Inspection records · Missouri
What Missouri daycare inspectors cite
Missouri inspectors cited at least one rule at 97% of the 1,403 daycares they visited since October 2023. Building and equipment rules make up the largest share, and the rule area cited at the most daycares is staffing and personnel: 708 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 1,403
- Visits in the records
- 11,051
- Had at least one rule cited
- 97%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 11
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Missouri
Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Childhood, licenses daycares and inspects them. Since October 2023 it made 11,051 visits to the daycares in these records: 9,670 inspections, 530 follow-up visits and 850 complaint investigations. Almost all are centers (1,358 centers and 45 home daycares).
Missouri's records name the rule section a finding falls under, such as personnel or fire safety, rather than one narrow line. One section covers many requirements, so a single section can be cited several times at one visit, and the middle daycare had 11 cited rules over three years.
- Who inspects: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Childhood.
- Routine visits: Missouri reported inspecting licensed centers twice a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 9,670 inspections, 530 follow-up visits, 850 complaint investigations, 1 other visits, at 1,403 daycares (1,358 centers and 45 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2023.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 1,403 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 97%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 11
These figures describe Missouri'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 Missouri's cited rules are about
Share of the 24,866 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Building, equipment and play area rules make up the largest share, 25.4% of the rules Missouri inspectors cited, and reached 70% of the daycares visited. Rules outside the usual groups come next at 20.9%.
Health, medication and illness (15.1%, at 60% of daycares) and staff training and qualifications (14.5%, at 56%) follow. Supervision and ratio rules are a small share of citations (3.3%) but were cited at 26% of the daycares visited.
Most cited
The rule areas Missouri 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 qualifications708 daycares (50.5% of those visited)
Staff qualifications and personnel records
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.102 Personnel
This section covers who may work with children: the director's and teachers' qualifications, required training and the records kept for each staff member. A citation can mean a missing training record, a staff file gap or a staff member without the required qualifications.
Ask on a tour: What training and experience do the teachers in my child's room have?
- Building, equipment and play areas675 daycares (48.1% of those visited)
The building and outdoor space
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.082 Physical Requirements of Group Day Care Homes and Day Care Centers
This section covers the space itself: enough room per child, safe and clean rooms, toilets and sinks, and a safe outdoor play area. A citation can mean anything from a repair that was needed to a play area that fell short.
Ask on a tour: Can I see every room and the playground my child would use?
- Health, medication and illness573 daycares (40.8% of those visited)
Health reports for children and staff
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.122 Medical Examination Reports
A daycare must keep medical examination reports on file for the children and staff. A citation means one or more required health reports were missing or out of date.
Ask on a tour: What health forms do you need from me before my child starts?
- Building, equipment and play areas460 daycares (32.8% of those visited)
Safe furniture, toys and equipment
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.092 Furniture, Equipment and Materials
Furniture, toys and equipment must be safe, in good repair and right for the children's ages, with enough for the group. A citation can mean broken or unsuitable equipment or too little of it.
Ask on a tour: How do you check toys, cribs and furniture for damage?
- Records and paperwork434 daycares (30.9% of those visited)
Records and reports
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.222 Records and Reports
A daycare must keep children's enrollment and attendance records and send the state the reports it requires. A citation usually means paperwork was missing or late, not a problem in the classroom.
Ask on a tour: Can I see your parent handbook and enrollment forms?
- Health, medication and illness280 daycares (20% of those visited)
Day-to-day health care
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.192 Health Care
This section covers keeping children healthy each day, such as handling illness, giving medicine with permission and hygiene routines. A citation can mean a step in these routines was missed.
Ask on a tour: How do you give medication, and when must a sick child stay home?
- Safety and hazards222 daycares (15.8% of those visited)
Emergency and disaster plans
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.090 Disaster and Emergency Preparedness
A daycare must have written plans for emergencies such as fire, severe weather and other disasters, and practice them. A citation can mean a plan was missing or drills were not held or recorded.
Ask on a tour: What happens during a tornado warning, and how often do you practice?
- Safety and hazards199 daycares (14.2% of those visited)
Fire safety
The state's rule: 5 CSR 25-500.087 Fire Safety
This section covers fire inspections, smoke detectors, extinguishers, exits and fire drills. A citation can mean an overdue inspection, missing equipment or drills not held on schedule.
Ask on a tour: When was your last fire inspection and your last fire drill?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Staffing is the rule area Missouri cites at the most daycares, so ask about the teachers in your child's room: their training, how long they have worked there and who covers breaks.
Then ask to see the whole building and the playground, and ask for the daycare's emergency plan. If the state record shows a follow-up visit, ask what it was about and what changed.
The full tour checklist for Missouri puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Missouri listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare and the rule sections cited at each one. Because a section such as personnel or physical requirements covers many requirements, several citations at one visit are common.
Look for patterns over time. The same section cited at visit after visit, or citations at a complaint investigation, deserve a question on your tour. The records we carry do not show when each problem was fixed, so ask the director.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Missouri, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Missouri daycare inspections
How often are Missouri daycares inspected?
Missouri reported inspecting licensed centers and homes twice a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Missouri made 11,051 visits to the 1,403 daycares in these records.
How do I look up a Missouri daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search Missouri's child care records by name or city.
Why do so many Missouri daycares have a cited rule?
97% of the Missouri daycares visited had at least one rule cited, partly because Missouri cites broad rule sections that each cover many requirements. Read what was cited rather than counting citations.
What is a follow-up visit?
A return visit to check on earlier findings; Missouri made 530 of them since October 2023. Ask the director what the follow-up was about and whether the problem was fixed.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, and many are about records or repairs. Look at which rule areas were cited and whether the same ones come back.
Source: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Childhood, 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.