Inspection records · Pennsylvania
What Pennsylvania daycare inspectors cite
Pennsylvania inspectors cited at least one rule at 94% of the 6,341 daycares they visited since October 2023. The rule cited at the most daycares, 2,653 of them, covers the background clearances every staff member and volunteer must have on file.
- Daycares visited
- 6,341
- Visits in the records
- 28,641
- Had at least one rule cited
- 94%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 14
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, certifies child care centers, group homes and family home daycares and inspects them. Routine inspections come without notice, and the office also investigates complaints.
Each finding names the rule, describes what the inspector saw and records how the daycare corrected it. A single visit can produce several cited rules, many of them about papers in staff and child files.
- Who inspects: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning.
- Routine visits: Pennsylvania reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 24,981 inspections, 2,573 complaint investigations, 1,087 other visits, at 6,341 daycares (4,856 centers and 1,485 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2021.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 6,341 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 94%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 14
- of cited rules have a correction on record
- 96%
These figures describe Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania's cited rules are about
Share of the 128,499 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Health, medication and illness rules are the largest group, at 18.6% of the rules Pennsylvania inspectors cited, and 78% of the daycares visited had at least one. Safety and hazards (17.4%), records and paperwork (16.2%) and staff training (15.8%) follow closely, each reaching about 70% of daycares or more.
Background check rules are a smaller share of citations (6.7%) but reached 62% of the daycares visited, since one missing or late clearance in one staff file is enough for a citation. Supervision rules reached 53% of daycares; in Pennsylvania this group includes the forms that list who may pick up a child.
Most cited
The rule areas Pennsylvania 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.
- Background checks2,653 daycares (41.8% of those visited)
Background clearances on file for every staff member and volunteer
The state's rule: 3270.32(a)/3270.192(4) Comply with CPSL/CPSL information
Under the state's Child Protective Services Law, each staff member and volunteer needs current criminal history and child abuse clearances on file, obtained on time and renewed on schedule. A citation usually means a clearance or signed disclosure statement was missing, late or out of date in someone's file.
Ask on a tour: Has every staff member and volunteer here cleared the state police, child abuse and FBI checks, and are they current?
- Staff training and qualifications1,902 daycares (30% of those visited)
Following related laws and keeping health and safety plans current
The state's rule: 3270.14/3270.21 Pertinent Laws & Regulations/General Health and Safety
A center must follow the other laws that apply to it and keep its written health and safety plans, such as the emergency plan, complete and up to date. A citation often means a written plan or policy was missing a required part.
Ask on a tour: Can I see your emergency plan, including where children go if you must leave the building?
- Building, equipment and play areas1,853 daycares (29.2% of those visited)
Floors, walls and ceilings in good repair
The state's rule: 3270.76 Building Surfaces
Building surfaces must be clean, in good repair and free of hazards. Citations cover things like missing ceiling tiles, loose fixtures, torn padding or surfaces children could trip on.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the rooms and the changing area my child would use?
- Supervision and ratios1,491 daycares (23.5% of those visited)
Full contact details for everyone who may pick up a child
The state's rule: 3270.124(b)(7) Name/address/phone release person
Each child's file must list the name, address and phone number of every person the parent allows to pick up the child. A citation means a form was missing some of these details, often an address.
Ask on a tour: How do you check the identity of someone picking up my child who is not me?
- Staff training and qualifications1,430 daycares (22.6% of those visited)
Two written references for each staff member
The state's rule: 3270.192(5) Two written references
Each staff member's file must hold two written references from people outside the family, vouching that the person is suited to work with children. A citation means one or both references were missing.
Ask on a tour: How do you check a new teacher's references and history before hiring?
- Safety and hazards1,425 daycares (22.5% of those visited)
Cleaning products and other hazards locked away
The state's rule: 3270.66(a) Locked or inaccessible
Anything labeled to keep out of reach of children, such as cleaners, sanitizers and medicines, must be locked up or kept where children cannot get to it. A citation means an inspector found such an item within a child's reach.
Ask on a tour: Where do you keep cleaning products, hand sanitizer and medicines?
- Background checks1,325 daycares (20.9% of those visited)
Background clearances, cited under the law's own code
The state's rule: 3270.32(a) Comply with CPSL
This is the same clearance requirement as the first rule, cited under the shorter code for the Child Protective Services Law. A citation means a staff clearance was missing, late or due for renewal.
Ask on a tour: How do you keep track of when each staff member's clearances must be renewed?
- Safety and hazards1,312 daycares (20.7% of those visited)
Smoke and fire detectors that work and are tested on time
The state's rule: 3270.95(a)/3270.95(b) Devices must be compliant/Director or designated staff person ensure compliance
Fire detection devices must meet the rules and be tested on schedule, with the director or a named staff member responsible. A citation often means the monthly tests were more than 30 days apart or not logged.
Ask on a tour: When were your smoke detectors last tested, and can I see the log?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Background clearances are the rule Pennsylvania cites at the most daycares, so start there: ask whether every adult who works or volunteers has current clearances, and how the daycare tracks renewals.
Then walk the rooms with the cited rules in mind. Look for cleaning products within reach and for worn surfaces, and ask how the daycare checks who is allowed to pick up each child.
The full tour checklist for Pennsylvania puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Pennsylvania listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare since 2021, with each cited rule, the inspector's note and how the daycare corrected it; 96% of cited rules have a correction on record. Pennsylvania does not give each finding a seriousness level, so read the note.
A long list is common: the middle daycare had 14 cited rules over three years. So look for patterns, such as the same supervision or safety rule cited visit after visit, or a finding marked as a repeat. If something worries you, ask the director what happened and what changed.
More detail: how to read a daycare inspection report. Find a daycare's record on its listing from daycares in Pennsylvania, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Pennsylvania daycare inspections
How often are Pennsylvania daycares inspected?
Pennsylvania reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, the state made 28,641 visits to the 6,341 daycares listed here, including 2,573 complaint investigations.
How do I look up a Pennsylvania daycare's inspection record?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search the state's provider records by name or ZIP code.
Why do Pennsylvania daycares have so many cited rules?
A single visit can produce several cited rules, and many are about one missing paper in a staff or child file. The middle daycare had 14 cited rules over three years, and 94% had at least one, so 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 most are corrected: 96% of cited rules in Pennsylvania have a correction on record. Look at what was cited, whether it repeats and how recent it is.
Can I compare Pennsylvania's numbers with another state's?
No. Each state writes its own rules and cites them in its own way, so the same daycare could collect a different number of citations under another state's system. Compare daycares within Pennsylvania instead.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early 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.