Inspection records · Texas
What Texas daycare inspectors cite
Texas inspectors cited at least one rule at 78% of the 13,190 daycares they visited since October 2023. Paperwork, safety and health rules are cited most often, and the single rule cited at the most daycares is about supervision: 1,677 of them.
- Daycares visited
- 13,190
- Visits in the records
- 103,673
- Had at least one rule cited
- 78%
- Median cited rules per daycare
- 3
How it works
How daycare inspections work in Texas
Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation, licenses daycare centers and home daycares and inspects them. Routine visits come without notice, and inspectors also investigate complaints from parents and the public.
Each finding names the rule, describes what the inspector saw and carries a risk level from low to high. Texas also records when each cited rule was corrected, so a listing shows whether a problem was fixed and when.
- Who inspects: Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation.
- Routine visits: Texas reported inspecting licensed centers once a year, without notice (national survey of state licensing agencies, 2017).
- Visits in the records since October 2023: 81,398 inspections, 5,062 complaint investigations, 17,213 other visits, at 13,190 daycares (9,595 centers and 3,595 home daycares).
- Records on each listing go back to: 2021.
How common
How often inspectors cite a rule
- of the 13,190 daycares visited had at least one rule cited
- 78%
- cited rules for the middle daycare over three years
- 3
- of cited rules have a correction on record
- 100%
These figures describe Texas'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 Texas's cited rules are about
Share of the 73,106 rules cited since October 2023, sorted into plain groups.
Paperwork is the largest group: records rules make up 17.7% of the rules Texas inspectors cited, and 44% of the daycares visited had at least one records rule cited. A records citation usually means a form, report or posting was missing or late, not that a child was in danger.
Safety and hazards (15.1%) and health, medication and illness (15%) come next, then staff training (13.5%). Supervision and ratio rules are a smaller share of all citations (9.8%), but they reached 26% of the daycares visited, and the one rule Texas cited at the most daycares is about watching children.
Most cited
The rule areas Texas 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.
- Supervision and ratios1,677 daycares (12.7% of those visited)
Watching every child
The state's rule: 746.1205(a)(4) - Supervision ensures each child’s safety, well-being, including physical proximity and auditory or visual awareness of each child’s on going activity
Caregivers must stay close enough to see or hear each child and know what every child is doing, including at nap time and on bathroom trips. A citation means an inspector found children out of a caregiver's sight or hearing.
Ask on a tour: How do you make sure every child is watched during nap time and bathroom trips?
- Background checks1,113 daycares (8.4% of those visited)
A cleared background check before anyone starts
The state's rule: 745.641 - AP Background check results - Must receive notification prior to allowing subject to be present at your operation
Every employee and any other adult at the daycare needs a cleared Texas background check before they can be there with children. A citation means someone was present before the state's result came back.
Ask on a tour: Has every adult here, including new hires and volunteers, cleared the Texas background check?
- Safety and hazards1,113 daycares (8.4% of those visited)
A yearly fire inspection
The state's rule: 746.5101(a) - Annual Fire Inspection - Before Initial Permit Issued and Every 12 Months
A center needs a fire inspection before it first opens and every 12 months after that. A citation can mean the inspection was overdue or the report was not on hand when the inspector asked.
Ask on a tour: When was your last fire inspection, and can I see the report?
- Discipline and child guidance872 daycares (6.6% of those visited)
Good judgment and self-control from every caregiver
The state's rule: 746.1201(1) - Responsibilities of Employees and Caregivers -Demonstrate Competency, Good Judgment, Self-control
Every caregiver must show good judgment, competence and self-control with children. Texas uses this rule for many kinds of lapses, from unsafe nap arrangements to the wrong way of handling a child's behavior.
Ask on a tour: How do you train staff to handle a child who is upset, tired or misbehaving?
- Records and paperwork838 daycares (6.4% of those visited)
Reporting staff numbers to the state
The state's rule: 746.303(b) - Report Number of Employees
Licensed centers must report to the state each year how many employees they had and how many left. A citation means the yearly report was late or not filed; it is paperwork, not a problem in the classroom.
Ask on a tour: How many teachers left in the past year, and how long has my child's teacher worked here?
- Building, equipment and play areas835 daycares (6.3% of those visited)
Keeping the building and playground in repair
The state's rule: 746.3407 - Maintenance of Building, Grounds and Equipment
The building, grounds and equipment must be kept clean and in good repair. Citations cover things like broken playground equipment, exposed concrete or torn nap mats.
Ask on a tour: Can I see the playground and the nap mats or cribs my child would use?
- Health, medication and illness701 daycares (5.3% of those visited)
A yearly sanitation inspection
The state's rule: 746.3401(a) - Annual Sanitation Inspection
A center also needs a current sanitation inspection from the local health authority every year. A citation can mean the inspection had lapsed or the report could not be shown.
Ask on a tour: When was your last sanitation inspection, and did it find anything?
- Health, medication and illness673 daycares (5.1% of those visited)
Up-to-date shot records
The state's rule: 746.603(a)(4) - Children's Records - Immunizations
Each child's file must show current immunizations or an exemption the state accepts. A citation means files were missing shot records when the inspector checked.
Ask on a tour: How do you keep track of immunization records for the children in my child's room?
On the tour
What to ask when you visit
Supervision is the rule Texas cites at the most daycares, so start there: ask how many adults are in your child's room at nap time, at pick-up and outside, and watch how staff keep track of children while you are there.
Then ask to see the latest fire and sanitation inspection reports, and ask the director about anything on the daycare's state record that you want explained.
The full tour checklist for Texas puts these questions on one printable page.
On each listing
How to read a daycare's record
Each Texas listing on DaycarePal shows the state's inspection visits for that daycare, with each cited rule, the risk level Texas gave it and the date it was corrected. A few low-risk citations corrected quickly are common; the same high-risk rule cited visit after visit says more.
Look at the dates as well. A corrected citation from a couple of years ago says less about today than a supervision citation at last month's visit. If something on the record worries you, ask about it on the tour; a good director will tell you 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 Texas, or search the state's records.
Questions
Questions about Texas daycare inspections
How often are Texas daycares inspected?
Texas reported inspecting licensed centers at least once a year, without notice, in a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies. Since October 2023, Texas made 103,673 visits to the 13,190 daycares listed here, counting routine inspections, complaint investigations and other visits.
How do I look up a Texas daycare's inspection report?
Open the daycare's listing on DaycarePal and go to its inspection section, or search the Texas Child Care Regulation records by name or ZIP code.
What does a risk level mean on a Texas citation?
Texas gives each cited rule a risk level, from low to high, by how much the problem could put a child at risk. A high-risk citation is worth a question on your tour; a low-risk paperwork citation usually is not.
Does a cited rule mean a daycare is unsafe?
No. A cited rule is one finding at one visit, and 78% of the Texas daycares inspectors visited had at least one. Look at what was cited, how serious Texas judged it and whether it was corrected.
Can I compare these Texas 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 Texas instead.
Source: Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation, 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.