supervision and ratios (12.8%), staff training (11.2%) and safety and hazards (10.3%) follow.
Most cited
The rule areas Maryland 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.
- Health, medication and illness1,022 daycares (16.1% of those visited)
Health records for each child in a home daycare
The state's rule: 13A.15.03.04C
A family child care home must keep each child's health records on file, such as the health inventory, immunization record and blood lead test results. A citation means one or more of these were missing.
Ask on a tour: What health forms do you need from me, and do you check them every year?
- Records and paperwork1,017 daycares (16.1% of those visited)
Emergency forms updated every year in home daycares
The state's rule: 13A.15.03.04A(3)
In a family child care home, each child's emergency form must be reviewed and updated by the parent at least once a year. A citation means a form had not been updated on time.
Ask on a tour: How often will you ask me to update my child's emergency form?
- Records and paperwork900 daycares (14.2% of those visited)
A complete emergency form for each child in a home daycare
The state's rule: 13A.15.03.04A(1)
Every child in a family child care home needs an emergency form with parent, emergency contact and doctor details. A citation means a form was missing or had blank sections.
Ask on a tour: Can I check that my child's emergency form is complete?
- Records and paperwork871 daycares (13.8% of those visited)
A complete emergency form for each child in a center
The state's rule: 13A.16.03.04C
A center must keep a complete, current emergency form for every child, with contacts, the doctor's details and the parent's signature. A citation means forms were missing information or overdue for an update.
Ask on a tour: Who keeps the emergency forms, and how do you keep them current?
- Health, medication and illness582 daycares (9.2% of those visited)
Blood lead test records in home daycares
The state's rule: 13A.15.03.02B
A family child care home must have proof of each young child's blood lead testing at the ages the state requires. A citation means that proof was missing for one or more children.
Ask on a tour: Do you need my child's lead test results, and when?
- Health, medication and illness537 daycares (8.5% of those visited)
Immunization records in home daycares
The state's rule: 13A.15.03.02A
Each child in a family child care home needs a current immunization record or a signed exemption, plus a health inventory from a doctor. A citation means a record was missing or incomplete.
Ask on a tour: How do you keep track of immunization records for the children here?
- Supervision and ratios476 daycares (7.5% of those visited)
Keeping every child in a center safe and watched
The state's rule: 13A.16.07.06A
A center must keep every child safe and supervised at all times, with enough staff for each room. A citation can mean a room was out of ratio or a child was not properly watched.
Ask on a tour: How many adults are in my child's room, and how do you cover breaks and pick-up time?
- Health, medication and illness461 daycares (7.3% of those visited)
Blood lead test records in centers
The state's rule: 13A.16.03.04E
A center must keep proof of each young child's blood lead testing at the ages the state requires. A citation means that proof was missing for one or more children.
Ask on a tour: What health records do you check before my child starts?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Most Maryland citations are about children's health and emergency records, so ask how the daycare keeps those files complete and how often it asks parents to update them. Bring your child's immunization and lead test records to enrollment.
Supervision deserves its own question: ask how many adults are in your child's room through the day, and count them yourself on the tour.
The full tour checklist for Maryland puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Maryland listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare and the rules cited at each one. Many Maryland citations are record gaps, such as an emergency form not updated on time, which a provider can usually fix within days.
Give more weight to supervision and safety findings, and to the same rule cited at visit after visit. The records we carry do not show when each problem was fixed, so ask the director about anything on the record.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Maryland, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Maryland daycare inspections
How often are Maryland daycares inspected?
Maryland reported inspecting licensed centers and family child care homes once a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Maryland made 19,781 visits to the 6,334 daycares listed here.
How do I look up a Maryland daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Maryland's child care records by name or ZIP code.
Why are lead tests and emergency forms cited so often?
Health and records rules were 24.9% and 21% of Maryland's cited rules since October 2023. Daycares must keep these papers for every child, so one missing form is a citation.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. 74% of the Maryland daycares visited had at least one rule cited, and many were missing records. Look at what was cited, and give more weight to supervision and safety findings.
Are home daycares inspected in Maryland?
Yes. Of the 6,334 Maryland daycares in these records, 3,807 are home daycares, and Maryland reported inspecting family child care homes once a year in a 2017 national survey.
Source: Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care, inspection records October 2023 to October 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.